GMAT Reading Comprehension Discussions

MBA GMAT
1

The GMAT and Related Discussions section is very fragmented in terms of the information available at one’s disposal. There are one of reply threads and several other redundant threads that have masked the more important ones. This is an atte…

2

The GMAT and Related Discussions section is very fragmented in terms of the information available at one's disposal. There are one of reply threads and several other redundant threads that have masked the more important ones.

This is an attempt to make the best of explanations, reasonings, questions etc etc easily available to the junta here. We would be having separate threads for topics such as

Problem Solving (the existing one is renamed)

Data Sufficieny
Sentence Correction
Critical Reasoning
Reading Comprehension.

Please ensure that Q & As are carried out in the repsective threads.

Thread is made sticky

PS:-This post would be edited by the MODS in order to give links to various RCs that would be discussed here. We will try to organise the links for the questions discussed here.
Other relevant posts in the 'one of reply' threads would be moved here

3

Hello, I just wanted to know how different the RC preparation for GMAT is as compared to our CAT and other exams. Will the time,cl etc packages suffice? If not can someone please suggest books/urls etc. for the same ?...
thanks

4

@ redemption

would provide some pointers rather than any comprehensive info
GMAT RCs are relatively shorter than CAT RCs and contain very few direct questions, the emphasis is on inferential based questions. Generally the subject matter is the kinds where you tend to get lost half way through the reading or prolly by the end of it. In other words they are pretty esoteric 😃 but practice can help you in adapting to these type of passages. Keep watching this thread for more info and practice passages

5

PRACTICE PASSAGE:

Please provide answers with your explanations (AVOID POSTING ONLY ANSWERS). Remember answers are not important but explanation is 😃 . The focus here would be purely on developing an approach to tackle such esoteric passages.




~S

6
PRACTICE PASSAGE: (Source: 1000RC) -

Please provide answers with your explanations (AVOID POSTING ONLY ANSWERS). Remember answers are not important but explanation is 😃 . The focus here would be purely on developing an approach to tackle such esoteric passages.


Hey govi,

I have to say, thats one helluva passage man....i have read it twice and am still completely confused. I tried answering the ques but am not able to get them. where did u take this passage from?? (i will answer them though .... )
7

One of the reason I started the thread with this RC is due to its complexity it's a classic example of an RC where the main purpose is weaved into similar yet different information such RCs will have lots of instances mentioned and one may tend to read over them considering them unimportant. The fact is questions are framed from these similar looking yet different instances mentioned in the passage. To sum it, try and pen down very short notes while you are reading it and identify the main differences.

You can post what worked for you, there are always better ways to approach an RC :)

PS: Avoid quoting long posts 😃 quote only the relevant part, it's easier on the eyes as well

8
Really very tough RC...Here are my choices with reasons..

I wish atleast 1 will be a right answer...

1 - A. Since the passage moves around a functional behaviour (development of wings) of an organism with respect to temperature. (B) this not an 'hence proved' kind of passage, (C) The whole passage is not about difference between micropterous and macropterous (D) Only the first passage tells about the other two phenomena....the whole passage revolves around 'development' (D)The passage only discuss about the development and not the acclimatory kind of behaviour (Got the answer based on PoE)

2 - C. Third para clearly explains "But small ponds occasionally dry up during the summer, forcing the water bugs to search for new habitats, an eventualitythat macropterous individuals are well adapted to meet." (A) Its not about the 'number' of developmental responses, (B)Its not about acclimatory responses, (D) They are not discussing about 'survivability' because of dimorphism and (E) not discussing about transfer

3 A. I feel the same as in 2. Not sure about the answer

4 A. The 4th para says the dimorphism is because of the maintenance of eggs in two environments (one in warm and another in cold). (B) The passage doesnt discuss about difference of Micropterous and Macropterous morphologically (C) Acclimatory functional is not explained anywhere in the passage except the 1st para (D) The answer should be the reason and not the result (E) spends the winter in the forest is not the answer

5 B. increasing or decreasing the rates of various processes explains

6 E. I feel the same as in 2. Not sure about the answer

7 C. cold months and kept warm in the last para discuss about the effect of temperature.

8 E. The passage is discussing only about a particular phenomena with an example. (A) The passage is not comparing any two phenomenon (B) Only one of the phenomena is explained (C) Same reason as in B (D) They are not contrasting one phenomena with other

Please tell me which of the above answers are right.

