GRE Reading Comprehension Passages 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In GRE reading comprehension, what does it mean when a question asks for the 'primary purpose' of a passage?
- The author's overall reason for writing the entire passage (Correct answer)
- The first sentence of the passage
- A minor detail in one paragraph
- The most difficult vocabulary word used
Correct answer: The author's overall reason for writing the entire passage
Primary purpose questions ask about the author's main goal across the whole passage, not isolated details.
Question 2: A passage argues that a long-held theory is flawed, then proposes a revised model. The author's tone is best described as:
- Critical yet constructive (Correct answer)
- Wholly dismissive and mocking
- Indifferent and detached
- Nostalgic and sentimental
Correct answer: Critical yet constructive
Challenging a theory while offering an improvement signals critical but constructive intent.
Question 3: If a GRE question asks which statement the author would 'most likely agree with,' you should:
- Infer from the author's stated views and reasoning (Correct answer)
- Choose the answer with the strongest emotional language
- Pick whichever option restates the topic sentence verbatim
- Select the longest answer choice
Correct answer: Infer from the author's stated views and reasoning
Inference questions require reasoning from the author's expressed positions, not surface features.
Question 4: The word 'consequently' appearing between two sentences in a passage signals what relationship?
- Cause and effect (Correct answer)
- Contrast
- Simple chronological order with no link
- Definition of a term
Correct answer: Cause and effect
'Consequently' indicates the second statement results from the first.
Question 5: In a 'select-in-passage' question type, you must:
- Click the sentence that meets the described criteria (Correct answer)
- Type a summary of the passage
- Rearrange the paragraphs
- Choose three correct answer options
Correct answer: Click the sentence that meets the described criteria
Select-in-passage questions require highlighting the single sentence matching the prompt.
Question 6: A passage describes a phenomenon and then offers two competing explanations without endorsing either. The structure is best described as:
- Presenting alternative hypotheses neutrally (Correct answer)
- Refuting a single claim point by point
- Telling a personal narrative
- Defining and illustrating one concept
Correct answer: Presenting alternative hypotheses neutrally
Laying out two explanations without choosing reflects a neutral comparison of hypotheses.
Question 7: When a GRE multiple-answer reading question says 'select all that apply,' partial credit is:
- Not given—all correct choices must be selected with none wrong (Correct answer)
- Given for each correct choice independently
- Given if at least one choice is correct
- Always awarded regardless of selection
Correct answer: Not given—all correct choices must be selected with none wrong
GRE multiple-answer questions require exactly the right set; there is no partial credit.
GRE Reading Comprehension Passages 2
In GRE reading comprehension, what does it mean when a question asks for the 'primary purpose' of a passage?