GMAT Reading Comprehension
You are currently browsing the articles from GMAT Question of the Day matching the category GMAT Reading Comprehension.
It was once assumed that all living things could be divided into two fundamental and exhaustive categories. Multicellular plants and animals, as well as many unicellular organisms, are eukaryotic their large, complex cells have a well-formed nucleus and many organelles. On the other hand, the true bacteria are prokaryotic cell, which are simple and lack a nucleus. The distinction between eukaryotes and bacteria, initially defined in terms of subcellular structures visible with a microscope, was ultimately carried to the molecular level. Here prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have many features in common. For instance, they translate genetic information into proteins according to the same type of genetic coding. But even where the molecular processes are the same, the details in the two forms are different and characteristic of the respective forms. For example, the amino acid sequences of various enzymes tend to be typically prokaryotic or eukaryotic. The differences between the groups and the similarities within each group made it seem certain to most biologists that the tree of life had only two stems. Moreover, arguments pointing out the extent of both structural and functional differences between eukaryotes and true bacteria convinced many biologists that the precursors of the eukaryotes must have diverged from the common ancestor before the bacteria arose.
Although much of this picture has been sustained by more recent research, it seems fundamentally wrong in one respect. Among the bacteria, there are organisms that are significantly different both from the cells of eukaryotes and from the true bacteria, and it now appears that there are three stems in the tree of life. New techniques for determining the molecular sequence of the RNA of organisms have produced evolutionary information about the degree to which organisms are related, the time since they diverged from a common ancestor, and the reconstruction of ancestral versions of genes. These techniques have strongly suggested that although the true bacteria indeed form a large coherent group, certain other bacteria, the archaebacteria, which are also prokaryotes and which resemble true bacteria, represent a distinct evolutionary branch that far antedates the common ancestor of all true bacteria.
1) The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) detailing the evidence that has led most biologists to replace the trichotomous picture of living organisms with a dichotomous one
(B) outlining the factors that have contributed to the current hypothesis concerning the number of basic categories of living organisms
(C) evaluating experiments that have resulted in proof that the prokaryotes are more ancient than had been expected
(D) summarizing the differences in structure and function found among true bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes
(E) formulating a hypothesis about the mechanisms of evolution that resulted in the ancestors of the prokaryotes
2) According to the passage, investigations of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells at the molecular level supported the conclusion that
(A) most eukaryotic organisms are unicellular
(B) complex cells have well-formed nuclei
(C) prokaryotes and eukaryotes form two fundamental categories
(D) subcellular structures are visible with a microscope
(E) prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have similar enzymes
3) According to the passage, which of the following statements about the two-category hypothesis is likely to be true?
(A) It is promising because it explains the presence of true bacteria-like organisms such as organelles in eukaryotic cells.
(B) It is promising because it explains why eukaryotic cells, unlike prokaryotic cells, tend to form multicellular organisms.
(C) It is flawed because it fails to account for the great variety among eukaryotic organisms.
(D) It is flawed because it fails to account for the similarity between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
(E) It is flawed because it fails to recognize an important distinction among prokaryotes.
4) It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following have recently been compared in order to clarify the fundamental classifications of living things?
(A) The genetic coding in true bacteria and that in other prokaryotes
(B) The organelle structures of archaebacteria, true bacteria, and eukaryotes
(C) The cellular structures of multicellular organisms and unicellular organisms
(D) The molecular sequences in eukaryotic RNA, true bacterial RNA, and archaebacterial RNA
(E) The amino acid sequences in enzymes of various eukaryotic species and those of enzymes in archaebacterial species
5) If the new techniques mentioned in line 31 were applied in studies of biological classifications other than bacteria, which of the following is most likely?
(A) Some of those classifications will have to be reevaluated.
(B) Many species of bacteria will be reclassified.
(C) It will be determined that there are four main categories of living things rather than three.
(D) It will be found that true bacteria are much older than eukaryotes.
(E) It will be found that there is a common ancestor of the eukaryotes, archaebacteria, and true bacteria.
