Barron's GRE, 18th Edition (2009)

Part 1. INTRODUCTION/DIAGNOSTIC TEST

Chapter 3. A Diagnostic Test

This chapter contains a full-length diagnostic test. The format of the test is identical to the computer-based GRE that you will take, in that it has exactly the same number of verbal and quantitative questions that an actual test has. Within each section, there is also exactly the same breakdown of question types. For example, on the verbal section there are the same number of analogies and antonyms as on a real test; in the quantitative section there are four data interpretation questions and 14 quantitative comparisons. Directions will appear only the first time a given type of question is introduced in each test; after that, only the type of question will appear. What is different, of course, is that this test is not computer adaptive. If you purchased the version of this book that contains a CD-ROM, then later in your preparation, to get a feel for what it is like to take a computerized GRE, do a model test on the CD-ROM.

After taking the test, score your answers and evaluate your results, using the self-rating guides provided. (Be sure also to read the answer explanations for questions you answered incorrectly and questions you answered correctly but found difficult.)

You should now be in a position to approach your review program realistically and allot your time for study. For example, you should know which topics in mathematics require review and drill. You should also know which of your verbal and analytical skills require concentrated study.

SIMULATE TEST CONDITIONS

To best simulate actual test conditions, find a quiet place to work. Have a stop watch or a clock handy so that you can keep perfect track of the time. Go through each section by answering the questions in the order in which they appear. If you don’t know the answer to a question, guess (making an educated guess, if possible) and move on. Do not return to a question that you were unsure of, and do not go back to check your work if you have some time left over at the end of a section. (It isn’t possible to do that on a real GRE.) Knowing how much time you have for each section and how many questions there are, try to pace yourself so that you use all your time and just finish each section in the time allowed. Do not spend too much time on any one question. Again, if you get stuck, just guess and go on to the next question.

Answer Sheet

DIAGNOSTIC TEST

Section 1

Section 2

Section 1 Verbal Ability

TIME: 30 MINUTES—30 QUESTIONS

Directions: In each of the following antonym questions, a word printed in capital letters precedes five lettered words or phrases. From these five lettered words or phrases, pick the one most nearly opposite in meaning to the capitalized word.

1. PRODIGAL:
(A) nomad
(B) sycophant
(C) gifted child
(D) economical person
(E) antagonist

2. ARTIFICE:
(A) edifice
(B) sincerityb
(C) prejudiceb
(D) creativity
(E) affirmation

Directions: Each of the following sentence completion questions contains one or two blanks. These blanks signify that a word or set of words has been left out. Below each sentence are five words or sets of words. For each blank, pick the word or set of words that best reflects the sentence’s overall meaning.

3. The earth is a planet bathed in light; it is therefore __________ that many of the living organisms that have evolved on the earth have __________ the biologically advantageous capacity to trap light energy.
(A) branomalous…engendered
(B) unsurprising…developed
(C) predictable…forfeited
(D) problematic…exhibited
(E) expectable…relinquished

4. Relatively few politicians willingly forsake center stage, although a touch of __________ on their parts now and again might well increase their popularity with the voting public.
(A) garrulity
(B) misanthropyb
(C) self-effacement
(D) self-dramatizationb
(E) self-doubt

Directions: Each of the following analogy questions presents a related pair of words linked by a colon. Five lettered pairs of words follow the linked pair. Choose the lettered pair of words whose relationship is most like the relationship expressed in the original linked pair.

5. CIRCUITOUS : ROUTE ::
(A) problematic : solution
(B) devious : argument
(C) elliptical : brevity
(D) judicious : selection
(E) profound : depth

6. HELPFUL : OFFICIOUS ::
(A) dutiful : assiduous
(B) effusive : gushing
(C) gullible : incredulous
(D) enigmatic : dumbfounded
(E) deferential : sycophantic

Directions: Each of the following reading comprehension questions is based on the content of the following passage. Read the passage and then determine the best answer choice for each question. Base your choice on what this passage states directly or implies, not on any information you may have gained elsewhere.

Reading Comprehension

       According to the theory of plate tectonics,
        the lithosphere (earth’s relatively hard and
        solid outer layer consisting of the crust and
Line part of the underlying mantle) is divided
(5)   into a few dozen plates that vary in size and
        shape; in general, these plates move in relation
        to one another. They move away from
        one another at a mid-ocean ridge, a long
        chain of sub-oceanic mountains that forms a
(10) boundary between plates. At a mid-ocean
        ridge, new lithospheric material in the form
        of hot magma pushes up from the earth’s
        interior. The injection of this new lithospheric
        material from below causes the
(15) phenomenon known as sea-floor spreading.

       Given that the earth is not expanding in
        size to any appreciable degree, how can
        “new” lithosphere be created at a mid-ocean
        ridge? For new lithosphere to come
(20) into being in one region, an equal amount of
        lithospheric material must be destroyed
        somewhere else. This destruction takes place
        at a boundary between plates called a
        subduction zone. At a subduction zone,
(25) one plate is pushed down under another into the
        red-hot mantle, where over a span of
        millions of years it is absorbed into the mantle.

