GRE Exam Verbal Ability Miscellaneous

Questions 1 and 2 are based on this passage.
Biologists generally agree that birds and dinosaurs are somehow related to one another. The agreement ends there. Hypotheses regarding dinosaurian and avian evolution are unusually diverse—and often at odds with one another. Confusion consequently reigns over a broad spectrum of unanswered questions dealing with avian origins and the biology of dinosaurs and early birds. This confusion has been exacerbated by a paucity of serious attempts to synthesize and evaluate available data on the details of avian and dinosaurian evolution. Too often, the job of summarizing current knowledge of these subjects has fallen to well-meaning but naïve lay authors or reporters. Consequently, both the public and the scientific community have often been misled by widespread dissemination of sensational but weakly founded hypotheses.

Question 1
The passage suggests that which of the following could help remedy the problem described in
(A) An article written by a biologist for the general public summarizing current theories about avian and dinosaurian evolution
(B) A close examination of available data on avian and dinosaurian evolution
(C) A new hypothesis regarding the connection between avian and dinosaurian evolution

Question 2
In the context in which it appears, “sensational” ( ) most nearly means
(A) dramatic
(B) false
(C) excellent
(D) eminent
(E) horrifying

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GRE Other Question

Questions 1 and 2 are based on this passage
A portrait type that appeared with relentless frequency in eighteenth-century England is the familiar image of a gentleman poised with one hand inside his partially unbuttoned waistcoat. Standard interpretations of this portrait posture offer observations of correspondence—demonstrating either that it mirrors actual social behavior or that it borrows from classical statuary. Such explanations, however, illuminate neither the source of this curious convention nor the reason for its popularity. It is true that in real life the “hand-in” was a common stance for elite men. Still, there were other ways of comporting the body that did not become winning portrait formulas. And even if the “hand-in” portrait does resemble certain classical statues, what accounts for the adoption of this particular pose?

Question 1
In the context of the passage as a whole, the primary function of the sentence in lines 10-12 is to
(A) emphasize the influence of a particular social class on the conventions of eighteenth-century English portraiture
(B) account for the origin of a particular type of behavior frequently represented in eighteenth-century English portraiture
(C) acknowledge a historical basis for two competing hypotheses about a particular portrait type
(D) question the relevance of certain evidence frequently cited in support of an explanation for a particular portrait type
(E) concede that one explanation for the prevalence of a particular portrait type has a basis in fact For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

Question 2
Which of the following might provide an explanation for the popularity of hand-in portraits that would satisfy the author of the passage?
(A) An eighteenth-century English etiquette manual discussing the social implications of the “hand-in” stance
(B) A comprehensive catalogue of eighteenth-century English portraits that showed what proportion of portraits depicted gentlemen in the “hand-in” stance
(C) A passage from an eighteenth-century English novel in which a gentleman considers what stance to adopt when his portrait is painted Questions 1 and 2 are based on this passage.
While chocolate was highly esteemed in Mesoamerica, where it originated, its adoption in Europe was initially slow. There is a common belief that Europeans needed to “transform” chocolate to make it appetizing. However, while Spaniards did put sugar, which was unknown to indigenous Americans, into chocolate beverages, this additive was not completely innovative. Mesoamericans were already sweetening chocolate with honey, and the step from honey to sugar—increasingly more available than honey because of expanding sugar plantations in the Americas—is a small one. Likewise, although Spaniards adjusted Mesoamerican recipes by using European spices, the spices chosen suggest an attempt to replicate harder-to-find native flowers. There is no indication the Spaniards deliberately tried to change the original flavor of chocolate.

Question 1
The author of the passage refers to the use of honey primarily to
(A) identify the origins of an additive previously untried by Europeans
(B) present an example of a product that was unknown to Europeans
(C) correct the misapprehension that Mesoamericans used a sweetener that was not available in Europe
(D) provide an example of an ingredient that was in the process of being displaced by a substitute
(E) explain why the Spanish use of sugar in chocolate was not a sign of a need to transform chocolate

Question 2
Which sentence presents a misconception that the passage challenges?
(A) The second (“There is.... appetizing”)
(B) The third (“However .... innovative”)
(C) The fourth (“Mesoamericans.... one”)
(D) The fifth (“Likewise.... flowers”)
(E) The sixth (“There is.... chocolate”)