Detail and Specific Information
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GRE Verbal › Detail and Specific Information
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A marine biology article reported on a tagging study of juvenile loggerhead turtles conducted off the coast of South Carolina. Researchers captured 64 turtles between July 10 and August 2, 2019, and attached satellite tags programmed to transmit location data every 6 hours. The article stated that 52 of the 64 tags transmitted for at least 30 days, while 19 transmitted for at least 90 days. The researchers defined “nearshore” as waters within 20 kilometers of the coastline and reported that, during the first 14 days after release, 41 turtles remained nearshore for at least 80% of their recorded locations. The article also noted that sea-surface temperature during the capture period ranged from 27.1°C to 29.4°C. It did not report turtle mass or carapace length.
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
The study reported turtle mass and carapace length for each individual.
The researchers defined “nearshore” as within 50 kilometers of the coastline.
The tags were programmed to transmit location data every 6 hours.
Sea-surface temperature during the capture period was constant at 28.0°C.
All 64 tags transmitted for at least 90 days.
Explanation
This question tests detail comprehension by asking which statement is true according to the passage. Correct answers in such questions restate explicit information from the text without adding inferences or external knowledge. The relevant detail is in the second sentence, which describes the satellite tags. This sentence states that the tags were programmed to transmit location data every 6 hours. Choice A matches this text by restating the transmission frequency. A representative distractor, like choice C, fails because it claims the study reported turtle mass and carapace length, but the passage explicitly notes that it did not report these measurements. This distractor contradicts a direct statement.
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A research team studying bilingual education examined 240 middle-school students in three districts. District A used a “90–10” immersion model: in sixth grade, 90% of instruction time was in Spanish and 10% in English. District B used a “50–50” model, splitting instruction time equally between Spanish and English. District C offered traditional English-only instruction but provided an elective Spanish class that met three times per week for 45 minutes. The team administered the same standardized reading test in English at the end of seventh grade. Mean scores were 78 in District A, 81 in District B, and 79 in District C (on a 100-point scale). The report explicitly stated that the test was not translated and that no Spanish reading assessment was administered. The team also noted that District B had the highest proportion of certified bilingual teachers (84%), while District A had 71% and District C had 12%. The authors cautioned that the districts differed in median household income, but they did not provide income figures.
Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?
District C required all students to take a Spanish reading assessment at the end of seventh grade.
The report provided specific median household income figures for each district.
The authors concluded that the 90–10 model causes higher English reading scores than the 50–50 model.
District B had the highest proportion of certified bilingual teachers, at 84%.
District A’s English reading mean score was 81 on the end-of-seventh-grade test.
Explanation
This question tests detail comprehension by asking which statement is mentioned in the passage. Correct answers in such questions restate explicit information from the text without adding inferences or external knowledge. The relevant detail is found in the seventh sentence, which discusses the proportion of certified bilingual teachers in each district. This sentence states that District B had the highest proportion at 84%, while District A had 71% and District C had 12%. Choice C matches this text precisely by identifying District B's 84% figure. A representative distractor, like choice E, fails because it attributes a causal conclusion to the authors that is not stated; the passage reports scores but does not conclude that one model causes higher scores. The authors only cautioned about confounding factors like income differences.
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A corporate sustainability report described a company’s shift in electricity sourcing at its main manufacturing plant. In 2020, the plant used 48 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, of which 12 GWh came from on-site solar panels and the remainder from the regional grid. In 2021, total electricity use rose to 52 GWh, while on-site solar generation increased to 18 GWh. The report stated that the company also purchased renewable energy certificates (RECs) covering 20 GWh in 2021 but did not purchase any RECs in 2020. The report explicitly noted that it did not calculate Scope 3 emissions. It also stated that the plant’s natural gas consumption decreased from 1.6 million therms in 2020 to 1.3 million therms in 2021.
The passage states that…
Total electricity use declined from 52 GWh in 2020 to 48 GWh in 2021.
The report calculated Scope 3 emissions for both 2020 and 2021.
Natural gas consumption increased to 1.6 million therms in 2021.
The company purchased RECs covering 20 GWh in 2020.
On-site solar generation was 18 GWh in 2021.
Explanation
This question tests detail comprehension by asking what the passage states. Correct answers in such questions restate explicit information from the text without adding inferences or external knowledge. The relevant detail is in the third sentence, which discusses 2021 electricity use and sourcing. This sentence states that on-site solar generation increased to 18 GWh in 2021. Choice A matches this text by restating the year and the 18 GWh figure for solar generation. A representative distractor, such as choice C, fails because it reverses the electricity use trend; the passage reports an increase from 48 GWh in 2020 to 52 GWh in 2021. This distractor inverts the stated numbers.
