GRE Verbal : Meaning and Structure in Single-Answer Questions

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #4 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

The following passage is adapted from Ramblings in Cheapside, by Samuel Butler

 

Walking the other day in Cheapside I saw some turtles in Mr. Sweeting’s window, and was tempted to stay and look at them. As I did so I was struck not more by the defenses with which they were hedged about, than by the fatuousness of trying to hedge that in at all which, if hedged thoroughly, must die of its own defensefulness. The holes for the head and feet through which the turtle leaks out, as it were, on to the exterior world, and through which it again absorbs the exterior world into itself—"catching on” through them to things that are thus both turtle and not turtle at one and the same time—these holes stultify the armor, and show it to have been designed by a creature with more of faithfulness to a fixed idea, and hence one-sidedness, than of that quick sense of relative importance and their changes, which is the main factor of good living.

The turtle obviously had no sense of proportion; it differed so widely from myself that I could not comprehend it; and as this word occurred to me, it occurred also that until my body comprehended its body in a physical material sense, neither would my mind be able to comprehend its mind with any thoroughness. For unity of mind can only be consummated by unity of body; everything, therefore, must be in some respects both knave and fool to all that which has not eaten it, or by which it has not been eaten. As long as the turtle was in the window and I in the street outside, there was no chance of our comprehending one another.

The phrase "The turtle had no sense of proportion," refers to __________.

Possible Answers:

the inability for a human to comprehend a turtle

the way a turtle can look like a human

the odd difference between a turtle and a human

the way humans are superior to turtles

the inability for a turtle to comprehend a human

Correct answer:

the odd difference between a turtle and a human

Explanation:

The best strategy for any question about a particular meaning is to look at the immediate context. "It differed so widely from myself that I could not comprehend it," is the very next phrase and is contained in the same sentence. The only thing the phrase in question refers to is the difference between a turtle and a human.

Example Question #5 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

The following passage is adapted from Ramblings in Cheapside, by Samuel Butler

 

Walking the other day in Cheapside I saw some turtles in Mr. Sweeting’s window, and was tempted to stay and look at them. As I did so I was struck not more by the defenses with which they were hedged about, than by the fatuousness of trying to hedge that in at all which, if hedged thoroughly, must die of its own defensefulness. The holes for the head and feet through which the turtle leaks out, as it were, on to the exterior world, and through which it again absorbs the exterior world into itself—"catching on” through them to things that are thus both turtle and not turtle at one and the same time—these holes stultify the armor, and show it to have been designed by a creature with more of faithfulness to a fixed idea, and hence one-sidedness, than of that quick sense of relative importance and their changes, which is the main factor of good living.

The turtle obviously had no sense of proportion; it differed so widely from myself that I could not comprehend it; and as this word occurred to me, it occurred also that until my body comprehended its body in a physical material sense, neither would my mind be able to comprehend its mind with any thoroughness. For unity of mind can only be consummated by unity of body; everything, therefore, must be in some respects both knave and fool to all that which has not eaten it, or by which it has not been eaten. As long as the turtle was in the window and I in the street outside, there was no chance of our comprehending one another.

"The main factor of good living" is __________.

Possible Answers:

"show it to have been designed by a creature with more of faithfulness to a fixed idea"

"that quick sense of relative importance and their changes"

"the turtle obviously had no sense of proportion"

"'catching on' through them to things that are thus both turtle and not turtle at one and the same time"

"tt differed so widely from myself that I could not comprehend it"

Correct answer:

"that quick sense of relative importance and their changes"

Explanation:

The phrase in question comes in the middle of a highly convoluted sentence. The best approach to finding the linked phrase is to narrow down the sentence to its component parts.  The linking element of "which is" should drown out all other options and focus on "that quick sense of relative importance and their changes."

Example Question #1 : Analyzing Details In Contemporary Life Passages

A Short History of Recent Zoos, by Will Floyd

Throughout the twentieth century, zoos underwent large-scale transformations. Before World War I, zoos were small parts of larger municipal parks, and featured sparse cages with little room for their inhabitants. This model held sway until mid-century, with many zoos struggling to remain open during the Great Depression and World War II. The successful zoos survived through making themselves cheap family entertainment. In the 1960s, zoos began to change in drastic ways. With the growing strength of environmental- and animal-rights movements, the public clamored for more naturalistic and spacious environments in which the animals could live.

