GMAT Reading Comprehension Discussions

[abchekstylo]

Originally Posted by kkj06

Googled a bit.....on the following link/blog, Eric mentions some nice strategies:
General Strategies for Reading Comprehension

" This may sound like odd advice, but one strategy that really helped me focus on RC passages was pretending that I was really interested in the subject matter discussed in the passages. I tried to read each RC passage with an attitude that I really wanted to learn something from them. Having this attitude helped me improve my performance quite a bit. "

I am trying hard to own the passage and till now it seems to have helped me in solving OG RC. This weekend's mock will show my actual improvement in RC accuracy.

Cheers!

cool man.
i found that if i spend some more time analyzing the passage rather than jump to the questions and come back to the passage later(thats what most books recommend though) my overall accuracy increases and the total time taken is also less.

Coz anyway the difficult problems are always centered around the overall information(the author's strategy, the structure etc).So it helps if u really spend some time analyzing all that information while reading the passage the first time itself.
Hope it helps!

[sillyfool]

hey good to c such a discussion going on
also while going through RC which are quite long
or are on a subject which is of no interest to us
Maybe we can read them faster and underline the things
that seems important.
Other idea can be that we just take a glimpse of the questions
so as to get an idea of type of questions asked and then concentarting
more on that part which addresses the same question
Hope this helps

Cheers
Sillyfool

[abchekstylo]

Originally Posted by sillyfool

hey good to c such a discussion going on
also while going through RC which are quite long
or are on a subject which is of no interest to us
Maybe we can read them faster and underline the things
that seems important.
Other idea can be that we just take a glimpse of the questions
so as to get an idea of type of questions asked and then concentarting
more on that part which addresses the same question
Hope this helps

Cheers
Sillyfool

dear sillyfool,
we just cant underline anything in the Qs on the gmat simply coz it's on the computer screen.we could take notes but that again is time consuming.
secondly,u can't skim thru the Qs either coz u get to see only 1 Q at a time and the next one pops up only when u have answered the first.

the CAT(the Indian one) is also getting online, so the underlining and skimming "techniques" are almost outdated now.
Also almost all the passages are so damn boring and useless on purpose that u just have to act like u r so grateful that the author wrote it and did u such a huge favour by letting it be a part of the GMAT

[ThinkPad]

Originally Posted by kkj06

Googled a bit.....on the following link/blog, Eric mentions some nice strategies:
General Strategies for Reading Comprehension

" This may sound like odd advice, but one strategy that really helped me focus on RC passages was pretending that I was really interested in the subject matter discussed in the passages. I tried to read each RC passage with an attitude that I really wanted to learn something from them. Having this attitude helped me improve my performance quite a bit. "

I am trying hard to own the passage and till now it seems to have helped me in solving OG RC. This weekend's mock will show my actual improvement in RC accuracy.

Cheers!

I am new to pagalguy. I just took a Kaplan test today and found it pretty tough. I found the verbal section particularly difficult (especially RC) and was just looking for some strategies to tackle the section effectively. Although everyone says "pay attention to the matter", I dont think I have ever thought of it the way it has been put across here. I found the reasoning very interesting and will definitely try this approach.

[dextar]

Hi This RC is from 1000 RC series. Pls help with the answers and their explaination.
In Forces of Production, David Noble examines the transformation of the machine-tool industry as the industry moved from reliance on skilled artisans to automation. Noble writes from a Marxist perspective, and his central argument is that management, in its decisions to automate, conspired against labor: the power that the skilled machinists wielded in the industry was intolerable to management. Noble fails to substantiate this claim, although his argument is impressive when he applies the Marxist concept of “de-skilling”—the use of technology to replace skilled labor—to the automation of the machine-tool industry. In automating, the industry moved to computer-based, digitized “numerical-control” (N/C) technology, rather than to artisan-generated “record-playback” (R/P) technology.
Although both systems reduced reliance on skilled labor, Noble clearly prefers R/P, with its inherent acknowledgment of workers’ skills: unlike N/C, its programs were produced not by engineers at their computers, but by skilled machinists, who recorded their own movements to “teach” machines to duplicate those movements. However, Noble’s only evidence of conspiracy is that, although the two approaches were roughly equal in technical merit, management chose N/C. From this he concludes that automation is undertaken not because efficiency demands it or scientific advances allow it, but because it is a tool in the ceaseless war of capitalists against labor.