7. According to the passage, a mid-ocean ridge differs from a subduction zone in that
(A) it marks the boundary line between neighboring plates
(B) only the former is located on the ocean floor
(C) it is a site for the emergence of new litho-spheric material
(D) the former periodically disrupts the earth’s geomagnetic field
(E) it is involved with lithospheric destruction rather than lithospheric creation

8. It can be inferred from the passage that as new lithospheric material is injected from below
(A) the plates become immobilized in a kind of gridlock
(B) it is incorporated into an underwater mountain ridge
(C) the earth’s total mass is altered
(D) it reverses its magnetic polarity
(E) the immediately adjacent plates sink

Antonyms

9. EQUIVOCATE:
(A) yield
(B) distinguish
(C) condescend
(D) pledge
(E) denounce

10. OPULENCE:
(A) transience
(B) penury
(C) solitude
(D) generosity
(E) transparency

Analogies

11. EPHEMERAL : PERMANENCE ::
(A) erratic : predictability
(B) immaculate : cleanliness
(C) commendable : reputation
(D) spurious : emulation
(E) mandatory : obedience

12. NONPLUSSED : BAFFLEMENT ::
(A) discomfited : embarrassment
(B) parsimonious : extravagance
(C) disgruntled : contentment
(D) despicable : contempt
(E) surly : harassment

13. OGLE : OBSERVE ::
(A) haggle : outbid
(B) clamor : dispute
(C) discern : perceive
(D) flaunt : display
(E) glare : glower

Sentence Completion

14. It may be useful to think of character in fiction as a function of two __________ impulses: the impulse to individualize and the impulse to __________.
(A) analogous…humanize
(B) disparate…aggrandize
(C) divergent…typify
(D) comparable…delineate
(E) related…moralize

15. There are any number of theories to explain these events and, since even the experts disagree, it is __________ the rest of us in our role as responsible scholars to __________ dogmatic statements.
(A) paradoxical for…abstain from
(B) arrogant of…compensate with
(C) incumbent on…refrain from
(D) opportune for…quarrel over
(E) appropriate for…issue forth

Reading Comprehension

       James’s first novels used conventional
        narrative techniques: explicit characterization,
        action which related events in distinctly
Line phased sequences, settings firmly outlined
(5) and specifically described. But this method
        gradually gave way to a subtler,
        more deliberate, more diffuse style of accumulation of
        minutely discriminated details whose total
        significance the reader can grasp only
(10) by constant attention and sensitive inference.
        His later novels play down scenes of abrupt
        and prominent action, and do not so much
        offer a succession of sharp shocks as slow
        piecemeal additions of perception. The curtain
(15) is not suddenly drawn back
        from shrouded things, but is slowly moved away.

       Such a technique is suited to James’s essential
        subject, which is not human action itself
        but the states of mind which produce and
(20) are produced by human actions and interactions.
        James was less interested in what characters
        do, than in the moral and psychological
        antecedents, realizations, and consequences
        which attend their doings. This is why he
(25) more often speaks of “cases” than of actions.
        His stories, therefore, grow more and more
        lengthy while the actions they relate grow
        simpler and less visible; not because they are
        crammed with adventitious and secondary
(30) events, digressive relief, or supernumerary
        characters, as overstuffed novels of action are;
        but because he presents in such exhaustive
        detail every nuance of his situation.
        Commonly the interest of a novel is in the
(35) variety and excitement of visible actions
        building up to a climactic event which will
        settle the outward destinies of characters with
        storybook promise of permanence. A James
        novel, however, possesses its characteristic
(40) interest in carrying the reader through a rich
        analysis of the mental adjustments of characters
        to the realities of their personal situations
        as they are slowly revealed to them through
        exploration and chance discovery.

16. The passage supplies information for answering which of the following questions?

(A) Did James originate the so-called psychological novel?

(B) Is conventional narrative technique strictly chronological in recounting action?

(C) Can novels lacking overtly dramatic incident sustain the reader’s interest?

(D) Were James’s later novels more acceptable to the general public than his earlier ones?

(E) Is James unique in his predilection for exploring psychological nuances of character?

17. According to the passage, James’s later novels differ from his earlier ones in their

(A) preoccupation with specifically described settings

(B) ever-increasing concision and tautness of plot

(C) levels of moral and psychological complexity

(D) development of rising action to a climax

(E) subordination of psychological exploration to dramatic effect

18. The author’s attitude toward the novel of action appears to be one of

(A) pointed indignation

(B) detached neutrality

(C) sharp derision

(D) strong partisanship

(E) mild disapprobation

19. Choose the sentence below in which the author predominantly uses figurative language to clarify James’s technique in his later novels.

(A) But this method gradually gave way to a subtler, more deliberate, more diffuse style of accumulation of minutely discriminated details whose total significance the reader can grasp only by constant attention and sensitive inference.

(B) The curtain is not suddenly drawn back from shrouded things, but is slowly moved away.

(C) Commonly the interest of a novel is in the variety and excitement of visible actions building up to a climactic event which will settle the outward destinies of characters with storybook promise of permanence.

(D) Such a technique is suited to James’s essential subject, which is not human action itself but the states of mind which produce and are produced by human actions and interactions.

