GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
Rules; 20 Questions, 30 Minutes, 1 of 4 sections for diagnostic Essay 1 Democratic institutions are devices for reconciling social order with individual freedom and initiative, and for making the immediate power of a country's rulers subject to the ultimate power of the ruled. The fact that, in Western Europe and America, these devices have worked, all things considered,not too badly is proof enough that the eighteenth century optimists were not entirely wrong. Given a fair chance, I repeat; for the fair chance is an indispensable prerequisite. No people that pass abruptly from a state of subservience under the rule of a despot to the completely unfamiliar state of political independence can be said to have a fair chance of being able to govern itself democratically. Liberalism flourishes in an atmosphere of prosperity and declines as declining prosperity makes it necessary for the government to intervene ever more frequently and drastically in the affairs of its subjects. Over-population and over-organization are two conditions which ... deprive a society of a fair chance of making democratic institutions work effectively. We see, then, that there are certain historical, economic, demographic and technological conditions which make it very hard for Jefferson's rational animals, endowed by nature with inalienable rights and an innate sense of justice, to exercise their reason, claim their rights and act justly within a democratically organized society. We in the West have been supremely fortunate in having been given a fair chance of making the great experiment in selfgovernment. Unfortunately, it now looks as though, owing to recent changes in our circumstances, this infinitely precious fair chance were being, little by little, taken away from us.
1. The author’s primary purpose is apparently to A. Explain a requirement and introduce a warning about that requirement B. Argue for the limitation of a certain form of government C. Define the conditions for social order D. Advocate liberalism in government of a certain era E. Credit certain thinkers with foresight
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
2. The ‘infinitely precious fair chance’ highlighted in the last sentence, according to the author is A. Unlikely to emerge in an atmosphere of liberalism B. Incompatible with Jefferson’s views C. Vitiated in an atmosphere of prosperity D. An essential precondition for the success of democracy E. Only possible in a large, advanced and highly organised society 3. The author’s attitude to the way democratic institutions have functioned in Western Europe and America can best be described as A.Deliberate neutrality B. C. D. E.
Cautious approval Qualified disapproval Wholehearted endorsement Mocking disdain
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
Essay 2 Nadezhda Krupskaya, in her little book on Lenin, relates that towards the end of his life Lenin went to see a dramatized version of The Cricket on the Hearth, and found Dickens’s ‘middle-class sentimentality’ so intolerable that he walked out in the middle of a scene. It is worth noticing that the dislike of Dickens implied in this anecdote is something unusual. Plenty of people have found him unreadable, but very few seem to have felt any hostility towards the general spirit of his work. Some years later, Bechhofer Roberts published a fulllength attack on Dickens in the form of a novel, but it was a merely personal attack, concerned for the most part with ! ! Dickens’s treatment of his wife. It dealt with incidents which not one in a thousand of Dickens’s readers would ever hear about, and which no more invalidates his work than the second-best bed invalidates Hamlet. All that the book really demonstrated was that a writer’s literary personality has little or nothing to do with his private character. !It is quite possible that in private life Dickens was just the kind of insensitive egoist that Bechhofer Roberts makes him appear. But in his published work there is implied a personality quite different from this, a personality which has won him far more friends than enemies. It might well have been otherwise, for even if Dickens was a bourgeois, he was certainly a subversive writer, a radical, one might truthfully say a rebel. Everyone who has read widely in his work has felt this. Gissing, for instance, the best of the writers on Dickens, was anything but a radical himself, and he disapproved of this strain in Dickens and wished it were not there, but it never occurred to him to deny it. In Oliver Twist, Hard Times, Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Dickens attacked English institutions with a ferocity that has never since been approached. Yet he managed to do it without making himself hated, and, more than this, the very people he attacked have swallowed him so completely that he has become a national institution himself. In its attitude towards Dickens the English public has always been a
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
little like the elephant which feels a blow with a walking-stick as a delightful tickling. Before I was ten years old I was having Dickens ladled down my throat by schoolmasters in whom even at that age I could see a strong resemblance to Mr. Creakle, and one knows without needing to be told that lawyers delight in Sergeant Buzfuz and that Little Dorrit is a favourite in the Home Office. Dickens seems to have succeeded in attacking everybody and antagonizing nobody.