Regards
Vishal



9

@vpriyan

here are the answers

1 - D
2 - D
3 - A
4 - A
5 - B
6 - E
7 - C
8 - A

10

Well here is where i bounce in !!! Will try to contribute as much as I can !! Well this was a spam to subscribe.


""" I DID'NT MEANT TO """ --- MODS PLEASE FORGIVE !!

11

Hi

In the RC section I face this problem. Whenever I come across a RC related to economics (especially American ) I am not able to understand it at all.
I mark almost all answers wrong.
What to do for a topic which you have just not followed.
Its not possible to read it again. Then how to answer it.

Please let me know any strategy which you people are using.

Regards
Ingrid

12

Hi

Can somebody tell me how much accuracy in GMAT RC can be considered as good?

Suppose, for around 15 questions in RC in GMAT, how much question if I mark correctly, can my performance be considered good?

10-11 out of 15, 11-12 out of 15 or more.. A good performance means to me crossing 700 mark.

Niraz~

13

Hi,
Can i get the link for 1000RC.I am not able to find the material.
Please help

Thanks
Vikash

14

Is no one interested in RC?

15
Sid4CAT Says
Is no one interested in RC?



Ya even I am getting the same feeling. No one seems to be interested. Or to put in better
words I guess people feel that RC cannot be improved by discussion.

But I still feel that discussion always helps.

Regards
Ingrid
16

Guys,

I too strongly believe that by discussion we definitely can improve the kind of reasoning one has put forward to get the expected answer.
Still RC needs lot of time and smart reading. It needs to be cultivated by daily practice.

Apart from that a good RC means answering 5 Right Q out of 6 and if you get an RC right within the starting 10 Q of GMAT then you need to be very careful while answering, if you get it wrong, it is most likely that you will start getting very easy question after that in SC/CR/RC.

RC eats time so smart ready will help.

Cheers
Vikash

17

A RC from 1000 series.