Which of the following best characterizes the function of the second paragraph of the passage?
(A) It develops a topic introduced in the first paragraph.
(B) It provides evidence to refute a claim presented in the first paragraph.
(C) It gives examples of a phenomenon mentioned in the first paragraph.
(D) It presents a generalization about examples given in the first paragraph.
(E) It suggests two possible solutions to a problem presented in the first paragraph.

Which of the following phrases most clearly reveals the attitude of the author of the passage toward Noble’s central argument?
(A) “conspired against” (line 6)
(B) “intolerable to management” (line 7)
(C) “impressive when he applies the Marxist concept” (line 9)
(D) “clearly prefers” (line 16)
(E) “only evidence of conspiracy” (line 21)
Which of the following best characterizes Forces of Production as it is described in the passage?
(A) A comparison of two interpretations of how a particular industry evolved
(B) An examination of the origin of a particular concept in industrial economics
(C) A study that points out the weakness of a particular interpretation of an industrial phenomenon
(D) A history of a particular industry from an ideological point of view(E) An attempt to relate an industrial phenomenon in one industry to a similar phenomenon in another industry

[abchekstylo]

Originally Posted by dextar

Hi This RC is from 1000 RC series. Pls help with the answers and their explaination.
In Forces of Production, David Noble examines the transformation of the machine-tool industry as the industry moved from reliance on skilled artisans to automation. Noble writes from a Marxist perspective, and his central argument is that management, in its decisions to automate, conspired against labor: the power that the skilled machinists wielded in the industry was intolerable to management. Noble fails to substantiate this claim, although his argument is impressive when he applies the Marxist concept of “de-skilling”—the use of technology to replace skilled labor—to the automation of the machine-tool industry. In automating, the industry moved to computer-based, digitized “numerical-control” (N/C) technology, rather than to artisan-generated “record-playback” (R/P) technology.
Although both systems reduced reliance on skilled labor, Noble clearly prefers R/P, with its inherent acknowledgment of workers’ skills: unlike N/C, its programs were produced not by engineers at their computers, but by skilled machinists, who recorded their own movements to “teach” machines to duplicate those movements. However, Noble’s only evidence of conspiracy is that, although the two approaches were roughly equal in technical merit, management chose N/C. From this he concludes that automation is undertaken not because efficiency demands it or scientific advances allow it, but because it is a tool in the ceaseless war of capitalists against labor.

Which of the following best characterizes the function of the second paragraph of the passage?
(A) It develops a topic introduced in the first paragraph.
(B) It provides evidence to refute a claim presented in the first paragraph.
(C) It gives examples of a phenomenon mentioned in the first paragraph.
(D) It presents a generalization about examples given in the first paragraph.
(E) It suggests two possible solutions to a problem presented in the first paragraph.

Which of the following phrases most clearly reveals the attitude of the author of the passage toward Noble’s central argument?
(A) “conspired against” (line 6)
(B) “intolerable to management” (line 7)
(C) “impressive when he applies the Marxist concept” (line 9)
(D) “clearly prefers” (line 16)
(E) “only evidence of conspiracy” (line 21)
Which of the following best characterizes Forces of Production as it is described in the passage?
(A) A comparison of two interpretations of how a particular industry evolved
(B) An examination of the origin of a particular concept in industrial economics
(C) A study that points out the weakness of a particular interpretation of an industrial phenomenon
(D) A history of a particular industry from an ideological point of view(E) An attempt to relate an industrial phenomenon in one industry to a similar phenomenon in another industry

hi dextar,
i think the answers are
1 A
C looks good too but in the first paragraph, Noble says that management conspired against labor and in the second paragraph, he gives only 1 example and not examples.
B is out of the question coz the evidence does not refute the claim.
Not D coz examples are not presented in 1st paragraph, only in 2nd.
Not E coz the author of the passage is not suggesting the problems and solutions.he is merely analyzing Noble's work.

