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#1 Quiz 15 Hard Verbal Questions
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17 Jan 2024, 11:27
17 Jan 2024, 11:27
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#1 Quiz 15 Hard Verbal Questions
Q #1
Without seeming unworldly, William James appeared wholly removed from the (i) _______ of society, the conventionality of academe.
| Blank (i) |
|---|
| ethos |
| idealism |
| romance | paradoxes | commonplaces |
Q #2
The brief survey, published under the title The Work of Nature: How the Diversity of Life Sustains Us, is surprisingly (i)________. Indeed it makes several longer treatments of the effects of lost biodiversity seem (ii)________.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| distorted | redundant |
| objective | pithy |
| comprehensive | premature |
Q #3
There are no other contemporary novelists whose works resemble those of Thomas Pynchon, but his appeal rests on more than the (i) _________ displayed in his work. In an age when novelists largely limit their observations to lightweight banter about sexuality, Pynchon still offers (ii) _________ commentary about human nature.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| (A) patrimony | (D) trenchant |
| (B) eccentricity | (E) enigmatic |
| (C) orthodoxy | (F) insipid |
Q #4
Although most preventative medical ointments commonly in use would have (i)____________ an infection, the particular one Helen applied to her sores actually, much to her dismay, (ii)____________ her (iii)____________ .
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
| (A) surrendered to | (D)contributed to | (G) medicine |
| (B) exacerbated | (E)detracted from | (H) salve |
| (C) staved off | (F)disbursed with | (I) affliction |
Q #5/6/7/8
Of Homer's two epic poems, the Odyssey has always been more popular than the Iliad, perhaps because it includes more features of mythology that are accessible to readers. Its subject (to use Maynard Mack's categories) is "life-as-spectacle," for readers, diverted by its various incidents, observe its hero Odysseus primarily from without; the tragic Iliad, however, presents "life-experience": readers are asked to identify with the mind of Achilles, whose motivations render him a not particularly likable hero. In addition, the Iliad, more than the Odyssey, suggests the complexity of the gods' involvement in human actions, and to the extent that modern readers find this complexity a needless complication, the Iliad is less satisfying than the Odyssey, with its simpler scheme of divine justice. Finally, since the Iliad presents a historically verifiable action, Troy's siege, the poem raises historical questions that are absent from the Odyssey's blithely imaginative world.
17. The author uses Mack's "categories" most probably in order to
(A) argue that the Iliad should replace the Odyssey as the more popular poem
(B) indicate Mack's importance as a commentator on the Iliad and the Odyssey
(C) suggest one way in which the Iliad and the Odyssey can be distinguished
(D) point out some of the difficulties faced by readers of the Iliad and the Odyssey
(E) demonstrate that the Iliad and the Odyssey can best be distinguished by comparing their respective heroes
18. The author suggests that the variety of incidents in the Odyssey is likely to deter the reader from.
(A) concentrating on the poem's mythological features
(B) concentrating on the psychological states of the poem's central character
(C) accepting the explanations that have been offered for the poem's popularity
(D) accepting the poem's scheme of divine justice
(E) accepting Maynard Mack's theory that the poem's subject is "life-as-spectacle"
19. The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) distinguishing arguments
(B) applying classifications
(C) initiating a debate
(D) resolving a dispute
(E) developing a contrast
20. It can be inferred from the passage that a reader of the Iliad is likely to have trouble identifying with the poem's hero for which of the following reasons?
(A) The hero is eventually revealed to be unheroic.
(B) The hero can be observed by the reader only from without.
(C) The hero's psychology is not historically verifiable.
(D) The hero's emotions often do not seem appealing to the reader.
(E) The hero's emotions are not sufficiently various to engage the reader's attention
(A) argue that the Iliad should replace the Odyssey as the more popular poem
(B) indicate Mack's importance as a commentator on the Iliad and the Odyssey
(C) suggest one way in which the Iliad and the Odyssey can be distinguished
(D) point out some of the difficulties faced by readers of the Iliad and the Odyssey
(E) demonstrate that the Iliad and the Odyssey can best be distinguished by comparing their respective heroes
Show: :: OA
C
18. The author suggests that the variety of incidents in the Odyssey is likely to deter the reader from.
(A) concentrating on the poem's mythological features
(B) concentrating on the psychological states of the poem's central character
(C) accepting the explanations that have been offered for the poem's popularity
(D) accepting the poem's scheme of divine justice
(E) accepting Maynard Mack's theory that the poem's subject is "life-as-spectacle"
Show: :: OA
B
19. The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) distinguishing arguments
(B) applying classifications
(C) initiating a debate
(D) resolving a dispute
(E) developing a contrast
Show: :: OA
E
20. It can be inferred from the passage that a reader of the Iliad is likely to have trouble identifying with the poem's hero for which of the following reasons?
