GRE VERBAL DIAGNOSTIC TEST

TIME - 35 MINUTES
25 QUESTIONS

For each of Questions 1 to 4, select one answer choice, 3. In the context in which it appears, ‘Traversed’ (line 17)
unless otherwise instructed. most nearly means :
Questions 1 to 3 are based on the following reading passage. (A) disengage
(B) march over
The Pan-American land bridge, or isthmus, connecting
(C) usurp
North and South America was formed volcanically long
after dinosaurs became extinct. The isthmus cleaved (D) deviate
Line populations of marine organisms, creating sister species. (E) rail
(5) These twin species, called “geminates,” then evolved 3. A
independently. Scientists observe, for example, that
Pacific pistol shrimp no longer mate with those from the Question 4 is based on the following reading passage.
Atlantic Ocean. Yet the two oceans had already begun to Hunter: Many people blame hunters alone for the
form their distinctive personalities long before the decline in Greenrock National Forest’s deer population over
(10) isthmus was fully formed. As the seabed rose, Pacific the past ten years. Yet clearly, black bears have also played
waters grew cooler, their up-swelling currents carrying an important role in this decline. In the past ten years, the
rich nutrients, while the Atlantic side grew shallower, forest’s protected black bear population has risen sharply,
warmer, and nutrient poor. In fact, it was these new and examination of black bears found dead in the forest during
conditions, and not so much the fully-formed isthmus, the deer hunting season showed that a number of them had
(15) that spawned changes in the shrimp population. recently fed on deer.
For terrestrial life, the impact of the isthmus was more
immediate. Animals traversed the newly formed bridge in
4. In the hunter’s argument, the portion in boldface plays
which of the following roles?
both directions, although North American creatures
proved better colonizers—more than half of South (A) It is the main conclusion of the argument.
(20) America’s mammals trace direct lineage to this so-called (B) It is a finding that the argument seeks to explain.
Great American Biotic Exchange. Only three animals—
(C) It is an explanation that the argument concludes
the armadillo, opossum, and hedgehog—survive as
is correct.
transplants in the north today.
(D) It provides evidence in support of the main
Consider each choice separately and select all that apply. conclusion of the argument.
1. Which of the following statements finds support in (E) It introduces a judgment that the argument
the passage? opposes.
(A) The divergence in ocean temperature during the Ans : E
formation of the Pan-American isthmus resulted
For Questions 5 to 8, select one entry for each blank from
in a divergence in the ocean’s nutrient value.
the corresponding column of choices. Fill all blanks in the
(B) Genetic differences among pistol shrimp have way that best completes the text
grown to the point that there are now at least
two distinct species of these shrimp. 5. Although his attempts to appear psychotic were so
(i)________ as to be almost (ii)________, there is
(C) The part of ocean which is now the Pacific grew evidence that Ezra Pound was able to avoid standing
deeper due to the geologic forces that created trial for treason merely by faking symptoms of mental
the Pan-American isthmus. illness.
1. A, B, C
Blank i Blank ii
2. Select the sentence in the passage, in which, the author
(A) spontaneous (D) distressing
gives an illustration showing that some species of
marine organism inhabiting the Pacific Ocean are now (B) stylized (E) ludicrous
distinct from those in the Atlantic ocean (C) clumsy (F) believable
2. Sentence 4 (Scientists observe, ...)
Ans : C, E
6. An institution concerned about its reputation is at the (15) we must also admit that it is not unreasonable to
mercy of the actions of its members, because the investigate the relative merits of different languages or of
misdeeds of individuals are often used to ________ different details in languages.
the institutions of which they are a part.
(A) reform 9. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(B) coerce (A) analyze an interesting feature of the English
(C) honor language
(D) discredit (B) refute a belief held by some linguists
(E) intimidate (C) show that economic theory is relevant to
6. D linguistic study
(D) illustrate the confusion that can result from the
7. The (i)__________ questions that consistently
improper use of language
structure the study of history must be distinguished
from merely (ii)________ questions, which have their (E) suggest a way in which languages can be made
day and then pass into oblivion. more nearly perfect
Blank i Blank ii 9. B

(A) perennial (D) practical Consider each choice separately and select all that apply.

