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Verbal Section-Test 1

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Directions: For the given question, select one entry for the blank from the given choices, to best complete the text.

For as long as the culture of business has been an integral part of American life, it has also been frowned upon by important sectors of our society. Among our intellectuals especially, the business world has been the subject of many __________, portraying corporations large and small, and the people who run them, as heartless, soulless agents of greed. Not to be left behind, the Church has called them (the corporations) the agents of devil.

  1. brutal caricatures

  2. unfair comments

  3. hot-tempered debates

  4. mocking observations

  5. satirical writings


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

(1) Correct; because businesses have been frowned upon, portrayed as heartless, soulless, and as the agents of the devil, a strongly worded phrase was needed. (2) Incorrect; because the businesses have been portrayed as being heartless, soulless, and as agents of the devil, a strongly worded option that sums up these derogatory references is needed.  (3) Incorrect; debate would stem from disagreement. Here, there is complete consensus about the character of businesses. (4) Incorrect; though close, it is not critical enough as is required by the overall sharply derisive tone of the passage. (5) Incorrect; though close, it is not critical enough as is required by the overall sharply derisive tone of the passage.

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the premise that viruses have evolved from bacteria?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

One of the theories that have been under the serious consideration of the scientists and immunologists is that viruses have evolved from bacteria. Although viruses do not exist in fossilized form, and all our knowledge about the life form comes only from what we have come to know of them in the twentieth century, the view is not without merit. The bacteria origin theory, which states that the viruses evolved from bacteria that did not need to survive outside the host cell, and hence lost much of the genetic material needed for the same,  fills in some of the unexplained blanks in human knowledge.  Another theory states that viruses may have evolved from the ‘escaped bits and pieces of’ the DNA and the RNA of larger organisms.
Once a virus attaches itself to a specific molecule on the surface of the host cell, it penetrates the host cell by fusing with it or by another technique called endocytosis. Since a virus needs specific molecules to attach itself to, it means that its host selection is very specific. Once inside the host cell, the virus loses its capsid, or the outer shell, either by self generated enzymes or by enzymes secreted by the host and exposes its core viral nucleic acid. Since living cells produce all the necessary proteins from the various amino acids that are a part of the food supply, viruses take the host cell hostage and force it to synthesize proteins that the host cell does not need. Once synthesized, these new proteins come together later to form new virus cells. Once an army of invasive viruses is ready, enzymes produced by them usually burst the cell wall of the host cell, and the viruses release themselves into the body of the organism. Usually, the host cell death in cases of infections takes place by a process called apoptosis or cell suicide in which the phagocytic bodies produced by the immune system of the host organism are able to engulf the fragments of the host cell before the damage spreads to surrounding cells. However, some cells seemingly remain healthy and carry latent viruses and show few or no signs of infection for months or even years.

  1. The genetic structure of both organisms shows a certain level of similarity.

  2. When viruses are genetically modified to have the same genetic structure as bacteria, their survival rate in external environment improves remarkably.

  3. When bacteria are deprived of the same genetic material that the viruses lack, the bacteria can no longer be treated with antibiotics.

  4. Some virus strains, when mutated with bacteria genes, start reproducing like bacteria.

  5. When cultured together in a Petri dish, viruses often attack bacteria cells and parasite upon them.


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

(1) Incorrect; 'a certain degree of similarity' is ambiguous and can be used to both strengthen and weaken the premise. (2) Correct; because incorporating a bacteria like genetic make up in the viruses gives them the ability to survive outside the host cell (like bacteria can), it strengthens the belief that viruses, if given the missing genes, are similar to bacteria. (3) Incorrect; the passage does not mention whether or not viral infections can be treated with antibiotics. (4) Incorrect; only 'some' viruses reproduce like bacteria when mutated with bacteria. It is possible that viruses have taken bacteria like properties but it cannot be inferred that viruses are like bacteria. (5) Incorrect; does not prove whether bacteria and viruses are related.