(E) James was less interested in what characters do, than in the moral and psychological antecedents, realizations, and consequences which attend their doings.

Antonyms

20. HONE:
(A) broaden
(B) twist
(C) dull
(D) weld
(E) break

21. PHLEGMATIC:
(A) dogmatic
(B) ardent
(C) haphazard
(D) self-assured
(E) abstracted

22. BANALITY:
(A) tentative interpretation
(B) concise summation
(C) accurate delineation
(D) laudatory remark
(E) novel expression

Analogies

23. THIRST : DRIVE ::
(A) inebriety : excess
(B) success : ambition
(C) indifference : passion
(D) taste : gusto
(E) smell : sense

24. SKULDUGGERY : SWINDLER ::
(A) surgery : quack
(B) quandary : craven
(C) chicanery : trickster
(D) forgery : speculator
(E) cutlery : butcher

Sentence Completion

25. According to one optimistic hypothesis, the dense concentration of entrepreneurs and services in the cities would incubate new functions, __________ them, and finally export them to other areas, and so the cities, forever breeding fresh ideas, would __________ themselves repeatedly.
(A) immunize…perpetuate
(B) isolate…revitalize
(C) foster…deplete
(D) spawn…imitate
(E) nurture…renew

26. Man is a __________ animal, and much more so in his mind than in his body: he may like to go alone for a walk, but he hates to stand alone in his __________.
(A) gregarious…opinions
(B) conceited…vanity
(C) singular…uniqueness
(D) solitary…thoughts
(E) nomadic…footsteps

Antonyms

27. ERUDITE:
(A) unhealthy
(B) ignorant
(C) impolite
(D) indifferent
(E) imprecise

28. EFFRONTERY:
(A) obscurity
(B) indolence
(C) separation
(D) diffidence
(E) fluctuation

Reading Comprehension

       The stability that had marked the Iroquois
        Confederacy’s generally pro-British position
        was shattered with the overthrow of James II
Line in 1688, the colonial uprisings that followed
(5) in Massachusetts, New York, and Maryland,
        and the commencement of King William’s
        War against Louis XIV of France. The
        increasing French threat to English hegemony
        in the interior of North America was
(10) signalized by French-led or French-inspired
        attacks on the Iroquois and on outlying
        colonial settlements in New York and New
        England. The high point of the Iroquois
        response was the spectacular raid of August
(15) 5, 1689, in which the Iroquois virtually
        wiped out the French village of Lachine, just
        outside Montreal. A counterraid by the
        French on the English village of Schenectady
        in March, 1690, instilled an appropriate
(20) measure of fear among the English and their
        Iroquois allies.

       The Iroquois position at the end of the
        war, which was formalized by treaties made
        during the summer of 1701 with the British
(25) and the French, and which was maintained
        throughout most of the eighteenth century,
        was one of “aggressive neutrality” between
        the two competing European powers. Under
        the new system the Iroquois initiated a peace
(30) policy toward the “far Indians,” tightened
        their control over the nearby tribes, and
        induced both English and French to support
        their neutrality toward the European powers
        by appropriate gifts and concessions.

29. The author’s primary purpose in this passage is to

(A) denounce the imperialistic policies of the French

(B) disprove the charges of barbarism made against the Indian nations

(C) expose the French government’s exploitation of the Iroquois balance of power

(D) describe and assess the effect of European military power on the policy of an Indian nation

(E) show the inability of the Iroquois to engage in European-style diplomacy

30. With which of the following statements would the author be LEAST likely to agree?

(A) The Iroquois were able to respond effectively to French acts of aggression.

(B) James II’s removal from the throne preceded the outbreak of dissension among the colonies.

(C) The French sought to undermine the generally positive relations between the Iroquois and the British.

(D) Iroquois negotiations involved playing one side against the other.

(E) The Iroquois ceased to receive trade concessions from the European powers early in the eighteenth century.

Section 2 Quantitative Ability

TIME: 45 MINUTES—28 QUESTIONS

Directions: In the following type of question, two quantities appear, one in Column A and one in Column B. You must compare them. The correct answer to the question is

A if the quantity in Column A is greater

B if the quantity in Column B is greater

C if the two quantities are equal

D it is impossible to determine which quantity is greater

Notes: Sometimes information about one or both of the quantities is centered above the two columns. If the same symbol appears in both columns, it represents the same thing each time.

Directions: In the following questions, choose the best answer from the five choices listed.

5. In the figure below, what is the value of a + b + c?

(A) 210

(B) 220

(C) 240

(D) 270

(E) 280

6. Of the 200 seniors at Monroe High School, exactly 40 are in the band, 60 are in the orchestra, and 10 are in both. How many students are in neither the band nor the orchestra?
(A) 80
(B) 90
(C) 100
(D) 110
(E) 120

7. Twenty children were sharing equally the cost of a present for their teacher. When 4 of the children decided not to contribute, each of the other children had to pay $1.50 more. How much did the present cost, in dollars?
(A) 50    (B) 80    (C) 100    (D) 120    (E) 150

 

Column A

Column B

8.

