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GRE Comprehensive 1. Unlike birds that simply spread viruses from an animal to another
Package animal, pigs are the "----vessel" where viruses swap genes and
Download Free GRE Test become----, deadly germs.
30 GRE practice questions
(A) comprehensive.. small
(B) complicated.. general
contact (C) frustrated.. important
FAQ about us
us (D) mixing.. new
(E) lethal.. big
Free GRE Resources
The word "unlike" suggests that pigs do not simply spread viruses
from an animal to another animal. Rather, inside pigs, viruses swap
genes. Choice D really makes sense. A place where viruses swap
genes is a "mixing vessel", and thus generate "new" germs.

2. Ancient cities were----destroyed, but archeologists have found

sufficient information to demonstrate an occasionally----but
generally complete picture in Tan Era.

(A) mostly.. fragmentary

(B) obviously.. necessary
(C) unwittingly.. whole
(D) partially.. famous
(E) fully.. necessary
The first missing word describes how ancient cities were destroyed.
The phrase "sufficient information" indicates that not all destroyed,
and the word "but" indicates that the cities were destroyed in a way
that would not lead you to find sufficient information. The second
missing word describes a picture in Tan Era. The word "but"
suggests that the word that fills the second blank must contrast with
the idea of full. Therefore, the best answer is A, which describes
the ancient cities as mostly destroyed.

3. Since the primary criterion to evaluate a company is its current

performance, analysts ------ to consider its previous credit.

(A) refused
(B) wished
(C) planned

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(D) extended
(E) caused

The word "since" indicates a cause-effect relation between the first

part of sentence and the second part. Therefore, the word that fills
the blank should be "not" to consider its previous credit. Choice A,
which clearly states redundancy (refused), is the best answer.

4. According to Maslow's theory of need hierarchy, material is the

---- demand of human beings, in that it provides the founding floor
from which the other demands are generated.

(A) essential
(B) basic
(C) final
(D) cheap
(E) emotional

The phrase "in that" suggests that the cause before "in that" should
be similar in meaning to that after "in that". Thus, the word that fills
in the blank must be a synonym to "founding". B is the best answer.
The word "basic" means the same as "founding".

5. To be a true leader, a manager must not be too----: any effective

leader depends on the ability of other people to----with each other.

(A) popular.. agree

(B) adventurous ..communicate
(C) independent.. cooperate
(D) self-confident.. argue
(E) pragmatic.. disagree

The first missing word describes a characteristic that a manager

with leadership ability (a leader) can have, but cannot have in
excess. The second missing word indicates what followers must be
able to do with each other if the leader is to be effective. The colon
(:) indicates that the second part of the sentence explains or
amplifies what is said in the first part. Therefore, whatever
characteristic the leader has must enable others to do with each
other. C is the best answer. If a manager were too "independent", it
would be difficult for the leader's followers to "cooperate" with
each other.

6. It is not surprising that superior service can generate competitive

advantage for a company, but the effort taken to improve service
can often be -----------.

(A) difficult
(B) expected
(C) diversified
(D) unpredictable
(E) promising
The missing word describes how the effort would be to improve
service and the word "but" suggests that the word fills the blank
must contrast with the idea of "not surprising". Therefore, D is the

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best answer.

GRE Reading Comprehension Answered

with Explanation
The cutting-edge science is ringing alarm bells. Avian flu virus
picked up by pigs can swap genetic materials with another flu virus
already in the pig and become a new, hitherto unknown flu virus
for which no person, no animal has preexisting immunity. The kind
of virus causes a pandemic because it spreads from human to
human.

If you took a peek into history, it turns out that previous influenza
pandemics have similar scenarios. The greatest influenza pandemic
in 1918 caused more than 20 million deaths of soldiers stationed in
France. The last influenza pandemic was in 1968, known as the
Hong Kong flu (H3N2). Thousands of deaths and millions were
infected worldwide.

The other examples are the Nipah virus and Japanese Encephalitis
virus, which find pigs to be good hosts. With JE, the virus circulates
in the blood of infected pigs. When infected pigs are bitten by
Culex mosquitoes, the virus replicates in the mosquito's gut. The
next time the mosquito bites a human, the virus is passed on. The
pig doesn't get sick as such. The Nipah virus causes pneumonia
symptoms in pigs. In humans, it causes encephalitis, and humans
catch it only with direct contact with infected pigs. Symptoms
range from mild headache to permanent brain damage, and can be
fatal.