The most emblematic of these transformations was the development of the Los Angeles Zoo. In 1966, the cramped and antiquated zoo used grants from the city government to move to a brand-new facility. Although the zoo moved just two miles away, the new location was exponentially bigger, and it featured fresh landscapes that resembled the animals’ natural habitats, instead of dilapidated cages. As the Los Angeles Zoo developed, it was able to work on preservation and conservation efforts for endangered species. New educational programs also became key elements of the Zoo’s mission. Now the old Zoo’s cages stand as ruins and reminders of what past generations saw when they visited years ago.

The phrase "this model" in the passage refers to __________.

Possible Answers:

zoos changing dramatically throughout the twentieth century

zoos being cheap family entertainment

zoos featuring sparse cages with little room

zoos failing during the Great Depression

the method of operation of the Los Angeles Zoo

Correct answer:

zoos featuring sparse cages with little room

Explanation:

The sentence immediately before "this model" notes that zoos used to feature "sparse cages with little room for their inhabitants." "This model" is then used as a pivot point to discuss zoos' subsequent struggles and transformations.

Example Question #7 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

Developments in Understanding Ancient Greek Art by Will Floyd

Most people imagine stark white temples and plain marble statues as the ideal of ancient Greek art. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the ancient Greeks lavished their statues, sculptures, and buildings with bright colors. The common misconception of plainly adorned Hellenic art can be blamed on the ancient Greeks’ biggest proponents in history. Enlightenment-era classicists eagerly visited ancient ruins in the eighteenth century and saw artifacts that had been weathered to plain white stone through decades of neglect. By the time nineteenth-century archaeologists found proof that the Parthenon and images of the Gods were meant to be in vivid hues, eminent scholars in Europe refused to countenance that pure white marble was not antiquity’s aesthetic paradigm. Widespread acknowledgement of the ancient Greeks’ adoration of bright colors only came in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as scientific tests proved ancient statuary and buildings had once been covered in polychrome paint.

"The common misconception" mentioned in the passage refers to __________.

Possible Answers:

the ancient Greeks' biggest proponents in history

antiquity's aesthetic paradigm

plainly-adorned Hellenic art

lavishing statues, sculptures, and buildings with bright colors

artifacts that had been weathered

Correct answer:

plainly-adorned Hellenic art

Explanation:

The sentence containing the phrase "the common misconception" is a complex sentence, but focusing closely on the phrase reveals a simple relationship to "plainly adorned Hellenic art."  Additionally, if the structure is confusing, it helps to understand that the entire passage focuses around the idea that people have mistakenly believed Greek art was extremely plain.

Example Question #211 : Reading Comprehension

The Chemistry of Cooking by Will Floyd

Molecular gastronomy is a new take on cooking that has spread like wildfire through the culinary world in the last few decades. At its core, molecular gastronomy seeks to redefine and reimagine how food is cooked in restaurant kitchens, using technology, chemistry, and physics to transform pedestrian dishes into surprising forms and textures. These techniques create mystifying dining experiences, while using intimately familiar flavors. Chefs who use molecular gastronomy do not wish merely to be chemists or engineers, but are chefs above all else. To create a special dining experience, the chef begins first and foremost with the dish they wish to serve. Tools like an anti-griddle, a flat top that instantly freezes anything that touches it, or maltodextrin, an additive that can turn liquids into powder, are not there simply to play with the food. A molecular gastronomist will first think of the dish they want to serve, like fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Next, they will find a way to get the same flavors and textures in a unique way. The chicken might not be fried, but go through a process that will give it a crispy skin and juicy meat while never broaching hot oil. The mashed potatoes could become a light sauce, and then be put on an anti-griddle to give a new look, texture, and temperature. While the diner will have something that might look like a dessert or a soup, in actuality what they are having is a homestyle dish that they remember from childhood. This sense of familiarity is the ultimate goal of any chef utilizing molecular gastronomy.

The phrase "this sense of familiarity" in the passage refers to __________.

Possible Answers:

food for children.

a home style dish remembered from childhood.

something that might look like a dessert or a soup.

a new look, texture, and temperature.

utilizing molecular gastronomy.

Correct answer:

a home style dish remembered from childhood.

Explanation:

The phrase is in the very last sentence, and it helps sum up the author's whole argument. The author notes molecular gastronomy is technologically innovative, but plays with the familiar flavors and memories of food. The specific "sense of familiarity" refers to the flavors of the fried chicken and mashed potatoes diners remember from childhood.