1020

2010

There are 250 people lined up outside a theater. Jack is the 25th person from the front, and Jill is the 125th person from the front.

9. 

10. What is the value of n if 410 × 642 = 162 × 4n?
(A) 6    (B) 10    (C) 12    (D) 15    (E) 30

 

Column A

Column B

90<x<180

11. 

12. 

13. 

Questions 14–15 refer to the following graphs.

1993
Total Exports to Eastern Europe = $98 Billion

1996
Total Exports to Eastern Europe = $174 Billion

14. Which of the following statements concerning the value of exports to Eastern Europe from other Eastern European countries from 1993 to 1996 is the most accurate?
(A) They increased by 2%.
(B) They increased by 12%.
(C) They increased by 20%.
(D) They increased by 50%.
(E) They increased by 100%.

15. France is one of the countries in the European Union. If in 1996 France’s exports to Eastern Europe were four times those of the United States, then what percent of the European Union’s exports to Eastern Europe came from France that year?
(A) 5% 
(B) 8% 
(C) 12.5% 
(D) 20% 
(E) 25%

 

Column A               

Column B

16. 

In the figure above, all of the line segments meet to form right angles.

17. 

18. Given that x ≠ y and that (x − y)2 = (x + y)2, which of the following must be true?
          I. x + y = x − y
         II. y = 0
        III. xy = 0

(A) None
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and III
(E) I, II, and III

19. Let the lengths of the sides of a triangle be represented by x + 3, 2x − 3, and 3x − 5. If the perimeter of the triangle is 25, what is the length of the shortest side?
(A) 5    (B) 6    (C) 7    (D) 8    (E) 10

Questions 20–21 refer to the graph below.

20. In which presidential election between 1972 to 1996 inclusive, was the percent of votes received by the winning candidate the lowest?
(A) 1976
(B) 1980
(C) 1988
(D) 1992
(E) 1996

21. In which year between 1972 and 1996 inclusive were the greatest number of votes cast for president?
(A) 1980
(B) 1984
(C) 1988
(D) 1992
(E) 1996

22. In 1990, twice as many boys as girls at Adams High School earned varsity letters. From 1990 to 2000 the number of girls earning varsity letters increased by 25% while the number of boys earning varsity letters decreased by 25%. What was the ratio in 2000 of the number of girls to the number of boys who earned varsity letters?

 

Column A

Column B

OP, and Q, which are the centers of the
three circles, all lie on diameter AB.

23. 

In 1980, Elaine was 8 times as old as Adam, and Judy was 3 times as old as Adam. Elaine is 20 years older than Judy.

24. 

The three circles have the same center. The radii of the circles are 3, 4, and 5.

25. 

26. A square and an equilateral triangle each have sides of length 5. What is the ratio of the area of the square to the area of the triangle?

27. If x + 2y = a and x − 2y = b, which of the following expressions is equal to xy?

28. In the figure above, the area of square ABCD is 100, the area of triangle DEC is 10, and EC = ED. What is the distance from A to E?

Section 3 Analytical Writing

TIME: 75 MINUTES—2 WRITING TASKS

 Task 1: Issue Exploration

 45 MINUTES

Directions: In 45 minutes, choose one of the two following topics and compose an essay on that topic. You may not write on any other topic. Write your essay on separate sheets of paper.

Each topic is presented in a one- to two-sentence quotation commenting on an issue of general concern. Your essay may support, refute, or qualify the views expressed in the quotation. Whatever you write, however, must be relevant to the issue under discussion, and you must support your viewpoint with reasons and examples derived from your studies and/or experience.

Before you choose a topic, read both topics carefully. Consider which topic would give you greater scope for writing an effective, well-argued essay.

Faculty members from various institutions will evaluate your essay, judging it on the basis of your skill in the following areas.

• Analysis of the quotation’s implications
• Organization and articulation of your ideas
• Use of relevant examples and arguments to support your case
• Handling of the mechanics of standard written English

Once you have decided which topic you prefer, click on the appropriate icon (Topic 1 or Topic 2) to confirm your choice. Do not be hasty confirming your choice of topic. Once you have clicked on a topic, you will not be able to switch to the alternate choice.

Topic 1

“We venerate loyalty—to our schools, employers, institutions, friends—as a virtue. Loyalty, however, can be at least as detrimental an influence as it can be a beneficial one.”

Topic 2

“A person who does not thoroughly comprehend the technical side of a craft is incapable of judging it.”

 Task 2: Argument Analysis

 30 MINUTES

Directions: In 30 minutes, prepare a critical analysis of an argument expressed in a short paragraph. You may not offer an analysis of any other argument. Write your essay on separate sheets of paper.

As you critique the argument, think about the author’s underlying assumptions. Ask yourself whether any of them are questionable. Also evaluate any evidence the author brings up. Ask yourself whether it actually supports the author’s conclusion.

In your analysis, you may suggest additional kinds of evidence to reinforce the author’s argument. You may also suggest methods to refute the argument, or additional data that might be useful to you as you assess the soundness of the argument. You may not, however, present your personal views on the topic. Your job is to analyze the elements of an argument, not to support or contradict that argument.