(A) The hero is eventually revealed to be unheroic.
(B) The hero can be observed by the reader only from without.
(C) The hero's psychology is not historically verifiable.
(D) The hero's emotions often do not seem appealing to the reader.
(E) The hero's emotions are not sufficiently various to engage the reader's attention
Show: :: OA
D
Q #9
Academics, when locking rhetorical horns, can toss off the most pointed barbs by deploying nothing more than an understated phrase, so it should come as no surprise that they are also prone to seeing ______ where none exist.
| Two Answers |
|---|
| slights |
| conspiracies |
| misinterpretations | rivalries | misperceptions |
| snubs |
Q #10
To most, the word architecture connotes a grandeur typically associated with the Old World— flying buttresses, Doric columns, baroque flourishes, byzantine arabesques— and thus many of the more _____ structures, especially those not obviously inspired by neoclassicism, are often thought to be cobbled together haphazardly instead of following some prescribed architectural idiom.
| Two Answers |
|---|
| A. modest |
| B. secular |
| C. unassuming | D. dilapidated | E. ramshackle |
| F. sedate |
Q #11
As she stepped down from the podium, the candidate was lauded by an enthusiastic audience of supporters who were gratified not only by the fervency of her delivery but also by the..............words of her speechwriter.
| Two Answers |
|---|
| A. Stentorian |
| B. Expository |
| C. Felicitous | D. Garrulous | E. Poignant |
| F. Vociferous |
Q #12
The city council was notorious for voting down any measure that would restrict its ability to wield power, so that it ______ a bill aimed to narrow the ambit of its jurisdiction was surprising only to the small few who had come to believe that the council would pull an about-face.
| Two Answers |
|---|
| A. championed |
| B. took exception to |
| C. discarded | D. was in favor of | E. tabled |
| F. objected to |
Q #13/ 14/15
Jean Wagner's most enduring contribution to the study of Afro-American poetry is his insistence that it be analyzed in a religious, as well as secular, frame of reference. The appropriateness of such an approach may seem self-evident for a tradition commencing with spirituals and owing its early forms, rhythms, vocabulary, and evangelical fervor to Wesleyan hymnals. But before Wagner a secular outlook that analyzed Black poetry solely within the context of political and social protest was dominant in the field.
It is Wagner who first demonstrated the essential fusion of racial and religious feeling in Afro-American poetry. The two, he argued, form a symbiotic union in which religious feelings are often applied to racial issues and racial problems are often projected onto a metaphysical plane. Wagner found this most eloquently illustrated in the Black spiritual, where the desire for freedom in this world and the hope for salvation in the next are inextricably intertwined.
It is Wagner who first demonstrated the essential fusion of racial and religious feeling in Afro-American poetry. The two, he argued, form a symbiotic union in which religious feelings are often applied to racial issues and racial problems are often projected onto a metaphysical plane. Wagner found this most eloquently illustrated in the Black spiritual, where the desire for freedom in this world and the hope for salvation in the next are inextricably intertwined.
17. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) contrast the theories of Jean Wagner with those of other contemporary critics
(B) document the influence of Jean Wagner on the development of Afro-American poetry
(C) explain the relevance of Jean Wagner's work to the study of Afro-American religion
(D) indicate the importance of Jean Wagner's analysis of Afro-American poetry
(E) present the contributions of Jean Wagner to the study of Black spirituals
18. All of the following aspects of Afro-American poetry are referred to in the passage as having been influenced by Wesleyan hymnals EXCEPT
(A) subject matter
(B) word choice
(C) rhythm
(D) structure
(E) tone
19. It can be inferred from the passage that, before Wagner, most students of Afro-American poetry did which of the following?
(A) Contributed appreciably to the transfer of political protest from Afro-American poetry to direct political action.
(B) Ignored at least some of the historical roots of Afro-American poetry.
(C) Analyzed fully the aspects of social protest to be found in such traditional forms of AfroAmerican poetry as the Black spiritual.
(D) Regarded as unimportant the development of fervent emotionalism in a portion of AfroAmerican poetry.
(E) Concentrated on the complex relations between the technical elements in Afro-American poetry and its political content.
gmatclubot
#1 Quiz 15 Hard Verbal Questions [#permalink]
17 Jan 2024, 11:27
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