(B) instinctive (E) random 10. The misunderstanding presented by the author is
similar to which of the following?
(C) philosophical (F) ephemeral
(A) X uses the word “you” to refer to a group, but Y
Ans : A, F thinks that X is referring to one person only.
8. Imposing steep fines on employers for on-the-job (B) X mistakenly uses the word “anomaly” to refer
injuries to workers could be an effective ________ to to a typical example, but Y knows that “anomaly”
creating a safer workplace, especially in the case of means “exception.”
employers with poor safety records. (C) X uses the word “bachelor” to mean “unmarried
(A) antidote man,” but Y mistakenly thinks that bachelor
(B) alternative means “unmarried woman.”

(C) addition 10. A

(D) deterrent 11. Which of the following contributes to the

misunderstanding described by the author?
(E) incentive
(A) It is unclear whom the speaker of the sentence is
8. E
addressing.
For each of Questions 9 to 13, select one answer choice, (B) It is unclear to whom the word ‘his’ refers the
unless otherwise instructed. first time it is used.
Questions 9 to 12 are based on the following reading passage. (C) It is unclear to whom the word ‘his’ refers the
The common belief of some linguists that each second time it is used.
language is a perfect vehicle for the thoughts of the nation (D) The meaning of ‘took’ is ambiguous.
speaking it is in some ways the exact counterpart of the (E) It is unclear to whom ‘he’ refers.
Line conviction of the Manchester school of economics that
11. B
(5) supply and demand will regulate everything for the best.
Just as economists were blind to the numerous cases in Consider each choice separately and select all that apply.
which the law of supply and demand left actual wants
12. In presenting the argument, the author does which of
unsatisfied, so also many linguists are deaf to those
the following :
instances in which the very nature of a language calls
(10) forth misunderstandings in everyday conversation, and in (A) give an example
which, consequently, a word has to be modified or (B) make a generalization
defined in order to present the idea intended by the (C) present a paradox
speaker: “He took his stick—no, not John’s, but his
12. A, B
own.” No language is perfect, and if we admit this truth,
 Question 13 is based on the following reading passage. 16. Yellow fever, the disease that killed 4,000 Philadelphians
in 1793, and so (i)________ Memphis, Tennessee, that
Some batches of polio vaccine used around 1960 were the city lost its charter, has reappeared after nearly two
contaminated with SV40, a virus that in monkeys causes decades in (ii)________ in the Western Hemisphere.
various cancers. Some researchers now claim that this
contamination caused some cases of a certain cancer in Blank i Blank ii
humans, mesothelioma. This claim is not undercut by the fact (A) terrorized (D) quarantine
that a very careful survey made in the 1960s of people who
had received the contaminated vaccine found no elevated (B) disabled (E) secret
incidence of any cancer, since _________. (C) decimated (F) abeyance