6) According to the passage, researchers working under the two-category hypothesis were correct in thinking that
(A) prokaryotes form a coherent group
(B) the common ancestor of all living things had complex properties
(C) eukaryotes are fundamentally different from true bacteria
(D) true bacteria are just as complex as eukaryotes
(E) ancestral versions of eukaryotic genes functioned differently from their modern counterparts
7) All of the following statements are supported by the passage EXCEPT:
(A) True bacteria form a distinct evolutionary group.
(B) Archaebacteria are prokaryotes that resemble true bacteria.
(C) True bacteria and eukaryotes employ similar types of genetic coding.
(D) True bacteria and eukaryotes are distinguishable at the subcellular level.
(E) Amino acid sequences of enzymes are uniform for eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.
The author’s attitude toward the view that living things are divided into three categories is best described as one of
(A) tentative acceptance
(B) mild skepticism
(C) limited denial
(D) studious criticism
(E) whole hearted endorsement
Written by Take GMAT Team on November 24th, 2008 with 2 comments.
Read more articles on GMAT Question of the Day and GMAT Reading Comprehension.
Prior to 1975, union efforts to organize public-sector clerical workers, most of whom are women, were somewhat limited. The factors favoring unionization drives seem to have been either the presence of large numbers of workers, as in New York City, to make it worth the effort, or the concentration of small numbers in one or two locations, such as a hospital, to make it relatively easy. Receptivity to unionization on the workers� part was also a consideration, but when there were large numbers involved or the clerical workers were the only unorganized group in a jurisdiction, the multi-occupational unions would often try to organize them regardless of the workers� initial receptivity. The strategic reasoning was based, first, on the concern that politicians and administrators might play off unionized against non-unionized workers, and, second, on the conviction that a fully unionized public work force meant power, both at the bargaining table and in the legislature. In localities where clerical workers were few in number, were scattered in several workplaces, and expressed no interest in being organized, unions more often than not ignored them in the pre-1975 period.
But since the mid-1970�s, a different strategy has emerged. In 1977, 34 percent of government clerical workers were represented by a labor organization, compared with 46 percent of government professionals, 44 percent of government blue-collar workers, and 41 percent of government service workers. Since then, however, the biggest increases in public-sector unionization have been among clerical workers. Between 1977 and 1980, the number of unionized government workers in blue-collar and service occupations increased only about 1.5 percent, while in the white-collar occupations the increase was 20 percent and among clerical workers in particular, the increase was 22 percent.
What accounts for this upsurge in unionization among clerical workers? First, more women have entered the work force in the past few years, and more of them plan to remain working until retirement age. Consequently, they are probably more concerned than their predecessors were about job security and economic benefits. Also, the women�s movement has succeeded in legitimizing the economic and political activism of women on their own behalf, thereby producing a more positive attitude toward unions. The absence of any comparable increase in unionization among private-sector clerical workers, however, identifies the primary catalyst�the structural change in the multi-occupational public-sector unions themselves. Over the past twenty years, the occupational distribution in these unions has been steadily shifting from predominantly blue-collar to predominantly white-collar. Because there are far more women in white-collar jobs, an increase in the proportion of female members has accompanied the occupational shift and has altered union policy-making in favor of organizing women and addressing women�s issues.
1) According to the passage, the public-sector workers who were most likely to belong to unions in 1977 were
(A) professionals
(B) managers
(C) clerical workers
(D) service workers
(E) blue-collar workers
2) The author cites union efforts to achieve a fully unionized work force (line 13-19) in order to account for why
(A) politicians might try to oppose public-sector union organizing
(B) public-sector unions have recently focused on organizing women
(C) early organizing efforts often focused on areas where there were large numbers of workers
(D) union efforts with regard to public-sector clerical workers increased dramatically after 1975
(E) unions sometimes tried to organize workers regardless of the workers� initial interest in unionization
3) The author�s claim that, since the mid-1970�s, a new strategy has emerged in the unionization of public-sector clerical workers (line 23) would be strengthened if the author
(A) described more fully the attitudes of clerical workers toward labor unions
(B) compared the organizing strategies employed by private-sector unions with those of public-sector unions
(C) explained why politicians and administrators sometimes oppose unionization of clerical workers
(D) indicated that the number of unionized public-sector clerical workers was increasing even before the mid-1970�s
(E) showed that the factors that favored unionization drives among these workers prior to 1975 have decreased in importance
4) According to the passage, in the period prior to 1975, each of the following considerations helped determine whether a union would attempt to organize a certain group of clerical workers EXCEPT
(A) the number of clerical workers in that group
(B) the number of women among the clerical workers in that group
(C) whether the clerical workers in that area were concentrated in one workplace or scattered over several workplaces
(D) the degree to which the clerical workers in that group were interested in unionization
(E) whether all the other workers in the same jurisdiction as that group of clerical workers were unionized
5) The author states that which of the following is a consequence of the women�s movement of recent years?