Example Question #9 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

A Short History of the Electric Guitar, by Will Floyd

Any modern musical performance is almost impossible to countenance without the presence of an electric guitar. Most of the time it is a solid-body electric guitar, and while they seem ubiquitous and obvious now, that was not always the case. First invented in the early 1930s, the first electric guitar simply amplified existing guitars. No one thought of it as a new instrument, but merely a way to put a microphone inside of the guitar. Through the use of electronic pickups that went straight to an amplifier, the sound of the guitar could be broadcast over loud jazz bands with drums and horns. At the time, most everyone believed an electric guitar still had to look like an acoustic guitar, and all models featured a hollow body acoustic shape that would resonate with the sound of the guitar strings. In all actuality, the only necessity for an electric guitar is an electric pickup to capture their small vibrations. An electric guitar does not, and never did, need a space to resonate the sound of the strings. Instead, it could be a simple block, with the fret-board, strings, and a pick up attached to a piece of lumber. This method is exactly what the famous guitar player and maker Les Paul did with his “Log,” but Les Paul's “Log” revealed some of the biases against a solid-body guitar. While the guitar was just one solid piece of wood, Paul would attach two wings to it that made the guitar look like a hollow body.

Despite Les Paul’s innovations, few manufacturers made a marketable solid-body guitar. Rickenbacker and Bigsby were both companies that made limited productions of solid-body electric guitars. Leo Fender was the first luthier to make a popular, mass-market electric solid-body guitar. Leo Fender started his career by working on radios and other small electronic devices, but developed an interest in building guitars. Immediately after World War II, big bands were considered antiquated, and small honky-tonk and boogie-woogie combos wanted cheaper, sturdier, and better intonated guitars, that they could play faster and louder. Leo Fender obliged with his Esquire guitar. Looking completely unlike any guitar made before, and being extremely thin, with no resonating panels, Fender’s guitar was revolutionary. While Fender continued to tweak it through the years, one thing remains the same: the general shape of the guitar. Renamed first the Broadcaster, then the more famous Telecaster, the silhouette of Fender’s Esquire is still a popular choice among musicians today.

The phrase "this method" in the passage refers to __________.

Possible Answers:

some of the biases against a solid body guitar

the fret-board, strings, and a pick up attached to a piece of lumber

one solid piece of wood

the famous guitar player and maker Les Paul

a space to resonate the sound of the strings

Correct answer:

the fret-board, strings, and a pick up attached to a piece of lumber

Explanation:

The sentence explicitly talks about what Les Paul did with his "Log" guitar; however, the sentence before describes the specifics of Les Paul's method, with "this method" bridging the two sentences. Specifically, the phrase refers to making a guitar that is "the fret-board, strings, and a pick up attached to a piece of lumber."

Example Question #10 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

Baseball, Then and Now, by Will Floyd

The twenty-first-century baseball fan would hardly recognize the nineteenth-century version of the national pastime. The massive stadiums, pristine uniforms, and even most articles of equipment integral to the modern game were all unfamiliar to players in the late-nineteenth-century.

The current number of balls and strikes that each batter is allowed was not settled until the 1890s. Fielding gloves were not utilized until the 1880s. Players could even call for a high or low pitch as recently as 1900. The biggest misconception about nineteenth-century baseball from a modern point-of-view is assuming all pitching was done the way it is now. In fact, until 1893 pitchers operated out of a box a mere 45 feet away. The short distance was no problem, as the original rules for pitching required an underhand motion. As athletes have done for centuries, pitchers of the nineteenth century figured out ways to throw harder and circumvent the rules. Eventually, pitchers were taking a running start from 45 feet away and throwing overhand. Baseball players and administrators quickly realized that such pitching was a safety hazard at 45 feet, and it creates a tedious game in which no one could score. Baseball pushed the pitcher back to sixty feet and six inches, introduced the pitcher’s mound, and the slab the pitcher must be rooted to, pushing baseball closer to its modern form. These changes in baseball’s early years made the game the treasured sport it is today.

The phrase "As athletes have done for centuries," refers to the act of __________.

Possible Answers:

operating out of a box from a mere 45 feet away

figuring out ways to throw harder

requiring an underhand motion to throw

throwing overhand

circumventing the rules

Correct answer:

circumventing the rules

Explanation:

The sentence that begins with the phrase, "As athletes have done for centuries," is a complex one, and the structure of its clauses must be properly analyzed. As the middle clause, referring to pitchers throwing harder, is surrounded by commas, the final clause, making reference to "circumventing the rules," is the correct answer.

Example Question #11 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

Baseball, Then and Now, by Will Floyd

The twenty-first-century baseball fan would hardly recognize the nineteenth-century version of the national pastime. The massive stadiums, pristine uniforms, and even most articles of equipment integral to the modern game were all unfamiliar to players in the late-nineteenth-century.