Faculty members from various institutions will judge your essay, assessing it on the basis of your skill in the following areas:

• Identification and assessment of the argument’s main elements
• Organization and articulation of your thoughts
• Use of relevant examples and arguments to support your case
• Handling of the mechanics of standard written English

The following appeared in an editorial in the Bayside Sentinel.

“Bayside citizens need to consider raising local taxes if they want to see improvements in the Bayside School District. Test scores, graduation and college admission rates, and a number of other indicators have long made it clear that the Bayside School District is doing a poor job educating our youth. Our schools look run down. Windows are broken, bathrooms unusable, and classroom equipment hopelessly out of date. Yet just across the Bay, in New Harbor, school facilities are up-to-date and in good condition. The difference is money; New Harbor spends twenty-seven percent more per student than Bayside does, and test scores and other indicators of student performance are stronger in New Harbor as well.”

Diagnostic Test

ANSWER KEY

Section I—Verbal Ability

Section 2—Quantitative Ability

Note: The letters in brackets following the Quantitative Ability answers refer to the sections of Chapter 14 in which you can find the information you need to answer the questions. For example, 1. C [E] means that the answer to question 1 is C, and that the solution requires information found in Section 14-E: Averages. Also, 20. A [13] means that the answer to question 20 is based on information in Chapter 13: Data Interpretation.

Section 3—Analytical Writing

There are no “correct answers” to this section.






Self-Appraisal

Now that you have completed the Diagnostic Test, evaluate your performance. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and then plan a practical study program based on what you have discovered.

Use the Answer Key to check your answers. Your raw score for each section is equal to the number of correct answers you had. Once you have determined your raw score for each ability area, use the conversion chart that follows to get your scaled score. Note that this conversion chart is provided to give you a very rough estimate of the GRE score you would achieve if you took the test now without any further preparation. When you take the computer-based GRE, your scaled score will be determined not only by the number of questions you answer correctly, but also by the difficulty level of those questions. The unofficial conversion chart presented here gives you only an approximate idea of how raw scores convert into scaled scores.

Use this Diagnostic Test to identify areas you may be weak in. You may find that you had trouble with a particular question type (for example, you didn’t do well on the analogy questions in the verbal section), or with particular subject matter (for example, you didn’t do well on any geometry questions, whether they were quantitative comparisons or discrete quantitative). Determining what you need to concentrate on will help you plan an effective study program.

Remember that, in addition to evaluating your scores and identifying weak areas, you should read all the answer explanations for questions you answered incorrectly, questions you guessed on, and questions you answered correctly but found difficult. Reviewing the answer explanations will help you understand concepts and strategies, and may point out shortcuts.

Score Conversion Chart

Raw Score

Scaled Scores

Verbal Score

Quantitative Score

30

800

 

28

760

800

27

720

770

24

650

700

21

590

630

18

500

560

15

450

500

12

390

430

9

310

350

6

240

270

3

200

200

ANSWER EXPLANATIONS

Section 1—Verbal Ability

1.            (D) The opposite of a prodigal (spendthrift; extravagant person) is an economical person. Beware eye-catchers. Choice C is incorrect. A prodigal is not a prodigy (wonder; gifted person). Think of “a prodigal squandering his wealth.”

2.            (B) The opposite of artifice (trickery; guile) is sincerity. Think of being “tricked by her skillful artifice.”

3.            (B) Given the ubiquity of light, it is unsurprising that creatures have developed the biologically helpful ability to make use of light energy. Note the use of therefore indicating that the omitted portion of the sentence supports or continues a thought developed elsewhere in the sentence.

4.            (C) The politicians do not forsake center stage. However, if they did forsake center stage once in a while, the public might like them better for their self-effacement (withdrawal from attention).

5.            (B) By definition, a route that is circuitous follows an indirect course. Likewise, an argument that is devious follows an indirect course.    (Defining Characteristic)

6.            (E) To be officious (meddlesome) is to be helpful in an excessive, offensive manner. To be sycophantic (fawning, obsequious) is to be deferential (respectful) in an excessive, offensive manner.    (Manner)

7.            (C) The subduction zone is the site of the destruction or consumption of existing lithospheric material. In contrast, the mid-ocean ridge is the site of the creation or emergence of new lithospheric material.

Choice A is incorrect. Both mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones are boundaries between plates.

Choice B is incorrect. Both are located on the ocean floor.

Choice D is incorrect. It is unsupported by the passage.

Choice E is incorrect. The reverse is true.

8.            (B) Choice B is correct. You are told that the new lithospheric material is injected into a mid-ocean ridge, a suboceanic mountain range. This new material does not disappear; it is added to the material already there. Thus, it is incorporated into the existing mid-ocean ridge.

Choice A is incorrect. “[I]n general these plates move in relation to one another.” Nothing suggests that they become immobilized; indeed, they are said to diverge from the ridge, sliding as they diverge.

Choice C is incorrect. The passage specifically denies it. (“[T]he earth is not expanding in size.”)

Choice D is incorrect. It is the earth itself whose magnetic field reverses. Nothing in the passage suggests the new lithospheric material has any such potential.