It's merely a phenomenon of nature that the pig is the "mixing

vessel" for the new germ. But make no mistake, the pig is not the
villain, neither is the chicken. It's actually us, and our horrible farm
practices, outdated agricultural policy and, most of all, reckless
disregard of our ecology and environment. "Hygiene and
management can control what eventually happens," says Lam.
"Good farming practice will prevent serious outbreaks and infection
to humans." Despite knowing that, animal diseases and the
possibility of transmission to humans are becoming quite alarming.
Of the 35 new emerging diseases in the last 20 years, more than 70
per cent involved animals.

In fact, what we may have done is unwittingly create the perfect

launch pad for an influenza pandemic that will likely kill large
numbers of people across the globe. Although scientists say it's
impossible to predict the odds that the virus will alter its genetic
form radically enough to start leaping from human to human, the
longer H5N1 is out there killing chickens, the higher the chances
are.

1. Which of the following statement can be inferred from the

passage?

(A) New emerging diseases causes more deaths of human than

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animal.
(B) Animals are the villain for most flues.
(C) Hygiene and management can not control the spread of viruses.
(D) The current bird flu epidemic may be a launch pad for the next
influenza pandemic.
(E) The influenza pandemic is always a regional phenomenon.

Which answer is correct? For choice A, the passage did not make
any comparison between deaths of human and deaths of animal. In
B, animal is actually not the villain for most flues. Rather, it is
human. Look at the second sentence in the fourth paragraph, "But
make no mistake, the pig is not the villain, neither is the
chicken." For C, "Hygiene and management can control what
eventually happens"(in the middle of fourth paragraph), therefore,
C is incorrect. E is also incorrect. Though most flues discussed in
this passage were originated from some areas, the passage never
stated it was a regional phenomenon. In fact, it "will likely kill
large numbers of people across the globe", as stated at the
beginning of last paragraph. The correct answer is D – the current
bird flu epidemic may be a launch pad for the next influenza
pandemic, because no animal has preexisting immunity and it
causes a pandemic by spreading from human to human.

2. Which of the following best describes the topic of the passage?

(A) What causes the Nipah virus and Japanese Encephalitis virus to
happen?
(B) Does Hong Kong flu originate from pig?
(C) From fowl to pigs to humans?
(D) Is influenza pandemic horrible?
(E) Shall we eat chicken?
This question asks you to find a title for the passage. In other word,
it requires you to identify the primary concern of the passage as a
whole. The first paragraph presents a recent virus. The second and
third paragraphs describe similar influenza pandemics in history.
The fourth paragraph concludes who should be responsible for the
spread of virus and what human can do to control. The last
paragraph indicates that people stimulated rather than inhibited its
promulgation. We can thus conclude the current virus will also leap
to human. Furthermore, the passage as a whole is to "ring alarm
bells". Therefore, C is the best answer.

3. All of the following situations are similar to the spread of avian

flu virus described in the first paragraph EXCEPT:

(A) The BT2 spread from a pig to another pig, and thus causes
significant disease in pig.
(B) The AIDS viruses transferred from monkeys to man and spread
across the world.
(C) The SARS virus originates from some wildlife and is picked up

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by civet cats from which humans got it.

(D) Nipah virus circulates in the blood of infected pig, which is
bitten by Culex mosquitoes, the virus replicates in the mosquito's
gut. The next time the mosquito bites a human, the virus is passed
on.
(E) H5N1 starts in chickens and leaps from human to human.
The question requires you to recognize a situation that is not similar
to the spear of avian flu. Before considering following answer
choices, we fist define its rationale. It is something like this: Avian
flu virus picked up by pigs and is transferred to human. All of the
situations described in the answer choices are similar to it ex that in
choice A (from animal to animal). Therefore, A is the best answer.

4. What does the author mean by describing the pig as "mixing

vessel"?

(A) Pig is the place where various viruses reside.

(B) Pig is the pot in which viruses swap genes and become new,
deadly germs.
(C) Viruses are mixed inside the body of pig.
(D) New germs come to the body of pig and reside there.
(E) Pig attracts viruses.