13. Which of the following most logically completes the Ans : C, F

passage? 17. Residents of the (i)____________ island fear that
(A) most cases of mesothelioma are caused by (ii)____________ commercial development will
exposure to asbestos (iii)____________ their quiet way of life.
(B) in some countries, there was no contamination
of the vaccine Blank (i) Blank (ii) Blank (iii)
(C) SV40 is widely used in laboratories to produce (A) gargantuan (D) waning (G) disturb
cancers in animals
(B) secluded (E) diminishing (H) reform
(D) mesotheliomas take several decades to develop
(C) tiny (F) encroaching (I) reinforce
(E) mesothelioma was somewhat less common in 1960
than it is now Ans : (i) B; (ii) F; (iii) G
13. D For each of Questions 18 to 21, select one answer choice,
For Questions 14 to 17, select one entry for each blank unless otherwise instructed.
from the corresponding column of choices. Fill all blanks Questions 18 to 21 are based on the following reading passage.
in the way that best completes the text
14. If animal parents were judged by human standards, Some modern anthropologists hold that biological
the cuckoo would be one of nature’s more ________ evolution has shaped not only human morphology but
creatures, blithely laying its eggs in the nests of other also human behavior. The role those anthropologists
birds, and leaving the incubating and nurturing to them. Line ascribe to evolution is not of dictating the details of
(A) mettlesome (5) human behavior but one of imposing constraints—ways
(B) industrious of feeling, thinking, and acting that “come naturally” in
archetypal situations in any culture. Our “frailties”—
(C) domestic
emotions and motives such as rage, fear, greed, gluttony,
(D) lackluster joy, lust, love—may be a very mixed assortment, but
(E) feckless (10) they share at least one immediate quality: we are, as we
say, “in the grip” of them. And thus they give us our
14. E
sense of constraints.
15. Many Americans believe that individual initiative Unhappily, some of those frailties—our need for ever-
epitomized the 1890’s and see the entrepreneur as the increasing security among them—are presently maladap-
________ of that age. (15) tive. Yet beneath the overlay of cultural detail, they, too,
(A) caricature (B) salvation are said to be biological in direction, and therefore as
(C) throwback (D) aberration natural to us as are our appendixes. We would need to
comprehend thoroughly their adaptive origins in order to
(E) personification
understand how badly they guide us now. And we might
15. E (20) then begin to resist their pressure.

18. The primary purpose of the passage is to present

(A) a position on the foundations of human behavior
and on what those foundations imply.
(B) a theory outlining the parallel development of
human morphology and of human behavior.
 (C) a diagnostic test for separating biologically For Questions 22 to 25, select the two answer choices
determined behavior patterns from culture- that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning
specific detail. of the sentence as a whole and produce completed
(D) a practical method for resisting the pressures of sentence that are alike in meaning.
biologically determined drives. 22. With its maverick approach to the subject, Shere Hite’s
(E) an overview of those human emotions and book has been more widely debated than most; the
motives that impose constraints on human media throughout the country have brought the
behavior. author’s ________ opinions to the public’s attention.
18. A (A) controversial
Consider each choice separately and select all that apply. (B) authoritative
19. Which of the following most probably provides an (C) cogent
appropriate analogy from human morphology for the (D) conclusive
“details” versus “constraints” distinction made in the
(E) articulate
passage in relation to human behavior?
(F) unconventional
(A) The ability of some people to dive to great depths
as against most people’s inability to swim long 22. A, F
distances. 23. The notion that a parasite can alter the behavior of a
(B) The psychological profile of those people who host organism is not mere fiction; indeed, the
are able to delay gratification as against people’s phenomenon is not even ________.
inability to control their lives completely. (A) observable
(C) The greater lung capacity of mountain peoples (B) real
that helps them live in oxygen-poor air as against (C) conspicuous
people’s inability to fly without special apparatus.
(D) rare
19. C
(E) imaginable
20. Select the sentence in the passage, in which,
(F) infrequent
anthropologists impute the role of evolution in shaping
human morphology and human behavior. 23. D, F
20. Sentence 1 (The role ....) 24. Congress is having great difficulty developing a
consensus on energy policy, primarily because the
Consider each choice separately and select all that apply. policy objectives of various members of Congress rest
on such ________ assumptions.
21. It can be inferred that in his discussion of maladaptive
frailties the author assumes that (A) commonplace

(A) maladaptive characteristics, once fixed, make the (B) conflicting

emergence of other maladaptive characteristics (C) explicit
more likely. (D) divergent
(B) the designation of a characteristic as being (E) fundamental
maladaptive must always remain highly tentative.
(F) banal
(C) changes in the total human environment can
24. B, D
outpace evolutionary change.
21. C 25. Compared mathematically to smoking and driving,
almost everything else seems relatively risk-free,
________ almost nothing seems worth regulating.
(A) yet
(B) since
(C) so
(D) even though
(E) therefore
(F) because
25. C, E