Choice E is incorrect. At a mid-ocean ridge, the site at which new lithospheric material is injected from below, the plates diverge; they do not sink. (They sink, one plate diving under another, at a subduction zone.)

9.            (D) The opposite of to equivocate (avoid committing oneself in what one says) is to pledge (bind or commit oneself solemnly).

Think of politicians “hedging and equivocating.”

10.        (B) The opposite of opulence (wealth; affluence) is penury or extreme poverty.

Think of “luxurious opulence.”

11.        (A) Something ephemeral (fleeting; transient) lacks permanence. Something erratic (unpredictable) lacks predictability.

(Antonym Variant)

12.        (A) To be nonplussed (totally at a loss) is to exhibit bafflement (perplexity). To be discomfited (abashed; disconcerted) is to exhibit embarrassment.

Beware eye-catchers. Choice D is incorrect. To be despicable is to be worthy of contempt; it is not to exhibit contempt.

Synonym Variant

13.        (D) To ogle is to observe or look at someone provocatively (in an attention-getting manner). To flaunt is to display or show off something provocatively (in an attention-getting manner). (Manner)

14.        (C) You are dealing with either similar or contradictory impulses. If the impulses are similar (that is, analogouscomparable, or related), the second missing word should be a synonym or near-synonym for individualize. If the impulses are contradictory (that is, disparate or divergent), the second missing word should be an antonym or near-antonym for individualize. In this case, the latter holds true. The impulses are divergent; they are the impulse to individualize and the contradictory impulse to typify (treat characters as representatives of a type).

15.        (C) In a case in which experts disagree, it is incumbent on responsible scholars (that is, falls upon them as a scholarly duty or obligation) to refrain from making statements that are dogmatic or excessively assertive and arbitrary about the issue.

16.        (C) The author states that the later novels of James play down prominent action. Thus they lack overtly dramatic incident. However, the author goes on to state that James’s novels do possess interest; they carry the reader through “a rich analysis of the mental adjustments of characters to the realities of their personal situations.” It is this implicitly dramatic psychological revelation that sustains the reader’s interest.

Question A is unanswerable on the basis of the passage. It is evident that James wrote psychological novels; it is nowhere stated that he originated the genre.

Question B is unanswerable on the basis of the passage. Although conventional narrative technique relates “events in distinctly phased sequences,” clearly separating them, it does not necessarily recount action in strictlychronological order.

Question D is unanswerable on the basis of the passage. The passage does not deal with the general public’s reaction to James.

Question E is unanswerable on the basis of the passage. The passage talks of qualities in James as a novelist in terms of their being characteristic, not in terms of their making him unique.

17.        (C) While the stories themselves grow simpler, their moral and psychological aspects become increasingly complex. Choice A is incorrect. The passage mentions the specific description of settings as characteristic of James’s early, conventional novels, not of his later works.

Choice B is incorrect. In his later novels James grew less concerned with plot and more concerned with psychological revelation.

Choice D is incorrect. The “excitement of visible actions building up to a climactic event” (lines 35–36) is characteristic of the common novel, not of the Jamesian psychological novel.

Choice E is incorrect. The later novels tend instead to subordinate dramatic effect to psychological exploration and revelation.

18.        (E) The author refers to novels of action as “overstuffed” and describes them as “crammed with adventitious events” — events that are not inherent in the situation, but that are added, possibly irrelevantly, to the general story. However, these comments are merely made in passing: the author is not launching an attack against the novel of action. Thus, his attitude is best described as one of mild disapprobation or disapproval.

Choice A is incorrect. The author is not pointedly indignant or deeply resentful in tone. He is merely making mildly critical remarks in passing.

Choice B is incorrect. The author does make passing comments that disparage the novel of action. He is not wholly neutral on the topic.

Choice C is incorrect. While the author does disparage the novel of action, he does not ridicule or deride it sharply.

Choice D is incorrect. The author is certainly not a strong partisan or advocate of the novel of action.

19.        (B) By means of the metaphor of the curtain being moved slowly away to reveal what has been hidden from the reader, the author clarifies James’s narrative technique.

Choices A, C, D, and E are incorrect. While in each case the author is making a point about James’s writing, in no case does he do so through the use of figurative language (extended metaphors, similes, etc.).

20.        (C) The opposite of to hone or sharpen is to dull (make blunt).

Think of “honing a razor.”

21.        (B) The opposite of phlegmatic (stolid; undemonstrative) is ardent (passionate; eager).

Think of “phlegmatic and uncaring.”

22.        (E) The opposite of a banality (commonplace; trite or overused expression) is a novel expression.

Think of “the banality of a greeting card rhyme.”

23.        (EThirst is a specific example of a drive (state of instinctual need). Smell is a specific example of a sense.    (Class and Member)

24.        (CSkulduggery or dishonest, unscrupulous behavior is the mark of the swindlerChicanery or trickery is the mark of the trickster.    (Defining Characteristic)

25.        (E) After incubating the new functions, the next step would be to nurture or foster their growth until they were ready to be sent out into the world. Their departure, however, would not diminish the cities, for by continuing to breed fresh ideas, the cities would renew themselves.