Most economists in the United States seem captivated by the spell of the free market. Consequently, nothing seems good or normal that does not accord with the requirements of the free market. A price that is determined by the seller or, for that matter (for that matter: so far as that is concerned), established by anyone other than the aggregate of consumers seems pernicious. Accordingly, it requires a major act of will to think of price-fixing (the determination of prices by the seller) as both normal and having a valuable economic function. In fact, price-fixing is normal in all industrialized societies because the industrial system itself provides, as an effortless consequence of its own development, the price-fixing that it requires. Modern industrial planning requires and rewards great size. Hence, a comparatively small number of large firms will be competing for the same group of consumers. That each large firm will act with consideration of its own needs and thus avoid selling its products for more than its competitors charge is commonly recognized by advocates of free-market economic theories. But each large firm will also act with full consideration of the needs that it has in common with the other large firms competing for the same customers. Each large firm will thus avoid significant price-cutting, because price-cutting would be prejudicial to the common interest in a stable demand for products. Most economists do not see price-fixing when it occurs because they expect it to be brought about by a number of explicit agreements among large firms; it is not.
Moreover, those economists who argue that allowing the free market to operate without interference is the most efficient method of establishing prices have not considered the economies of non-socialist countries other than the United states. These economies employ intentional price-fixing, usually in an overt fashion. Formal price-fixing by cartel and informal price-fixing by agreements covering the members of an industry are commonplace. Were there something peculiarly efficient about the free market and inefficient about price-fixing, the countries that have avoided the first and used the second would have suffered drastically in their economic development. There is no indication that they have.
Socialist industry also works within a framework of controlled prices. In the early 1970s, the Soviet Union began to give firms and industries some of the flexibility in adjusting prices that a more informal evolution has accorded the capitalist system. Economists in the United States have hailed the change as a return to the free market. But Soviet firms are no more subject to prices established by a free market over which they exercise little influence than are capitalist firms; rather, Soviet firms have been given the power to fix prices.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) refute the theory that the free market plays a useful role in the development of industrialized societies
(B) suggest methods by which economists and members of the government of the United States can recognize and combat price-fixing by large firms
(C) show that in industrialized societies price-fixing and the operation of the free market are not only compatible but also mutually beneficial
(D) explain the various ways in which industrialized societies can fix prices in order to stabilize the free market
(E) argue that price-fixing, in one form or another, is an inevitable part of and benefit to the economy of any industrialized society
2. The passage provides information that would answer which of the following questions about price-fixing?
I. What are some of the ways in which prices can be fixed?
II. For what products is price-fixing likely to be more profitable that the operation of the free market?
III. Is price-fixing more common in socialist industrialized societies or in non-socialist industrialized societies?
(A) I only
(B) III only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
3. The authors attitude toward Most economists in the United States(line 1) can best be described as
(A) spiteful and envious
(B) scornful and denunciatory
(C) critical and condescending
(D) ambivalent but deferential
(E) uncertain but interested
4. It can be inferred from the authors argument that a price fixed by the seller seems pernicious (line 7) because
(A) people do not have confidence in large firms
(B) people do not expect the government to regulate prices
(C) most economists believe that consumers as a group should determine prices
(D) most economists associate fixed prices with communist and socialist economies
(E) most economists believe that no one group should determine prices
5. The suggestion in the passage that price-fixing in industrialized societies is normal arises from the authors statement that price-fixing is
(A) a profitable result of economic development
(B) an inevitable result of the industrial system
(C) the result of a number of carefully organized decisions
(D) a phenomenon common to industrialized and non-industrialized societies
(E) a phenomenon best achieved cooperatively by government and industry
6. According to the author, price-fixing in non-socialist countries is often
(A) accidental but productive
(B) illegal but useful
(C) legal and innovative
(D) traditional and rigid
(E) intentional and widespread
7. According to the author, what is the result of the Soviet Unions change in economic policy in the 1970s?
(A) Soviet firms show greater profit.
(B) Soviet firms have less control over the free market.
(C) Soviet firms are able to adjust to technological advances.
(D) Soviet firms have some authority to fix prices.
(E) Soviet firms are more responsive to the free market.
8. With which of the following statements regarding the behavior of large firms in industrialized societies would the author be most likely to agree?
(A) The directors of large firms will continue to anticipate the demand for products.
(B) The directors of large firms are less interested in achieving a predictable level of profit than in achieving a large profit.
(C) The directors of large firms will strive to reduce the costs of their products.
(D) Many directors of large firms believe that the government should establish the prices that will be charged for products.
(E) Many directors of large firms believe that the price charged for products is likely to increase annually.
9. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with
(A) predicting the consequences of a practice
(B) criticizing a point of view
(C) calling attention to recent discoveries
(D) proposing a topic for research
(E) summarizing conflicting opinions

Answers waited with thought and doubts and Reasoning for each answer whether its right or wrong.????

Good luck
Vikash

18

hi friends.
am new at pagalguy and i liked this site a lot especially for budding aspirants.can somebody tell me the link to RC 1000 document.thanks..

19

Hi
Go to ScoreTop.com and download it there, it has got link to RC/CR/SC, thats where i downloaded all the materials.

Cheers
Vikash

20

Hi,
I searched in the thread...COuldnt find any link to get the 1000RCs doc...Can anyone help???Similiarly some material for Quants???