Practice Test: Reading Comprehension - 50 | 100 RCs for GMAT PDF Download

The question asks us to identify the purpose of the first paragraph: what role does it play in the context of the passage as a whole? The first paragraph presents historical information about the relationship between East and West Germany. This information is given as background to the subsequent paragraphs. We need to find an answer choice that is consistent with this analysis.
(A) The relationship between East and West Germany is not merely one example of a much larger general theory; the passage is about this specific circumstance.
(B) The passage does not seek to alter or revise a commonly held view, either in the first paragraph or elsewhere.
(C) CORRECT: The first paragraph presents the background information necessary to understand the claims made in the rest of the passage.
(D) The first paragraph does not raise questions; it provides facts as to the relationship between East and West Germany at a specific point in time.
(E) The first paragraph does not provide two opposing points of view.

The question asks us to identify the author's reason for believing that German reunification could succeed. According to the last sentence of the passage, "[reunification] would have been preposterous had not West Germany possessed the resources to accomplish the task." In other words, West Germany was prosperous enough to afford this major undertaking.
(A) The correct principal reason for success does not include attributes of East Germany.
(B) The correct principal reason for success does not include attributes of East Germany.
(C) Although this point is made in the passage, it is not the reason given for reunification's success.
(D) This is not the reason given in the last sentence for reunification's success.
(E) CORRECT: This choice reflects the information we were looking for: the country was "materially stable," or prosperous enough, to succeed.

The question asks us to infer something from the passage regarding the relationship between West Germany and France. The passage notes that countries were "wary of a united Germany" and next mentions that France, "a perpetual competitor, saw Germany’s size advantage increase overnight." We need to find an answer choice that can be deduced from this information alone; we cannot conclude too much. If France is wary of Germany's impending larger size, then France must also be worried that it will be negatively impacted by the change.
(A) The above information tells us nothing about the relative stabilities of the two economies.
(B) The above information does not tell us the entire history of the relative GDPs of the two countries. "Always" is too extreme.
(C) The above information does not mention either population or international trade with respect to the two countries' economies.
(D) CORRECT: If France does not view its relative economic position as immutable, or unable to be changed, then it is sensible for the country to worry that it might be negatively impacted by the changes in Germany.
(E) The passage does not state or imply that West Germany specifically planned to bolster its position over that of France.

The question asks us to identify the reason that the author mentions the United States in the passage. In the third paragraph, the author asks whether West Germany was "up to the task" of re-unification. This is followed by the example of Italy as a government that does spend the necessary resources to help its underperforming regions. Then, the author mentions the United States as a counterexample with negative overtones: "In contrast, in the United States, the local population bears the burden of varying economic performance. For example, the American South is allowed to exist with much higher rates of poverty and lower education than the rest of the nation." [Emphasis added.]
The use of the word "allowed" suggests that the author does not approve of the situation in the United States. Further, the very next paragraph begins . . ."Rather than allow East Germany to fall into total disrepair . . . " as if to further contrast the German government with that of the United States.
(A) The passage in general does not argue against any commonly held beliefs, including the specific example about the United States.
(B) CORRECT: This choice echoes our above analysis: the author views the situation cited as "undesirable."
(C) The author disapproves of the cited example, so he would not offer it as a possible advantageous solution to Germany's reunification.
(D) The passage does not call the principle into question; rather, the author indicates disapproval of this particular approach.
(E) The author disapproves of the cited example; he would not offer it as a positive lesson.