Note the metaphoric usage of incubate and breed that influences the writer’s choice of words. Cities do not literally incubate businesses or breed ideas; they only do so figuratively.

26.        (A) Man is gregarious or sociable. However, he is more in need of mental companionship than of physical companionship. The writer plays on words in his conceit that a man may like to go alone for a walk but hates to stand alone in his opinions.

27.        (B) The opposite of erudite (scholarly; learned) is ignorant. Think of “an erudite scholar.”

28.        (D) The opposite of effrontery (shameless boldness) is diffidence (tentativeness; timidity). Think of “shocking effrontery.”

29.        (D) The opening sentence describes the shattering of the Iroquois leadership’s pro-British policy. The remainder of the passage describes how Iroquois policy changed to reflect changes in European military goals.

Choice A is incorrect. The passage is expository, not accusatory.

Choice B is incorrect. Nothing in the passage suggests that such charges were made against the Iroquois.

Choice C is incorrect. It is unsupported by the passage.

Choice E is incorrect. The passage demonstrates the Iroquois were able to play European power politics.

Remember, when asked to find the main idea, be sure to check the opening and summary sentences of each paragraph.

30.        (E) Lines 22–34 indicate that in the early 1700s and through most of the eighteenth century the Iroquois did receive concessions from the European powers.

Choice A is incorrect. The raid on Lachine was an effective response to French aggression, as was the Iroquois-enforced policy of aggressive neutrality.

Choice B is incorrect. James II’s overthrow was followed by colonial uprisings.

Choice C is incorrect. In response to the Iroquois leaders’ supposed favoring of the British, the French initiated attacks on the Iroquois (lines 7–13).

Choice D is incorrect. This sums up the policy of aggressive neutrality.

Section 2—Quantitative Ability

Two asterisks (**) indicate an alternative method of solving.

1. (D) Use the laws of exponents.
Column A is a4a5 = a9.
Column B is (a3)2 = a6.
If a = 1, the columns are equal; but if a = 2, Column A is much greater. Neither column is always greater, and the two columns are not always equal (D).

2. (C) Since the measure of an exterior angle of a triangle is equal to the sum of the measures of the two opposite interior angles [KEY FACT J2],

c = a + b  a + b − c = 0.

The columns are equal (C).

**Use TACTIC 13-1: plug in easy-to-use numbers. If a = 60 and b = 70, then d = 50  c = 130, and 60 + 70 - 130 = 0.

3. (B)

Column A

Column B

 

Since the quantities in each column are positive, we can square them.

Subtract a + b from each column

0

Since a and b are positive,  is positive. Column B is greater.

4. (B) There are three primes between 40 and 50: 41, 43, and 47, but only two primes between 30 and 40: 31 and 37. Note: remember that other than 2 and 5 every prime ends in 1, 3, 7, or 9, so those are the only numbers you need to check.

5. (B) The unmarked angle opposite the 60° angle also measures 60° [KEY FACT I4], and the sum of the measures of all six angles in the diagram is 360° [KEY FACT I3]. So,

360 = a + b + c + 20 + 60 + 60
       = a + b + c + 140.

Subtracting 140 from each side, we get that a + b + c = 220.

6. (D) Draw a Venn diagram. Since 10 seniors are in both band and orchestra, 30 are in band only and 50 are in orchestra only.

Therefore, 10 + 30 + 50 = 90 seniors are in at least one group, and the remaining 110 are in neither.

7. (D) Let x be the amount in dollars that each of the 20 children were going to contribute; then 20x represents the cost of the present. When 4 children dropped out, the remaining 16 each had to pay (x + 1.50) dollars. So, 16(x + 1.5) = 20x  16x + 24 = 20x  24 = 4x  x = 6, and so the cost of the present was 20 × 6 = 120 dollars.

**Since each of the 16 remaining children had to pay an extra $1.50, the extra payments totaled 16 × $1.50 = $24. This is the amount that would have been paid by the 4 children who dropped out, so each of the 4 would have paid $6. The cost of the gift was 20 × $6 = $120.

8. (A)

Column A

Column B

    Rewrite 2010.

1020

2010 = (2 × 10)10

    Use a law of exponents.

1020

210 × 1010

    Divide each column by 1010.

1010

210

    Column A is much greater.

9. (B) From the 124 people in front of Jill, remove Jack plus the 24 people in front of Jack: 124 − 25 = 99. Column B is greater.

10. (C) 410 × 642 = 410 × (43)2 = 410 × 46 = 416. Also, 162 × 4n = (42)2 × 4n = 44 × 4n = 44+n. So, 416 = 44+n and 16 = 4 + n. Then n = 12.

11. (A) Since OA and OB are radii, they are each equal to 5. With no restrictions on x, chord AB could be any positive number less than 10 (the length of a diameter). If x were 90, AB would be ; since x > 90, AB >  > 7. Therefore, the perimeter of AOB is greater than 5 + 5 + 7 = 17. Column A is greater.

12. (C. The columns are equal (C). **Use TACTIC G2. Since you have an equation with three variables, choose values for two of them and find the third. Let a = 2 and b = 1. Then  = 1  c = 3. The average of b and c is 2, which equals a.