2 E
the author of the passage says that Noble did not substantiate his claim and presented only 1 evidence of conspiracy.The whole passage seems to revolve around this weakness in Noble's work.
C looks good but the author seems to be less impressed and more critical of Noble's work.
Rest of the choices A, B, D are attitudes of Noble rather than the author of the passage.


3 D
"David Noble examines the transformation of the machine-tool industry".D just fits.
Not A coz theres no comparison of interpretations in the book.
Not E coz other industries are not mentioned.
Not B coz the transformation, and not any concept, is examined.
Not C coz "Forces of Production" is an interpretation and the passage finds a weakness in it.

Let us know the right answers soon.
Cheers!

[dextar]

Bingo !!!! All correct

Thanks for the explainations.

Here is one more

Protein synthesis begins when the gene encoding a protein is activated. The gene’s sequence of nucleotides is transcribed into a molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA), which reproduces the information contained in that sequence. Transported outside the nucleus to the cytoplasm, the mRNA is translated into the protein it encodes by an organelle known as a ribosome, which strings together amino acids in the order specified by the sequence of elements in the mRNA molecule. Since the amount of mRNA in a cell determines the amount of the corresponding protein, factors affecting the abundance of mRNA’s play a major part in the normal functioning of a cell by appropriately regulating protein synthesis. For example, an excess of certain proteins can cause cells to proliferate abnormally and become cancerous; a lack of the protein insulin results in diabetes.
Biologists once assumed that the variable rates at which cells synthesize different mRNA’s determine the quantities of mRNA’s and their corresponding proteins in a cell. However, recent investigations have shown that the concentrations of most mRNA’s correlate best, not with their synthesis rate, but rather with the equally variable rates at which cells degrade the different mRNA’s in their cytoplasm. If a cell degrades both a rapidly and a slowly synthesized mRNA slowly, both mRNA’s will accumulate to high levels.
An important example of this phenomenon is the development of red blood cells from their unspecialized parent cells in bone marrow . For red blood cells to accumulate sufficient concentrations of hemoglobin (which transports oxygen) to carry out their main function, the cells’ parent cells must simultaneously produce more of the constituent proteins of hemoglobin and less of most other proteins. To do this, the parent cells halt synthesis of non-hemoglobin mRNA’s in the nucleus and rapidly degrade copies of the non-hemoglobin mRNA’s remaining in the cytoplasm. Halting synthesis of mRNA alone would not affect the quantities of proteins synthesized by the mRNA’s still existing in the cytoplasm. Biologists now believe that most cells can regulate protein production most efficiently by varying both mRNA synthesis and degradation, as developing red cells do, rather than by just varying one or the other.

The passage suggests that a biologist who held the view described in the first sentence of the second paragraph would most probably also have believed which of the following?
(A) The rate of degradation of specific mRNA’s has little effect on protein concentrations.
(B) The rate of degradation of specific mRNA’s should be studied intensively.
(C) The rates of synthesis and degradation for any given mRNA are normally equal.
(D) Different mRNA’s undergo degradation at widely varying rates.
(E) Most mRNA’s degrade very rapidly.

To begin to control a disease caused by a protein deficiency, the passage suggests that a promising experimental treatment would be to administer a drug that would reduce
(A) only the degradation rate for the mRNA of the protein involved
(B) only the synthesis rate for the mRNA of the protein involved
(C) both the synthesis and degradation rates for the mRNA of the protein involved
(D) the incidence of errors in the transcription of mRNA’s from genetic nucleotide sequences
(E) the rate of activity of ribosomes in the cytoplasm of most cells

The passage suggests that a biologist who detected high levels of two proteins in a certain type of cell would be likely to consider which of the following as a possible explanation?
(A) The rate of mRNA degradation for one of the proteins increases as this type of cell develops a more specialized function.
(B) The two proteins are most likely constituents of a complex substance supporting the cells’ specialized function.
(C) The cells are likely to proliferate abnormally and possibly become cancerous due to the levels of these proteins.
(D) The mRNA’s for both proteins are being degraded at a low rate in that type of cell.
(E) The mRNA’s for the two proteins are being synthesized at identical rates in that type of cell.