The question requires you to determine the meanings of "mixing

vessel". At the beginning of the passage, the author states that
"Avian flu virus picked up by pigs can swap genetic materials with
another flu virus already in the pig and become a new, hitherto
unknown flu virus for which no person, no animal has preexisting
immunity. The kind of virus causes a pandemic because it spreads
from human to human." In other words, pig is the pot in which
viruses swap genes and become new, deadly germs. Therefore, the
correct answer is B.

Indian firms have achieved the highest levels of efficiency in the

world software outsourcing industry. Some researchers have
assumed that Indian firms use the same programming languages and
techniques as Chinese firms but have benefited from their
familiarity with English, the language used to write software code.
However, if this were true, then one would expect software
vendors in Hong Kong, where most people speak English, to
perform not worse than do Indian vendors. However, this is
obviously not the case.

Other researchers link high Indian productivity to higher levels of

human resource investment per engineer. But a historical
perspective leads to a different conclusion. When the two top
Indian vendors matched and then doubled Chinese productivity
levels in the mid-eighties, human resource investment per employee
was comparable to that of Chinese vendors. Furthermore, by the
late eighties, the amount of fixed assets required to develop one

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software package was roughly equivalent in India and in the China.

Since human resource investment was not higher in India, it had to
be other factors that led to higher productivity.

A more fruitful explanation may lie with Indian strategic approach

in outsourcing. Indian software vendors did not simply seek
outsourced contract more effectively: they made aggressive
strategic in outsourcing. For instance, most software firms of India
were initially set up to outsource the contract in western countries,
such as United States. By contrary, most Chinese firms seem to
position their business in China, a promising yet under-developed
market. However, rampant piracy in China took almost 90 percents
of potential market, making it impossible for most Chinese firms to
obtain sufficient compensation for the investment on development
and research, let alone thrive in competitive environment.

5. Which of the following statements concerning the productivity

levels of engineers can be inferred from the passage?

(A) Prior to the 1980's, the productivity levels of the top Indian
software firms were exceeded by those of Chinese software firms.
(B) The official language of a country has a large effect on the
productivity levels of its software developers.
(C) During the late 1980's and early 1990's, productivity levels
were comparable in China and India.
(D) The greater the number of engineers that a software firm has,
the higher a firm's productivity level.
(E) The amount of human resource investment made by software
developers in their firms determines the level of productivity.

If you do not refer to the original passage, you may pick up B. For
test-takers who have some backgrounds in computer, it is obvious
that being familiar with English will gain some advantage in writing
program code. However, the correct answer is C.
6. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) contrast possible outcomes of a type of business strategy
(B) suggest more careful evaluation of a type of business strategy
(C) illustrate various ways in which a type of business strategy
could fail to enhance revenues
(D) trace the general problems of a company to a certain type of
business strategy
(E) criticize the way in which managers tend to analyze the costs
and benefits of business strategies
This question asks you to summarize the passage's central idea.
Which of the five choices is correct? Based on the verbs initiating
the five choices, you can eliminate three of them:
(A) incorrect. To contrast is to compare several things, but not to
agree or disagree.
(C) incorrect. To illustrate is to give example, not to agree or

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disagree.
(D) incorrect. To trace is to track, not to agree or disagree.
Choice E began with argumental word criticize, but isn't the correct
choice because it addresses the detail. Therefore, B is the right
answer: to argue that superior service does not generate
competitive advantage is to suggest more careful evaluation of a
type of business strategy (price reduction).

7. Which of the following best describes the organization of the

first paragraph?

(A) A thesis is presented and supporting examples are provided.

(B) Opposing views are presented, classified, and then reconciled.
(C) A fact is stated, and an explanation is advanced and then
refuted.
(D) A theory is proposed, considered, and then amended.
(E) An opinion is presented, qualified, and then reaffirmed.

This question requires you to identify the organizational structure

of the first paragraph. In this paragraph, the author first states a fact
that Indian firms achieved the highest efficiency in software
outsourcing. Then, an assumption is presented to explain such
phenomenon. However, the author refuted this explanation soon.
Thus, C is the best answer.

8. According to the passage, which of the following statements is

true of Indian software developers?

(A) Their productivity levels did not equal those of Chinese

software engineers until the late eighties.
(B) Their high efficiency levels are a direct result of English
language familiarity.
(C) They develop component-specific software.
(D) They are built to outsource the western orders.
(E) They develop more packages of software than do those in
Chinese developers.