An economics article examines the introduction of a congestion charge in the city of Mariton. The charge began on January 1, 2016, and applied on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. within a defined central zone. The article states that the fee was $8 per entry in 2016 and was increased to $10 per entry on January 1, 2018. Exemptions were explicitly listed: buses, emergency vehicles, and bicycles were exempt, while taxis were not exempt. The article’s dataset covers traffic counts from 2014 through 2019 and includes both zone-entry counts and average travel speed on three arterial roads. As a detail not treated as a main conclusion, the authors note that the city installed 42 automatic license-plate recognition cameras to enforce the charge.
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
The dataset covers traffic counts from 2016 through 2019 only.
The congestion charge applied on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The fee was increased to $10 per entry on January 1, 2017.
Because 42 cameras were installed, enforcement relied primarily on manual ticketing by police officers.
Taxis were explicitly exempt from the congestion charge.
Explanation
This question tests detail comprehension by requiring identification of facts explicitly stated in the economics article. Correct answers must match the precise wording and facts presented in the passage. The passage clearly states "The charge began on January 1, 2016, and applied on weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.," which directly corresponds to choice A. This operational detail is presented as a factual description of the congestion charge implementation. Choice B is incorrect because the passage explicitly states "taxis were not exempt" from the charge. Choice C incorrectly states the fee increase occurred in 2017, when the passage clearly indicates it happened on January 1, 2018.
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A geology article reports radiometric dating of volcanic ash layers to refine the chronology of a sedimentary basin. The researchers sampled three distinct ash beds labeled A1, A2, and A3 from measured stratigraphic sections. Zircon crystals were extracted and dated using U-Pb isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS). The passage states that A1 yielded an age of 12.84 ± 0.03 million years, A2 yielded 12.61 ± 0.04 million years, and A3 yielded 12.49 ± 0.05 million years; all uncertainties are reported at the 2σ level. The authors also specify that the ash beds were separated by mudstone intervals and that sample preparation included chemical abrasion to reduce the effects of lead loss. In discussing field methods, the passage notes that GPS coordinates were recorded for each sampling location using a handheld receiver with stated accuracy of ±3 meters.
The passage states that…
The zircons were dated using the K-Ar method.
GPS accuracy was ±30 meters.
Uncertainties on the ash-bed ages are reported at the 1σ level.
A2 yielded an age of 12.61 ± 0.04 million years.
The ash beds were separated by sandstone intervals.
Explanation
This question requires identifying a detail that appears explicitly in the passage text. The correct answer must be information stated directly rather than implied or requiring calculation. The passage explicitly states that "A2 yielded 12.61 ± 0.04 million years," making option B the correct answer. This radiometric age determination is presented as a specific factual result from the dating analysis. Option A is incorrect because the passage states that "all uncertainties are reported at the 2σ level," not at the 1σ level as the option claims.
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A linguist analyzing changes in coastal dialects compiled a corpus of recorded interviews from the town of Greyhaven. The corpus consisted of 96 interviews: 48 recorded in 1975 and 48 recorded in 2015. Each interview lasted exactly 30 minutes, and all speakers were lifelong residents of Greyhaven. The linguist focused on the pronunciation of the vowel in words like “boat” and coded each instance as either a “raised” or “non-raised” variant. In the 1975 recordings, 31% of coded instances were raised; in the 2015 recordings, 54% were raised. The study explicitly noted that the 2015 speakers had a higher average level of formal education than the 1975 speakers, but it did not provide the education averages. The linguist also stated that the interviews were conducted by different fieldworkers in the two years.
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
Each interview lasted 45 minutes.
In the 2015 recordings, 54% of coded instances were classified as raised.
The same fieldworker conducted the interviews in both 1975 and 2015.
The study reported exact average education levels for both speaker groups.
All interviews in the corpus were recorded in 2015.
Explanation
This question tests detail comprehension by asking which statement is true according to the passage. Correct answers in such questions restate explicit information from the text without adding inferences or external knowledge. The relevant detail is in the sixth sentence, which provides the percentages of raised vowel variants in the recordings. This sentence states that in the 2015 recordings, 54% of coded instances were raised. Choice B matches this text exactly by restating the year and the 54% figure for raised instances. A representative distractor, like choice D, fails because it introduces a specific interview length of 45 minutes, whereas the passage explicitly states each lasted exactly 30 minutes. This distractor alters a stated detail to create confusion.
A climatology note describes the instrumentation at the Alpine Ridge weather station. The note states that the station is located at an elevation of 2,480 meters and began continuous operation on October 1, 1998. The station measures air temperature at 2 meters above ground and wind speed at 10 meters above ground. Precipitation is recorded with a tipping-bucket gauge that has a resolution of 0.2 millimeters per tip. The note also specifies that data are logged at 10-minute intervals and transmitted via satellite once per day at 02:00 local time. As a maintenance detail, the note reports that the temperature sensor is calibrated twice per year: in April and in October.
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
Because the station is at 2,480 meters, it records only snowfall rather than rainfall.
Wind speed is measured at 2 meters above ground.
Data are logged at 1-minute intervals and transmitted hourly.
The station began continuous operation on October 1, 2008.
Precipitation is recorded with a tipping-bucket gauge with a resolution of 0.2 millimeters per tip.