[abchekstylo]

hi dextar,
i think the answers are:
1 D
The biologists basically believe that "the parent cells halt synthesis of non-hemoglobin mRNA’s in the nucleus and rapidly degrade copies of the non-hemoglobin mRNA’s remaining in the cytoplasm".Simply put, the synthesis of specific mRNAs (not all) is halted in the nucleus and the existing specific mRNAs (not all) are degraded in the cytoplasm.Only D comes close.
A is false and contrary to what the passage says.
Not B coz study is already done and the biologists "believe" the findings.
Not C coz rates are not equal.Synthesis is stopped and degradation occurs.
Not E coz most mRNAs dont degrade.Only the useless ones degrade and the required mRNAs stay and are produced too.


2 D
A and B dont work alone.U gotta stop the synthesis as well as degrade the useless mRNAs.
Not C coz u want to cure protein deficiency.So u need to create the protein, not reduce it.So actually u have to increase the synthesis rate and reduce the degradation rate of the mRNA for the protein involved (and the opposite for all the other mRNAs in the cell).
E is baseless and irrelevant.


3 B
Presence of high levels of 2 proteins only suggests that both are somehow required to perform the functions that the cell is responsible for.Thats why they are there.
A doesnt make sense.
Not C coz high level of protein is is not always cancerous.
D, E do not mention degradation and synthesis together.So they are incomplete.

Dextar,
i really doubt whether such hi-fi technical passages could appear on GMAT.Not sure though but i havent found anything like this anywhere else, not even Kaplan,which is supposed to dish out crappy RCs.

Anyway nice timepass solving em as long as they are correct
Post the answers soon.

[dextar]

Originally Posted by abchekstylo

hi dextar,
i think the answers are:
1 D
The biologists basically believe that "the parent cells halt synthesis of non-hemoglobin mRNA’s in the nucleus and rapidly degrade copies of the non-hemoglobin mRNA’s remaining in the cytoplasm".Simply put, the synthesis of specific mRNAs (not all) is halted in the nucleus and the existing specific mRNAs (not all) are degraded in the cytoplasm.Only D comes close.
A is false and contrary to what the passage says.
Not B coz study is already done and the biologists "believe" the findings.
Not C coz rates are not equal.Synthesis is stopped and degradation occurs.
Not E coz most mRNAs dont degrade.Only the useless ones degrade and the required mRNAs stay and are produced too.


2 D
A and B dont work alone.U gotta stop the synthesis as well as degrade the useless mRNAs.
Not C coz u want to cure protein deficiency.So u need to create the protein, not reduce it.So actually u have to increase the synthesis rate and reduce the degradation rate of the mRNA for the protein involved (and the opposite for all the other mRNAs in the cell).
E is baseless and irrelevant.


3 B
Presence of high levels of 2 proteins only suggests that both are somehow required to perform the functions that the cell is responsible for.Thats why they are there.
A doesnt make sense.
Not C coz high level of protein is is not always cancerous.
D, E do not mention degradation and synthesis together.So they are incomplete.

Dextar,
i really doubt whether such hi-fi technical passages could appear on GMAT.Not sure though but i havent found anything like this anywhere else, not even Kaplan,which is supposed to dish out crappy RCs.

Anyway nice timepass solving em as long as they are correct
Post the answers soon.

Hi
This time none of ur answer is correct

Anyways here are the answers which I don't have any idea !!!!
1 A
2 A
3 D

See whether u can get me the explainnation for these.

Anyways there is no harm practising these RC. I'm particualrly weak in these hi-fi technical pasages being a technical guy!!. It is better to be prepared. Who knows if u perform so well in GMAT,GMAt comes up with these nasty RC to stop the momentum.

[abchekstylo]

Oops
1 A seems rite.
I dont know why I was looking at (and quoted in the answer too )the 3rd sentence of the 3rd paragraph instead of the 1st sentence of 2nd paragraph.

The other 2 Qs are only half-answered by the choices u mentioned.The main idea in the passage is that Synthesis of the required mRNAs AND increased degradation of the other mRNAs lead to a high concentration of the required mRNAs.

So u really need to specify the rates of both to conclude anything.I think you should check out the OG and solve the right kind of problems instead of worrying about these dear.Just my personal opinion.