4. It can be inferred that the ‘second best bed’ (highlighted in the first paragraph) refers to something that A. could not be considered unpleasant in the personal life of Shakespeare (the author of Hamlet) B. is unwarranted in the plot of Hamlet C. most readers would approve of if they were aware of it D. is irrelevant in a discussion of the personality of Shakespeare E. has no place in an evaluation of the literary merit of the works of Shakespeare 5. What are the first words of the sentence which specifically illustrates what the author means in saying ‘the very people he attacked have swallowed him so completely’. A. B. C.
Everyone who has In Oliver Twist In its attitude
6. The author apparently believes that (Select ALL answer choices that apply) A. Thought that Dickens was a subversive writer B. Disapproved of a certain aspect of Dickens’ writing C. Produced good critical writing on Dickens
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
7. Answer this question based on the information in the paragraph below. “Josh has twenty years of typing experience behind him; therefore, if you are looking for an efficient typist to enter your data into the new system, you need look no further.” The speaker assumes that A. Twenty years of practice ensures typing efficiency B. The type of typing required for the new system is identical to what Josh has been doing C. Josh’s job profile is the best that the new employer is going to get D. Josh is an outstandingly fast and accurate typist E. Josh will fit well into the new office
8. Answer this question based on the information in the paragraph below. A fruit known as amla in certain parts of Asia is an excellent source of vitamin C. A small quantity of the fruit grated and added to salads provides almost all the daily requirement of this vitamin. However, the fruit is very sour. A new process designed to remove most of the sour taste will make the fruit acceptable to American tastes. We are therefore starting to grow this fruit for sale in the United States. The argument above assumes all of the following except A. Americans generally won’t eat very sour foods B. The new process does not remove a significant part of the vitamin content C. That a market exists for a new source of vitamin C D. The fruit can be used only in salads E. Apart from being sour there are no other objections to eating this fruit
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
9. Even though Byron is frequently glib, it is still hard to dismiss him as a ____ thinker. A. B. C. D. E. F.
superficial profound lightweight lucid verbose uncompromising
10. Far from being an innocent prank, their action is a ____ attempt to spoil my reputation. A. B. C. D. E. F.
malicious salubrious naive saturnine innocuous callous
11. Although his findings were initially greeted with ____ , the unlikely hero was finally vindicated when the French Academy acknowledged his work. A. B. C. D. E. F.
derision accolades commendations sympathy jubilation incredulity
12. Their latest theory aims to integrate the seemingly ____ elements of twenty years of research to form a coherent whole. A. B. C. D. E. F.
relevant sporadic incessant disparate discrete extensive
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
13. Svensson’s ____ in his work earned him few friends: his colleagues probably thought that he would be unwilling to overlook their foibles. A. B. C. D. E. F.
xenophobia mendacity meticulousness intuition punctiliousness prevarication
14. Icons would be well-advised to write their own memoirs; there are too many ____ writers out there who forego accuracy to pander to the preconceptions of the market. A. B. C. D. E. F.
creative lackluster hackneyed sycophantic fawning best-selling
15. Both commentators noted the way that Dylan can submerge himself in tradition while somehow managing to create works of startling ____. A. B. C. D. E. F.
gestation singularity provenance conservatism nonchalance originality
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
16. When aid is given to an autocracy, the donors are prone to rationalize their decision to support non-democratic governments, and thus lay themselves open to the charge of ____. A. B. C. D. E. F.
negligence hypocrisy equivocation slander autonomy nepotism
17. The insertion of a fiction into a news bulletin cannot be condoned, but inserting propaganda for a good cause seems less ____. A. B. C. D. E. F.
untoward democratic reprehensible credible insupportable utilitarian
18. In showing the shocking images of depravity and degradation, the curators of the art museum said that the importance of historical accuracy outweighed the danger of encouraging ____. A. B. C. D. E. F.
prurience avarice vandalism voyeurism outrage torture
19. The success of the business venture ____ his expectations; he never thought that the firm would prosper. A. B. C. D. E.
confirmed belied nullified fulfilled ratified
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GRE Diagnostic Verbal Section 1.pages
20. The journalist (i)____ the efforts of the drug squad to control drug peddling, claiming that they had actually (ii) ____ the problem.
Blank (i) A. commended B. deprecated C. noted
Blank (ii) D. delineated E. mollified F. exacerbated
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