(A) An increase in the number of women entering the work force
(B) A structural change in multi-occupational public-sector unions
(C) A more positive attitude on the part of women toward unions
(D) An increase in the proportion of clerical workers that are women
(E) An increase in the number of women in administrative positions
6) The main concern of the passage is to
(A) advocate particular strategies for future efforts to organize certain workers into labor unions
(B) explain differences in the unionized proportions of various groups of public-sector workers
(C) evaluate the effectiveness of certain kinds of labor unions that represent public-sector workers
(D) analyzed and explain an increase in unionization among a certain category of workers
(E) describe and distinguish strategies appropriate to organizing different categories of workers
7) The author implies that if the increase in the number of women in the work force and the impact of the women�s movement were the main causes of the rise in unionization of public-sector clerical workers, then
(A) more women would hold administrative positions in unions
(B) more women who hold political offices would have positive attitudes toward labor unions
(C) there would be an equivalent rise in unionization of private-sector clerical workers
(D) unions would have shown more interest than they have in organizing women
(E) the increase in the number of unionized public-sector clerical workers would have been greater than it has been
The author suggests that it would be disadvantageous to a union if
(A) many workers in the locality were not unionized
(B) the union contributed to political campaigns
(C) the union included only public-sector workers
(D) the union included workers from several jurisdictions
(E) the union included members from only a few occupations
9) The author implies that, in comparison with working women today, women working in the years prior to the mid-1970�s showed a greater tendency to
(A) prefer smaller workplaces
(B) express a positive attitude toward labor unions
(C) maximize job security and economic benefits
(D) side with administrators in labor disputes
(E) quit working prior of retirement age
Written by Take GMAT Team on November 21st, 2008 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on GMAT Question of the Day and GMAT Reading Comprehension.
The debate over the environment crisis is not new: anxiety about industry’s impact on the environment has existed for over a century. What is new is the extreme polarization of views. Mounting evidence of humanity’s capacity to damage the environment irreversibly coupled with suspicions that government, industry, and even science might be impotent to prevent environmental destruction have provoked accusatory polemics on the part of environmentalists. In turn, these polemics have elicited a corresponding backlash from industry. The sad effect of this polarization is that it is now even more difficult for industry than it was a hundred years ago to respond appropriately to impact analyses that demand action.
Unlike today’s adversaries, earlier ecological reformers shared with advocates of industrial growth a confidence in timely corrective action. George P. Marsh’s pioneering conservation tract Man and Nature (1864) elicited wide acclaim without embittered denials. Man and Nature castigated Earth’s despoilers for heedless greed, declaring that humanity has brought the face of the Earth to a desolation almost as complete as that of the Moon. But no entrepreneur of industrialists sought to refute Marsh’s accusations, to defend the gutting of forests or the slaughter of wildlife as economically essential, or to dismiss his ecological warnings as hysterical. To the contrary, they generally agreed with him.
Why? Marsh and his followers took environmental improvement and economic progress as givens: they disputed not the desirability of conquering nature but the bungling way in which the conquest was carried out. Blame was not personalized, Marsh denounced general greed rather than particular entrepreneurs, and the media did not hound malefactors. Further, corrective measures seemed to entail no sacrifice, to demand no draconian remedies. Self-interest underwrote most prescribed reforms. Marsh’s emphasis on future stewardship was then a widely accepted ideal (if not practice). His ecological admonitions were in keeping with the Enlightenment premise that humanity’s mission was to subdue and transform nature.
Not until the 1960s did a gloomier perspective gain popular ground. Fredric Clements’ equilibrium model of ecology, developed in the 1930s, seemed consistent with mounting environmental disasters. In this view, nature was most fruitful when least altered. Left undisturbed, flora and fauna gradually attained maximum diversity and stability. Despoliation thwarted the culmination or shortened the duration of this beneficent climax: technology did not improve nature but destroyed it.