How are the two paragraphs related to each other?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Family support could not always be counted upon for providing sustenance to people who had lived too long and had exhausted their life savings. Up until a few centuries ago, societies had not evolved enough to handle the issue of citizens that had grown to be a liability for them. The sick, the needy, and the destitute would be dependent upon various religious organizations, the sympathy of the neighbors and the largesse of those who wanted an easy passage into the next life. In some ancient civilizations there existed an elementary form of social security in which individuals, known to each other, would come together to form a kind of a mutual fund wherein each member would contribute a fixed weekly amount in a common pool of resources. The resources thus collected would be used to pay for the burial expenses of the members of the informal trust, or, in case of the member living beyond working age, cover part of his living expenses.
Modern actuarial science did not have its genesis till late in the seventeenth century when the first life table, or the pattern of predictability of the life span, of the members of a cohort was first devised. Insurance companies used the table to find out the financial feasibility and the costs of insuring different cohorts. Today, the field is ranked among the top three most valuable fields for humanity. Though initial application was more or less limited to insurance companies, today the science finds application in the business of governance as well. Today, using an amalgam of various disciplines such as economics, mathematics, probabilities and statistics, actuarial sciences help in predicting consumer behavior, asset management, and many other fields.

 

  1. Both the paragraphs elucidate the factors behind, and the need for financial planning and risk management.

  2. The second paragraph explains the concept, the foundation for which has been laid in the first paragraph.

  3. The first paragraph gives a reason for the discipline described in the second paragraph coming about.

  4. The second paragraph restates the information given in the first paragraph.

  5. Both the paragraphs talk about unrelated topics.


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

(1) Incorrect; though the first paragraph touches upon the factors behind the need to make provisions for an uncertain future, the second paragraph does not. (2) Incorrect; the first paragraph talks of the need for insurance while the second paragraph describes the evolution of actuarial sciences.  (3) Correct; actuarial sciences came about because of their application in the insurance industry. The need for insurance is described in the first paragraph. (4) Incorrect; the first paragraph talks mainly of why insurance came about. Although there is a certain common ground, the second paragraph talks mainly about the development of actuarial sciences. (5) Incorrect; the first paragraph lays the background for the genesis of actuarial sciences. Hence, some relation is manifest.

Increase in errors in our weather computing patterns is most parallel to which of the following:

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Numerical weather prediction was a field initiated by Lewis Richardson in 1920s to forecast weather prediction. However, with the calculation of the weather pattern of one day took him more than fifteen weeks of preparation! It was in the 1950s, after the development of supercomputers, that the science of numerical weather prediction gained ground. With technology evolving at breakneck speed, the more powerful supercomputers are now able to compute millions of inputs and datasets to further increase the odds of weather prediction. However, because the formulae used in such calculations have innate imperfections, the errors resulting from the increasing inputs and datasets also grow along with our knowledge of the weather patterns.
Atmosphere is always in a state of flux, and that, in itself lengthens the odds of weather predictions being spot on. The atmospheric predictions are based upon a process that takes a sample of the fluid and by using thermodynamics equations, fluid dynamics, and millions of databases, estimates the state of the fluid at a time in the future. Since the sample of the fluid is taken as, but mathematically is not, the perfect representative of the state of the entire fluid, the long shot becomes an even longer shot.

 

  1. The area of a cake wedge increasing with the distance from the centre

  2. The growth rings in a tree growing in number with passing years.

  3. The number of insects hitting the windscreen of a car and dying on a road trip.

  4. A bacterium getting mutated into a more virulent organism.

  5. A student wrongly attempting a jumbled paragraph question, which in turn affects at least one other answer.


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

(1) Correct; even though the angle of the cake wedge as a part of the whole circle (cake) remains constant, the size keeps increasing. Similarly, even though the number of errors remains constant, their effect keeps increasing. (2) Incorrect; the number of the rings of a tree grows in a linear manner, not exponentially. (3) The number of insects hitting a windscreen will vary, and as such may or may not increase with every trip. (4) Incorrect; a bacterium's mutation is not analogous in any way to the exponential growth in the errors in weather prediction. (5) Incorrect; one mistake necessarily messes up another answer, but not the whole test.

