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Verbal Tips for GRE; Reading Comprehension part – 1

Verbal Tips for GRE; Reading Comprehension part – 1

Verbal Tips for GRE; Sentence Completion Part – 1

 

Today we are going to discuss about some reading comprehension related issues. Here we are about to discuss about several forms of reading comprehension related topics and analyze how exactly to work out the solutions for them. These are also taken form the 5ib. Here they are –

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTION – 01

during economic depression, it is common for food prices to increase even as income decrease. Surprisingly, however, researchers determined that during a depression, for every 5 percent increase in the cost of bread, the lowest socioeconomic class actually increases the amount of bread purchased per capita by 3 percent.

Question: Which of the following hypothesis best accounts for the researchers’ findings?

  • a) Not all food items increase during a depression; some food items actually become less expensive.
  • b) Because bread consumption does not increase by the same percentage as the cost does, people are likely consuming more of other food items to compensate.
  • c) When income decrease, people are typically forced to spend a larger proportion of their income on basic needs such as food and housing.
  • d) People who suddenly cannot afford more expensive foods, such as meat, must compensate by consuming more expensive foods, such as grains.
  • e) During depression, people in the lowest socioeconomic class will continue to spend the same amount of money on food as they did before the depression.

Answer and explanations: (d) People who suddenly cannot afford more expensive foods, such as meat, must compensate by consuming more expensive foods, such as grains.

Here in all these five option, (c) being somehow tempting, only (d) makes any kind of sense, as it actually expresses that  at depression, the people in lowest socioeconomic condition would have to choose food alternatives which will compensate for the more pricier items like meat and others. Therefore to meet a minimum food requirement for a day or a time, bread would have to do. The rest options are not feasible in the context.

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTION – 02

Bedbug infestations have been a problem in major cities for years. The pesticides DDT has been found to be useful in killing bedbugs. However, DDT was banned in the USA and has been replaced by weaker pesticides. Thus there is no effective means for eradicating bedbugs in USA.

Question: Which of the following, if true, most weakens the conclusion?

  • a) Bedbugs resemble other small insects in their appearances and behavior.
  • b) Bedbugs have largely been eradicated in other parts of the world.
  • c) Some treatments that do not include DDT have proven effective against bedbugs in other parts of the world.
  • d) Bedbugs are resistant to the types of pesticides used to treat cockroach and ant infestations.
  • e) The number of bedbug infestations has risen significantly in the 21st century.

Answer and explanations:  (c) Some treatments that do not include DDT have proven effective against bedbugs in other parts of the world.

Here, to explain the answer, we have to take a look at the question first. The question is asked on the basis of weakening the whole statement. Here from the options the first one says the similarity between bedbug and other insects, which is completely irrelevant to our statement. The second one is also not relevant in that sense. Fourth one actually refers to the resistance of bedbugs and the fifth one actually kind of supports the statement, instead of weakening it. Only third one refers that there are other alternatives of DDT around the world with proven effect. So, the answer if (c).

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTION – 03

In keeping with the notable incorporation of operatic elements into the rock music lexicon, the genre in the 70’s experienced a significant shift in emphasis from recording and toward music performance itself. Several factors effected this change. First, the extended length and the moralizing subject matter of songs of the era rendered them less appropriate for radio play and more suitable public presentation. Additionally the advent of the concept album, in which multiple tricks revolved around a single unifying narrative or theme, furnished a basis upon which similarly calibrated performances could be enacted. Finally as PA system technology improved, it became possible to hold concerts with 100000 people or more, which encouraged artists to craft concerts that diverged from the merely musical towards the experiential. Bands began conceiving of their performances as shows, more akin to musical theater guided by plot and setting than to the traditional concert guided by omnipresent set-list. Instead of simply playing one song after another, therefore, bands developed full performance medleys revolving around specific motifs, and punctuated by bombastic light shows, costume changes and other massive stunts. For example, the popular British band Pink Floyed famously built a barrier in the middle of stage during one performance then had it dramatically knocked down mid-show as a promotion for their new album The Wall.

Question 01: The passage cites all of the following as reasons for the inclusion of operatic elements into the rock music genre in the 1970’s EXCEPT:

  • a) Changes in the concert equipment changed the way shows could be delivered
  • b) Pink Floyd’s dramatic staging served to promote an influential album
  • c) Shifts in the content of the music contributed to the song having a more “story-telling” quality
  • d) One medium through which rock songs had typically been delivered to the public became less conductive to the genre
  • e) Artists altered their preference to reflect their changes in the modern concert ambiance

Answer and explanations: (b) Pink Floyd’s dramatic staging served to promote an influential album

All the options above have been somehow expressed in the passage, except for one, (b). There is a line or a sentence exemplifying the dramatic appearance of Pink Floyd in the passage, however, it does not actually says anywhere that because of the dramatic concert appearance, the inclusion of operatic elements occurred.

Question 02: In the context of the passage, the word effected (second sentence) most nearly means:

  • a) Influenced
  • b) Moved forward
  • c) Transformed
  • d) determined
  • e) brought about

Answer and explanations:  (e) brought about

Here among the options, the way option (c) fits with the context, no other does like this.

That’s it or today. In my next article, I am going to discuss another reading comprehension package form the 5lb. Till then, happy reading!!!

 

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