In the middle of the last paragraph, the author states that "For
instance, most software firms of India were initially set up to
outsource the contract in western countries, such as United States."
Thus, the best answer is D.

GRE Analogy Question with Answer

1. TELESCOPE : ASTRONOMER ::

(A) picture : artist

(B) environment : ecologist
(C) element : chemist
(D) brush : painter

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(E) movie : director

A "telescope" is an instrument commonly used in the work of an

"astronomer". Therefore, a rationale for this analogy could be "X (a
telescope) is an instrument commonly used in or associated with
the work of a person called a Y (astronomer)." A "brush" is an
instrument commonly used in the work of a "painter." Therefore, D
is the best answer.

2. MATRIX : NUMBER ::

(A) gas : molecule

(B) snow : precipitation
(C) act : opera
(D) school : fish
(E) crystal : atom

You may define the relationship of the word "matrix" and

"number" as: matrix is composed of numerous numbers. In this
way, choice A would be great because gas is composed of
numerous molecules. If you do not move to the last choice, you
will not find a better pair. Choice E is the one. Crystal is defined as
a regular arrangement of atoms. For the setup pair, matrix can be
defined as a regular arrangement of numbers. The two pairs of
words perfect match in relationship. Therefore, E is the best
answer.

3. HORSE : MARE ::

(A) cat : kitten

(B) human : woman
(C) bull : cow
(D) child : adult
(E) animal : pig

The first colon (:) means "to" and the two colons (::) means "is as".
We read the question as "horse to mare is as…" Next, we need to
define the relationship between this pair of words. What is the
relationship between horse and mare? A "mare" is a female horse.
So, a rationale for this analogy could be "Y (a mare) is a female
X". Because analogy problems require us to look for a pair of
words that have the same relationship has the initial two words, we
are looking for a pair in which the second word is a female of
second word. Once you have determined the relationship between
the given pair of words and state it in your mind in sentence form,
read through the answer choices substituting the possible pairs into
the same sentence you have created to describe the initial pair.

4. MARTIAL : MILITARY ::

(A) mysterious : runic

(B) tortuous : straightforward
(C) objective : subjective
(D) clear : complicated
(E) imprudent : damaged

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The best answer is A.

5. HEADSTRONG : WILLFULNESS ::

(A) engrossing : obliviousness

(B) fawning : subservience
(C) venerable : renown
(D) bold : tip
(E) critical : confidence
The best answer is B.

6. SIMULTANEOUS : COINCIDE ::

(A) gracious : significance

(B) fast : acceleration
(C) lavish : squander
(D) intriguing : project
(E) provocative : tradition
The best answer is C.

7. INVINCIBLE : SUBDUED ::

(A) impervious : damaged

(B) persuasive : convinced
(C) impossible : taken
(D) invisible : overlooked
(E) despicable : contented
The best answer is A.

GRE Antonym Questions with Answer

1. PROFOUND
(A) superficial
(B) precipitous
(C) deep
(D) tarnished
(E) innocuous

"Profound" means difficult to understand or far below the surface.

In choice A, "superficial" means lying on surface, directly opposite
to the meaning of "profound". "Precipitous" means steep in rise or
fall, "deep" means same as "profound", "tarnished" means losing
luster, and "innocuous" means harmless. Among the five words,
only "superficial" has the meanings that are opposite to the given
capitalized.

2. ARBITRARY

A. democratic
B. tyrannous
C. overbearing
D. halcyon
E. responsive

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Answer: A

3. ABSTRUSE

A. sagacious
B. superficial
C. contented
D. rational
E. subjective

Answer: B

4. TRANQUIL

A. diminished
B. calm
C. edgy
D. unobstructed
E. astonishing

Answer: C

5. IMPUDENCE

A. insolence
B. preposterous
C. imaginative
D. decorum
E. gratuitous

Answer: D

6. INVIGORATE

A. inveigle
B. incapacitate
C. activate
D. exonerate
E. enervate

Answer: E

7. COMPENDIOUS

A. lengthy
B. laconic
C. hypocritical
D. pliant
E. fruitful

Answer: A

8. COMPLIMENT

A. praise
B. affront

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C. agitate
D. approbate
E. masticate

Answer: B

9. INCONSTANCY

A. changefulness
B. compression
C. integrity
D. variation
E. parallelism

Answer: C

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