The equilibrium model became an ecological mystique: environmental interference was now taboo, wilderness adored. Nature as unfinished fabric perfected by human ingenuity gave way to the image nature debased and endangered by technology. In contrast to the Enlightenment vision of nature, according to which rational managers construct an ever more improved environment, twentieth-century reformers vision of nature calls for a reduction of human interference in order to restore environmental stability.
1) Which one of the following most accurately states the main idea of the passage?
(A) Mounting evidence of humanity’s capacity to damage the environment should motivate action to prevent further damage.
(B) The ecological mystique identified with Frederic Clements has become a religious conviction among ecological reformers.
(C) George P. Marsh’s ideas about conservation and stewardship have heavily influenced the present debate over the environment.
(D) The views of ecologists and industrial growth advocates concerning the environment have only recently become polarized.
(E) General greed, rather than particular individuals or industries, should be blamed for the environmental crisis.
2) The author refers to the equilibrium model of ecology as an �ecological mystique� (liens 54-55) most likely in order to do which one of the following?
(A) underscore the fervor with which twentieth-century reformers adhere to the equilibrium model
(B) point out that the equilibrium model of ecology has recently been supported by empirical scientific research
(C) express appreciation for how plants and animals attain maximum diversity and stability when left alone
(D) indicate that the idea of twentieth-century ecological reformers are often so theoretical as to be difficult to understand
(E) indicate how widespread support is for the equilibrium model of ecology in the scientific community
3) Which one of the following practices is most clearly an application of Frederic Clements equilibrium model of ecology?
(A) introducing a species into an environment to which it is not help control the spread of another species that no longer has any natural predators
(B) developing incentives for industries to take corrective measures to protect the environment
(C) using scientific methods to increase the stability of plants and animals in areas where species are in danger of becoming extinct
(D) using technology to develop plant and animal resources but balancing that development with stringent restrictions on technology
(E) setting areas of land aside to be maintained as wilderness from which the use of extraction of natural resources is prohibited
4) The passage suggests that George P. Marsh and today’s ecological reformers would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?
(A) Regulating industries in order to protect the environment does not conflict with the self interest of those industries.
(B) Solving the environmental crisis does not require drastic and costly remedies.
(C) Human despoliation of the Earth has caused widespread environmental damage.
(D) Environmental improvement and economic progress are equally important goals.
(E) Rather than blaming specific industries, general greed should be denounced as the cause of environmental destruction.
5) The passage is primarily concerned with which one of the following?
(A) providing examples of possible solutions to a current crisis
(B) explaining how conflicting viewpoints in a current debate are equally valid
(C) determining which of two conflicting viewpoints in a current debate is more persuasive
(D) outlining the background and development of conflicting viewpoints in a current debate
(E) demonstrating weaknesses in the arguments made by one side in a current debate
Written by Take GMAT Team on November 17th, 2008 with 8 comments.
Read more articles on GMAT Question of the Day and GMAT Reading Comprehension.
Special “GMAT 700+ Batch” from 16th November 2008
Dear Sir/Madam,
TakeGMAT.com and Achievers Point offer Classroom coaching for future leaders
How we make sure that you score 700++
>> Visual Vocab: For Difficult Reading Comprehension Words
>> Classes by passionate faculty having 99th percentile.
>> Batch for sure shot high score.
High Score Guranteed, Limited seats, Admission only by AchieversTest
For more details visit :
http://www.achieverspoint.com/gmat/gmat-coaching-india.htm
Or call 24 hours Helpline: 9899004123
Thanking You
AchieversPoint.com Team
Have a nice day!.
==============================================
Achievers Point Knowledge Systems Pvt. Ltd.
1497, Wazir Nagar, Near ICICI Bank Defence Colony, Kotla Mubarakpur, New Delhi-110003
Phone: +91-11-46543884, +91-987366-4123, 987372-4123
Achievers Point Knowledge Systems Pvt. Ltd.
C-10, Radhu Place Road, Opposite Kotak Mahindra Bank, Near v3s Mall, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi-110092
Phone: +91-11-43097859,+91-989975-4123, 995368-4123
Achievers Point Knowledge Systems Pvt. Ltd.
