GRE Prep Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Ancient Greek philosophers tried to (i) $\qquad$ contemporary notions
[#permalink]
05 May 2025, 23:41
05 May 2025, 23:41
Expert Reply
00:00
Question Stats:
18% (01:14) correct
81% (00:59) wrong based on 11 sessions
Hide Show timer Statistics
Ancient Greek philosophers tried to (i) $\(\qquad\)$ contemporary notions of change and stability in the physical composition of the world around them. They did so by (ii) $\(\qquad\)$ the existence of the atom. For them, the atom was (iii) $\(\qquad\)$ particle from which all other varieties of matter are formed.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
|---|---|---|
| A. reconcile | D. denying | G. a mythical |
| B. eliminate | E. ignoring | H. an indivisible |
| C. confirm | F. postulating | I. a munificient |
- Part of the project: GRE Hard and Tricky Verbal Practice: NEW Questions Daily - Gain 20 Kudos & Get FREE Access to GRE Prep Club TESTS
- Also replying to the unanswered questions
Re: Ancient Greek philosophers tried to (i) $\qquad$ contemporary notions
[#permalink]
09 May 2025, 04:45
09 May 2025, 04:45
Expert Reply
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
$\(\mathbf{A}, \mathbf{F}, \mathbf{H}\)$
These philosophers were trying to do something with the notions of "change and stability." Since change and stability are opposing ideas, predict that they were trying to harmonize the two ideas. For the first blank, choice (A) reconcile is a match for your prediction. Neither (B) eliminate nor (C) confirm takes into account the opposing forces of change and stability.
The third blank may be easier to predict for than the second. The word in the blank will describe the kind of particle they believed the atom to be, and another description is offered in the second part of this sentence: "from which all other varieties of matter are formed." Predict something like fundamental or basic or smallest. (H) indivisible is correct-although you now know that atoms can be split, this was not known at the time of the Greek philosophers, and indivisible fits the sense of the sentence. (G) mythical doesn't work; these philosophers didn't see atoms as the stuff of myth but rather as a real particle from which all other matter was formed. (I) munificent means "generous" or "bountiful"; this wouldn't be a logical way to describe a particle.
For blank (ii), predict that they were imagining or hypothesizing the atom. (F) postulating matches this prediction. Neither (D) denying the existence of the atom nor ( $\mathbf{E}$ ) ignoring it would have helped the philosophers reconcile the concepts of change and stability.
$\(\mathbf{A}, \mathbf{F}, \mathbf{H}\)$
These philosophers were trying to do something with the notions of "change and stability." Since change and stability are opposing ideas, predict that they were trying to harmonize the two ideas. For the first blank, choice (A) reconcile is a match for your prediction. Neither (B) eliminate nor (C) confirm takes into account the opposing forces of change and stability.
The third blank may be easier to predict for than the second. The word in the blank will describe the kind of particle they believed the atom to be, and another description is offered in the second part of this sentence: "from which all other varieties of matter are formed." Predict something like fundamental or basic or smallest. (H) indivisible is correct-although you now know that atoms can be split, this was not known at the time of the Greek philosophers, and indivisible fits the sense of the sentence. (G) mythical doesn't work; these philosophers didn't see atoms as the stuff of myth but rather as a real particle from which all other matter was formed. (I) munificent means "generous" or "bountiful"; this wouldn't be a logical way to describe a particle.
For blank (ii), predict that they were imagining or hypothesizing the atom. (F) postulating matches this prediction. Neither (D) denying the existence of the atom nor ( $\mathbf{E}$ ) ignoring it would have helped the philosophers reconcile the concepts of change and stability.
Ancient Greek philosophers tried to (i) $\qquad$ contemporary notions
[#permalink]
09 May 2025, 17:23
09 May 2025, 17:23
How can you reconcile the change an stability by just puting forward the existence of atom? They don't bolster each other.