Explanation
This question tests detail-specific information by asking which statement accurately reflects the instrumentation specifications. Correct answers restate explicit technical details from the climatology note without inference. The passage states "Precipitation is recorded with a tipping-bucket gauge that has a resolution of 0.2 millimeters per tip," which exactly matches choice A. This technical specification appears in the middle of the passage describing the station's measurement capabilities. Choice B is incorrect because the passage states wind speed is measured at 10 meters, not 2 meters above ground. Choice C incorrectly states 1-minute intervals when the passage specifies 10-minute intervals for data logging.
Read the passage and answer the question.
A linguistics dissertation reports an eye-tracking study on sentence processing conducted with 72 native speakers of German. Participants read 48 experimental sentences and 96 filler sentences presented in a randomized order. The passage states that each sentence was displayed in a single line of black 14-point font on a gray background, and that participants were seated 60 centimeters from the monitor. Eye movements were recorded at 1000 Hz using a desktop-mounted tracker, and calibration was repeated whenever average error exceeded 0.5 degrees of visual angle. The dissertation also notes that comprehension questions followed exactly one-third of the trials and that participants responded using a two-button response box. For analysis, the author excluded fixations shorter than 80 milliseconds and removed trials in which track loss occurred for more than 25% of the sentence. Finally, the passage specifies that the study was approved by the university’s ethics committee in March 2022.
Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?
Participants were native speakers of Dutch.
The study found that comprehension questions increased first-pass reading time by 12%.
Calibration was repeated after every trial regardless of error.
Eye movements were recorded at 1000 Hz.
Participants read 96 experimental sentences and 48 filler sentences.
Explanation
This question tests the ability to identify specific details mentioned in the passage. The correct answer must be information explicitly stated in the text without requiring inference. The passage explicitly states that "Eye movements were recorded at 1000 Hz using a desktop-mounted tracker," making option B the correct answer. This technical specification about the recording frequency is presented as a factual detail of the experimental methodology. Option C is incorrect because the passage states calibration was repeated "whenever average error exceeded 0.5 degrees," not after every trial regardless of error.
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A political science article analyzes archival records from a 1974 parliamentary committee in order to track how amendments were negotiated. The author examined 312 pages of meeting minutes stored in a national archive and cross-referenced them with 46 newspaper articles published during the same month. The passage specifies that the committee met on five dates—March 4, March 7, March 11, March 18, and March 25—and that the March 11 session lasted 6 hours, longer than any other session. The author notes that only two members spoke in every meeting and that the chair formally called for a vote on three amendments, all of which passed. In describing limitations, the passage states that audio recordings were not available and that the minutes occasionally omitted the names of speakers when multiple people interrupted each other.
Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?
The March 11 session lasted 6 hours.
The chair spoke in every meeting.
Audio recordings were used to verify the accuracy of the minutes.
The committee met on six dates in March 1974.
All three amendments failed despite being put to a vote.
Explanation
This question requires identifying a detail that is explicitly mentioned in the passage. The correct answer must reflect information stated directly in the text rather than requiring inference. The passage explicitly states that "the March 11 session lasted 6 hours, longer than any other session," making option B the correct answer. This specific detail about the duration of one particular committee meeting is presented as a factual statement. Option C is incorrect because the passage states that "the chair formally called for a vote on three amendments, all of which passed," contradicting the claim that all three amendments failed.
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A museum conservation report describes a controlled experiment on paper yellowing conducted in 2021 at a university archive. The researchers used 60 sheets of rag paper manufactured in 1998 and cut each sheet into two equal halves, yielding 120 samples. Exactly 40 samples were stored in darkness at 20°C and 45% relative humidity, 40 samples were exposed to 200 lux of LED lighting for 8 hours per day at the same temperature and humidity, and 40 samples were exposed to 200 lux for 8 hours per day but at 30°C and 60% relative humidity. Yellowing was quantified with a spectrophotometer using the CIE $b^*$ coordinate, and measurements were taken at day 0, day 30, and day 90. The passage states that the LED lighting had a correlated color temperature of 4000 K and that the spectrophotometer was calibrated before each measurement session using a white tile standard. In addition, the report notes that no optical brightening agents were detected in the paper, based on ultraviolet fluorescence screening performed prior to the experiment.
Which of the following is mentioned in the passage?
The paper was manufactured in 2008.
The researchers used 60 samples in total.
Measurements were taken weekly from day 0 to day 90.
The archive replaced fluorescent bulbs with LEDs specifically to reduce yellowing.
The LED lighting had a correlated color temperature of 4000 K.
Explanation
This question requires identifying a detail that is explicitly mentioned in the passage. The correct answer must be information stated directly in the text rather than implied or inferred. The passage explicitly states that "the LED lighting had a correlated color temperature of 4000 K," making option A the correct answer. This technical specification about the lighting conditions is presented as a factual detail of the experimental setup. Option B is incorrect because while the passage mentions 60 sheets were used, each was cut in half to yield 120 samples total, not 60 samples as the option claims.