In the context in which it appears, “largesse” in sentence 3 most nearly means

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Family support could not always be counted upon for providing sustenance to people who had lived too long and had exhausted their life savings. Up until a few centuries ago, societies had not evolved enough to handle the issue of citizens that had grown to be a liability for them. The sick, the needy, and the destitute would be dependent upon various religious organizations, the sympathy of the neighbors and the largesse of those who wanted an easy passage into the next life. In some ancient civilizations there existed an elementary form of social security in which individuals, known to each other, would come together to form a kind of a mutual fund wherein each member would contribute a fixed weekly amount in a common pool of resources. The resources thus collected would be used to pay for the burial expenses of the members of the informal trust, or, in case of the member living beyond working age, cover part of his living expenses.
Modern actuarial science did not have its genesis till late in the seventeenth century when the first life table, or the pattern of predictability of the life span, of the members of a cohort was first devised. Insurance companies used the table to find out the financial feasibility and the costs of insuring different cohorts. Today, the field is ranked among the top three most valuable fields for humanity. Though initial application was more or less limited to insurance companies, today the science finds application in the business of governance as well. Today, using an amalgam of various disciplines such as economics, mathematics, probabilities and statistics, actuarial sciences help in predicting consumer behavior, asset management, and many other fields.

 

  1. innate generosity

  2. kindheartedness

  3. ambiguous benevolence

  4. warped altruism

  5. ostentatious magnanimity


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

(1) Incorrect; the sentence goes on to explain that people gave alms because they wanted an easy passage into the next life. Hence, innate generosity is ruled out. (2) Incorrect; because a selfish motive of the giver is manifest in the passage, his act of charity cannot be attributed to kindheartedness. (3) Correct; because the receiver benefits from a selfish motive of the giver, the benevolence can best be described as ambiguous. (4) Incorrect; altruism would mean putting the needs of others before one’s own needs. Here, the emphasis is on charity, not sacrifice. (5) Incorrect; there is no hint of charity being done in the public eye. Hence, ostentation cannot be inferred.

All of the following can be inferred about the reproduction of viruses from the passage, except:

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

One of the theories that have been under the serious consideration of the scientists and immunologists is that viruses have evolved from bacteria. Although viruses do not exist in fossilized form, and all our knowledge about the life form comes only from what we have come to know of them in the twentieth century, the view is not without merit. The bacteria origin theory, which states that the viruses evolved from bacteria that did not need to survive outside the host cell, and hence lost much of the genetic material needed for the same,  fills in some of the unexplained blanks in human knowledge.  Another theory states that viruses may have evolved from the ‘escaped bits and pieces of’ the DNA and the RNA of larger organisms.
Once a virus attaches itself to a specific molecule on the surface of the host cell, it penetrates the host cell by fusing with it or by another technique called endocytosis. Since a virus needs specific molecules to attach itself to, it means that its host selection is very specific. Once inside the host cell, the virus loses its capsid, or the outer shell, either by self generated enzymes or by enzymes secreted by the host and exposes its core viral nucleic acid. Since living cells produce all the necessary proteins from the various amino acids that are a part of the food supply, viruses take the host cell hostage and force it to synthesize proteins that the host cell does not need. Once synthesized, these new proteins come together later to form new virus cells. Once an army of invasive viruses is ready, enzymes produced by them usually burst the cell wall of the host cell, and the viruses release themselves into the body of the organism. Usually, the host cell death in cases of infections takes place by a process called apoptosis or cell suicide in which the phagocytic bodies produced by the immune system of the host organism are able to engulf the fragments of the host cell before the damage spreads to surrounding cells. However, some cells seemingly remain healthy and carry latent viruses and show few or no signs of infection for months or even years.