13. (B) If the side of a square is 10, its diagonal is 10 ≈ 14 [KEY FACTS J8 and J9]. So the square in Column B is larger. **The area of the square in Column A is 102 = 100. The area of the square in Column B is (152) = (225) = 112.5.

14. (E) Exports to Eastern Europe from other Eastern European countries increased from $9.8 billion (10% of $98 billion) to $20.88 billion (12% of $174 billion) — an increase of slightly more than 100%.

15. (C) If France’s exports to Eastern Europe were four times those of the United States, than France accounted for 8% of the total exports. Since 8% is  of 64%, France accounted for  or 12.5% of the exports from the European Union.

16. (C) The average of the measures of the three angles of any triangle is 180° ÷ 3 = 60°. The columns are equal (C).

17. (C) Ignore the x’s and the y’s. In any “staircase” the perimeter is just twice the sum of the height and the length. So the perimeter is 2(12 + 14) = 2(26) = 52. The columns are equal (C).

18. (C) Expand both binomial squares:
(x + y)2 = (x – y)2 
x2 + 2xy + y2 = x2 – 2xy + y2 
2xy = –2xy  4xy = 0  xy = 0.

So III is true. Since xy = 0, either x = 0 or y = 0 (possibly both), but neither one must be 0. Since x = 0 and y = 1 is a solution, both I and II are false. Only statement III is true.

19. (C) Set up the equation:

   (x + 3) + (2x – 3) + (3x – 5) = 25

    Collect like terms:

6x – 5 = 25

    Add 5 to each side:

6x = 30

    Divide each side by 6:

x = 5

Plugging in 5 for x, we get that the lengths of the sides are 8, 7, and 10. The length of the shortest side is 7.

20. (D) In each election with only two candidates, the candidate who received the greater number of votes received more than 50% of them. In 1972 and 1980 the number of votes received by other major candidates was far less than, and in 1996 that number was approximately equal to, the difference between the number of votes received by the Republican and the Democrat. Therefore, the percent of votes won by the winner was greater than or approximately equal to 50%. In 1992, however, the sum of the number of votes received by the Republican and the other major candidate greatly exceeded that of the Democratic winner. Consequently, the winner had fewer than 50% of the votes.

21. (D) It is easy to see that 1992 was the only year in which the total number of votes cast for president exceeded 100 million.

22. (D) Use TACTIC 3, Chapter 12: pick easy-to-use numbers. Assume that in 1990 there were 200 boys and 100 girls who earned varsity letters. Then in 2000, there were 150 boys and 125 girls. So, the ratio of girls to boys was 125:150 = 5:6 or .

23. (A) Pick a simple number for the radius of circle Q—say, 1. Then the radius of circle P is 2, and the radius of circle O is 4. The area of the large shaded region is the area of circle O minus the area of circle P: 16π – 4π = 12π. The small shaded region is just circle Q, whose area is π. Then, the total shaded area is 12π + π = 13π.

   The white area is the area of circle P minus the area of circle Q: 4π – π = 3π. The area of the shaded region is more than 4 times the area of the white region. Column A is greater.

24. (C) Let x = Adam’s age in 1980. Then, in 1980, Judy’s age was 3x and Elaine’s age was 8x. Since Elaine is 20 years older than Judy, 8x = 3x + 20  5x = 20  x = 4. Therefore, in 1988, Adam was 4 + 8 = 12. The columns are equal (C).

25. (C) The area of the shaded region is the area of the large circle, 25π, minus the area of the middle circle, 16π: 25π – 16π = 9π. The striped region is just a circle of radius 3. Its area is also 9π. The columns are equal (C).

26. (D) Since you need a ratio, the length of the side is irrelevant. The area of a square is s2 and the area of an equilateral triangle is  [KEY FACT J15]. Then the ratio is s2 ÷ = s2 ×  =  = .

Of course, you could have used any number instead of s, and if you forgot the formula for the area of an equilateral triangle, you could have used A = bh.

27. (E) The easiest way to solve this is to use TACTIC 2, Chapter 11. Let x = 2 and y = 1. Then xy = 2, a = 4 and b = 0. Now, plug in 4 for a and 0 for b and see which of the five choices is equal to 2. Only (E) works:

**Here is the correct algebraic solution.

Add the two equations:

x + 2y = a

 

x − 2y = b

 

2x = a + b

Divide by 2:

x = 

Multiply the second

x + 2y = a

equation by −1 and

+ −x + 2y = −b

add it to the first:

4y = a − b

Divide by 4:

y = 

Then xy = 

This is the type of algebra you want to avoid.

28. (D) Draw in segment EXY ⊥ AB.

Then XY = 10 since it is the same length as a side of the square. EX is the height of ΔECD, whose base is 10 and whose area is 10, so

Since ΔECD is isosceles, DX = 5, so AY = 5. Finally, recognize ΔAYE as a 5-12-13 right triangle, or use the Pythagorean theorem to find the hypotenuse, AE, of the triangle:

   (AE)2 = 52 + 122 = 25 + 144 = 169,

so AE = 13.

Section 3—Analytical Writing

There are no “correct answers” to this section.