37, Near Metro Pillar No. 373, Raja Garden, New Delhi-110015
Phone: +91-11-25414056, +91-989998-4123, 9873264123
Achievers Point Knowledge Systems Pvt. Ltd.
871, Second Floor, Swanand, Opposite, Spencer’s Daily, Near Deccan Gymkhana, Bhandarkar Road, Pune-411004
Phone: +91-932532-4123, 973014-4123, 973024-4123
Achievers Point Knowledge Systems Pvt. Ltd.,
502, Sudheer Tapani Towers, No. 3-6-271, Opposite Telugu Academy, Himayat Nagar, Hyderabad- 500029, Andhra Pradesh
Phone: +91-40-40077177, 23223750, +91-970336-4123, 970337-4123
24 Hours Study Abroad Helpline: +91-989900-4123
help@achieverspoint.com
www.achieverspoint.com
===============================================
Written by Take GMAT Team on November 12th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on 1000 CR and 1000 High Frequency RC Words and 1000 RC and 1000 SC and Ask a GMAT Question and Correct Answer with Explanation and GMAT Average and GMAT Coordinate Geometry and GMAT Critical Reasoning and GMAT Data Sufficiency and GMAT Defined Function and GMAT Difficulty level and GMAT Full Length Test and GMAT Geometry and GMAT MBA News and GMAT Maths and GMAT Problem Solving and GMAT Quantitative and GMAT Question of the Day and GMAT Reading Comprehension and GMAT Sentence Correction and GMAT Verbal and GMAT Wordlist and GMAT coaching and MBA Essay Sample and MBA JOBS and Very Hard GMAT Questions..
By the mid-fourteenth century, professional associations of canon lawyers (legal advocates in Christian ecclesiastical courts, which dealt with cases involving marriage, inheritance, and other issues) had appeared in most of Western Europe, and a body of professional standards had been defined for them. One might expect that the professional associations would play a prominent role in enforcing these standards of conduct, as other guilds often did, and as modern professional associations do, but that seems not to have happened. Advocates� professional organizations showed little fervor for disciplining their erring members. Some even attempted to hobble efforts at enforcement. The Florentine guild of lawyers, for example, forbade its members to play any role in disciplinary proceedings against other guild members. In the few recorded episodes of disciplinary enforcement, the initiative for disciplinary action apparently came from a dissatisfied client, not from fellow lawyers.
At first glance, there seem to be two possible explanations for the rarity of disciplinary proceedings. Medieval canon lawyers may have generally observed the standards of professional conduct scrupulously. Alternatively, it is possible that deviations from the established standards of behavior were not uncommon, but that canonical disciplinary mechanisms were so inefficient that most delinquents escaped detection and punishment.
Two considerations make it clear that the second of these explanations is more plausible. First, the English civil law courts, whose ethical standards were similar to those of ecclesiastical courts, show many more examples of disciplinary actions against legal practitioners than do the records of church courts. This discrepancy could well indicate that the disciplinary mechanisms of the civil courts functioned more efficiently than those of the church courts. The alternative inference, namely, that ecclesiastical advocates were less prone to ethical lapses than their counterparts in the civil courts, seems inherently weak, especially since there was some overlap of personnel between the civil bar and the ecclesiastical bar.
Second, church authorities themselves complained about the failure of advocates to measure up to ethical standards and deplored the shortcomings of the disciplinary system. Thus the Council of Basel declared that canon lawyers failed to adhere to the ethical prescriptions laid down in numerous papal constitutions and directed Cardinal Cesarian to address the problem. In England, where medieval church records are extraordinarily rich, similar complaints about the failure of the disciplinary system to reform unethical practices were very common.
Such criticisms seem to have had a paradoxical result, for they apparently reinforced the professional solidarity of lawyers at the expense of the enforcement of ethical standards. Thus the profession�s critics may actually have induced advocates to organize professional associations for self-defense. The critics� attacks may also have persuaded lawyers to assign a higher priority to defending themselves against attacks by nonprofessionals than to disciplining wayward members within their own ranks.
1) Which one of the following best states the main conclusion of the passage?