  1. Viruses mutate the metabolic process of the host cell.

  2. Getting infected by a virus does not always annihilate the host cell.

  3. The virus undergoes metamorphosis once inside the host cell.

  4. Viruses reproduce by dividing themselves over and over.

  5. Viruses cannot replicate themselves unless inside a host cell.


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

(1) Incorrect; the passage states that viruses force the host cell into manufacturing proteins that it does not need to survive. It means that viruses alter the natural metabolic process of the host cells. (2) Incorrect; the passage mentions that sometimes, the host cell survives for years after being infected. (3) Incorrect; the passage mentions that the virus loses its outer cell wall once inside the host cell. (4)Correct; the passage mentions that viruses reproduce by getting the host cell to produce proteins that it does not need and that these proteins later coalesce to form new virus cells. This information rules out the possibility of viruses reproducing by dividing themselves. (5) Incorrect; the passage mentions that viruses reproduce by getting inside the host cell.  

In the passage given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Numerical weather prediction was a field initiated by Lewis Richardson in 1920s to forecast weather prediction. However, with the calculation of the weather pattern of one day took him more than fifteen weeks of preparation! It was in the 1950s, after the development of supercomputers, that the science of numerical weather prediction gained ground. With technology evolving at breakneck speed, the more powerful supercomputers are now able to compute millions of inputs and datasets to further increase the odds of weather prediction. However, because the formulae used in such calculations have innate imperfections, the errors resulting from the increasing inputs and datasets also grow along with our knowledge of the weather patterns.
Atmosphere is always in a state of flux, and that, in itself lengthens the odds of weather predictions being spot on. The atmospheric predictions are based upon a process that takes a sample of the fluid and by using thermodynamics equations, fluid dynamics, and millions of databases, estimates the state of the fluid at a time in the future. Since the sample of the fluid is taken as, but mathematically is not, the perfect representative of the state of the entire fluid, the long shot becomes an even longer shot.

 

  1. The first sentence draws a conclusion, and the second strengthens the conclusion.

  2. The second sentence draws a conclusion and the first sentence weakens the conclusion drawn.

  3. Both the sentences provide evidence about the inexactness of weather prediction.

  4. Both the sentences provide evidence about a conclusion that is not stated in the passage.

  5. The first sentence sets up a reason, and the second sentence explains that reason.


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

(1) Incorrect; the first sentence provides an alternate scenario, not a conclusion to the argument. (2) Incorrect; the first sentence provides an alternate scenario, not a conclusion to the argument. (3) Correct; both the sentences highlight how, due to a number of factors, weather prediction remains inexact. (4) Incorrect; the relation of the sentences with the conclusion cannot be predicted without knowing the conclusion. (5) Incorrect; both sentences elucidate different reasons for the inexactitude of weather prediction.

Which of the following is a necessary assumption in the argument above?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Since it was founded in 1996, Al- Jazeera, the Arabic news channel operating out of Doha, has grown by leaps and bounds. The reasons for its success are not hard to find, the fact that it has been pretty much unbiased in its reporting has boosted its credibility among viewers across the globe. Its pro-democracy postulations earned it plaudits in the democratic world, but made some very powerful people in the Middle East its enemies too. Now with the democracy wave in the Middle East having crested, and Al- Jazeera’s success having spawned many other look-alike channels, it is certain that Al-Jazeera’s influence in the Middle East will see a decline.

  1. Al- Jazeera's will lose its relevance in Middle East once the democracy wave in the Middle East abates.

  2. Al Jazeera's powerful enemies will plot its downfall.

  3. Al Jazeera will not be able to stand the onslaught of its new competitors.

  4. Al Jazeera's competitors will maintain the same level of journalistic integrity as Al- Jazeera.

  5. News channels peak in popularity during the first two decades of inception, and then go into decline.


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

(1) Incorrect; its pre-democracy stance won it plaudits in democratic world, and hence, it is likely that it will continue to be a favorite among the viewers in democratic nations. (2) Incorrect; it is not necessary that it will happen. (3) Incorrect but close; there is a better option available. (4) Correct; the simple way to find the answer is to negate the assumption. If we negate the assumption that Al- Jazeera's competitors will be able to match their predecessors' journalistic standards, it automatically denotes that Al- jazeera will remain popular. (5) Incorrect; there is no evidence to suggest it.

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