The current number of balls and strikes that each batter is allowed was not settled until the 1890s. Fielding gloves were not utilized until the 1880s. Players could even call for a high or low pitch as recently as 1900. The biggest misconception about nineteenth-century baseball from a modern point-of-view is assuming all pitching was done the way it is now. In fact, until 1893 pitchers operated out of a box a mere 45 feet away. The short distance was no problem, as the original rules for pitching required an underhand motion. As athletes have done for centuries, pitchers of the nineteenth century figured out ways to throw harder and circumvent the rules. Eventually, pitchers were taking a running start from 45 feet away and throwing overhand. Baseball players and administrators quickly realized that such pitching was a safety hazard at 45 feet, and it creates a tedious game in which no one could score. Baseball pushed the pitcher back to sixty feet and six inches, introduced the pitcher’s mound, and the slab the pitcher must be rooted to, pushing baseball closer to its modern form. These changes in baseball’s early years made the game the treasured sport it is today.

In the passage, the phrase "such pitching" refers to __________.

Possible Answers:

throwing overhand with a running start from a short distance

throwing from a slab

throwing with an overhand motion

throwing from a box

throwing from 60 feet, 6 inches

Correct answer:

throwing overhand with a running start from a short distance

Explanation:

The passage details many different ways pitchers threw the ball in the nineteenth century; however, the sentence that begins "such pitching" discusses the hazards that caused the pitchers to be moved back to 60 feet, 6 inches. In particular, the phrase "such pitching" refers to pitchers throwing overhand from 45 feet away, which is mentioned in the preceeding sentence.

Example Question #12 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

Technology of the Future by Will Floyd

Technological revolutions rarely come in expected forms. Predictions of the future are usually found to be humorous in retrospect, as the theories put forward usually involve too much of the present. Typically, an author who imagines the future sees some small developments in the technology already in use, without countenancing a possible sudden change in how gadgets are made. Science fiction from before the personal computer’s rise tended to show computers as large machines only run by specialists. Before the development of tablets, small reading devices belonging to each person were hardly imagined. None of these now strange conjectures on the future should be ridiculed. Even those researchers and scientists who are trying to create new breakthroughs in technology often have no idea of what their work will produce. The personal computer was initially divided into office models and home models, which were supposed to have different graphics, power, and performance specifics. In reality, people desired the office model in their home. Such adoptions happen all the time in the world of technology, with such disparate examples as the personal computer and the Model-T automobile both changing future technology by becoming the most popular forms in the marketplace.

The phrase "technological revolutions" refers to __________.

Possible Answers:

the development of the personal computer and the Model-T.

researchers and scientists working on new technology

science fiction speculation on the future of technology

new forms of technology that surpass existing forms

home computer users adopting the office computer specifications

Correct answer:

new forms of technology that surpass existing forms

Explanation:

The "technological revolutions" mentioned in the first sentence is the opening salvo to the entire passage. This phrase introduces the entire theme of the paragraph: that developments in technology often become hard to predict. The specific developments are the new technology that replaces older forms.

Example Question #13 : Understanding The Meaning Of Phrases, Sentences, And Paragraphs In Single Answer Questions

Technology of the Future by Will Floyd

Technological revolutions rarely come in expected forms. Predictions of the future are usually found to be humorous in retrospect, as the theories put forward usually involve too much of the present. Typically, an author who imagines the future sees some small developments in the technology already in use, without countenancing a possible sudden change in how gadgets are made. Science fiction from before the personal computer’s rise tended to show computers as large machines only run by specialists. Before the development of tablets, small reading devices belonging to each person were hardly imagined. None of these now strange conjectures on the future should be ridiculed. Even those researchers and scientists who are trying to create new breakthroughs in technology often have no idea of what their work will produce. The personal computer was initially divided into office models and home models, which were supposed to have different graphics, power, and performance specifics. In reality, people desired the office model in their home. Such adoptions happen all the time in the world of technology, with such disparate examples as the personal computer and the Model-T automobile both changing future technology by becoming the most popular forms in the marketplace.

"The theories put forward" referred to in the passage are __________.

Possible Answers:

the predictions of the future

a possible sudden change

some small developments in the technology already in use

humorous in retrospect

technological revolutions

Correct answer:

the predictions of the future

Explanation:

The "theories put forward" describe what could be a possible technological revolution. The specific revolution, however, are not described by the phrase. The "theories put forward" are actually the "predictions of the future" mentioned at the beginning of the sentence.

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