(A) Professional organizations of medieval canon lawyers probably only enforced ethical standards among their own members when provoked to do so by outside criticisms.
(B) Professional organizations of medieval civil lawyers seem to have maintained stricter ethical standards for their own members than did professional organizations of medieval canon lawyers.
(C) Professional organizations of medieval canon lawyers apparently served to defend their members against critics� attacks rather than to enforce ethical standards.
(D) The ethical standards maintained by professional associations of medieval canon lawyers were chiefly laid down in papal constitutions.
(E) Ethical standards for medieval canon lawyers were not laid down until professional organizations for these lawyers had been formed.
2) According to the passage, which one of the following statements about law courts in medieval England is true?
(A) Some English lawyers who practiced in civil courts also practiced in church courts, but others served exclusively in one court or the other.
(B) English canon lawyers were more likely to initiate disciplinary proceedings against their colleagues than were English civil lawyers.
(C) English civil lawyers maintained more stringent ethical standards than did civil lawyers in the rest of Europe.
(D) English ecclesiastical courts had originally been modeled upon English civil courts.
(E) English ecclesiastical courts kept richer and more thorough records than did English civil courts.
3) The author refers to the Florentine guild of lawyers in the first paragraph most probably in order to
(A) introduce a theory about to be promoted
(B) illustrate the type of action referred to in the previous sentence
(C) underline the universality of a method discussed throughout the paragraph
(D) point out a flaw in an argument presented earlier in the paragraph
(E) rebut an anticipated objection to a thesis just proposed
4) The author refers to the Council of Basel (line 47) primarily in order to
(A) provide an example of the type of action needed to establish professional standards for canon lawyers
(B) contrast the reactions of English church authorities with the reactions of other bodies to violations of professional standards by canon lawyers
(C) bolster the argument that violations of professional standards by canon lawyers did take place
(D) explain how rules of conduct for canon lawyers were established
(E) describe the development of a disciplinary system to enforce professional standards among canon lawyers
5) According to the information in the passage, for which one of the following ethical violations would documentation of disciplinary action against a canon lawyer be most likely to exist?
(A) betraying a client�s secrets to the opposing party
(B) bribing the judge to rule in favor of a client
(C) misrepresenting credentials in order to gain admission to the lawyers� guild
(D) spreading rumors in order to discredit an opposing lawyer
(E) knowingly helping a client to misrepresent the truth
6) Which one of the following is most analogous to the �professional solidarity� referred to in passage ?
(A) Members of a teachers� union go on strike when they believe one of their colleagues to be falsely accused of using an inappropriate textbook.
(B) In order to protect the reputation of the press in the face of a largely hostile public, a journalist conceals distortions in a colleague�s news article.
(C) Several dozen recording artists agree to participate in a concert to benefit an endangered environmental habitat.
(D) In order to expedite governmental approval of a drug, a government official is persuaded to look the other way when a pharmaceutical manufacturer conceals evidence that the drug may have minor side effects.
(E) A popular politician agrees to campaign for another, less popular politician belonging to the same political party.
7) The passage suggests that which one of the following is most likely to have been true of medieval guilds?
(A) Few guilds of any importance existed before the mid-fourteenth century.
(B) Many medieval guilds exercised influence over the actions of their members.
(C) Most medieval guilds maintained more exacting ethical standards than did the associations of canon lawyers.
(D) Medieval guilds found it difficult to enforce discipline among their members.
(E) The ethical standards of medieval guilds varied from one city to another.
The author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following regarding the hypothesis that medieval canon lawyers observed standards of professional conduct scrupulously?
(A) It is untrue because it is contradicted by documents obtained from the ecclesiastical courts.
(B) It is unlikely because it describes behavior markedly different from behavior observed in the same situation in modern society.
(C) It is unlikely because it describes behavior markedly different from behavior observed in a similar area of medieval society.
(D) It is impossible to assess intelligently because of the dearth of civil and ecclesiastical documents.
(E) It is directly supported by documents obtained from civil and ecclesiastical courts.
Written by Take GMAT Team on September 19th, 2008 with 9 comments.
Read more articles on 1000 RC and Average difficult GMAT Questions and GMAT Average and GMAT Question of the Day and GMAT Reading Comprehension.
« Older articles
No newer articles
