McGraw-Hill Education GRE 2019

Exercise Answers

1. A The author uses this line when elaborating on Tocqueville’s argument that
   democracy would benefit from dissent. Tocqueville believed that democracy
   could tolerate and benefit from dissent because it is self-correcting. The fact
   that it is “never stagnant” is in support of its self-correcting nature.


2. B All three authors agree that there will be dissent in a democracy. However,
   they disagree on the consequences of this dissent.


3. B The author refers to “this quandary” when discussing the problem
   confronting biologists who want to determine the environmental habitat of the
   species whose fossils they have discovered. A good prediction for the answer
   would thus be problem. Of the choices, the word closest in meaning to problem
   is dilemma.


4. A In the first paragraph, the author introduces a problem that scientists face
   (namely, determining the climate of the habitats of ancient species). In the
   second paragraph, the author discusses a technique developed to address this
   problem.


5. A The author states that “as global temperatures rise, more oxygen-16 than
   oxygen-18 evaporates.” This statement implies that during heating periods,
   there is relatively less oxygen-16 in the ocean. It thus follows that the ratio of
   oxygen-16 to oxygen-18 must decrease.


6. B In the first paragraph, the author introduces Diamond’s theory. In the
   second paragraph, the author evaluates the theory by noting its logical
   shortcomings.


7. A The author mentions these data as examples of what Diamond uses to
   support his point.


8. D The author uses the word “fraught” in reference to what the author
   believes is an erroneous assumption made by Diamond. Since the author is
   conveying his belief that Diamond’s thinking is flawed, he probably thinks
   that Diamond’s thinking is full of error. Of the choices, the word closest in
   meaning to full is rife.


9. Sentence 2 Although the author devotes much of the passage to evaluating
   Diamond’s theory, he starts off by mentioning the line of thought that
   Diamond challenges. This line of thought is found in sentence 2.


10. B Freud believes that “it is the art that lends significance to the artist, and
    not the other way around.” He uses this fact as justification for giving his art
    prominence over his personal life. The situation that most closely matches the
    this notion is Choice B.


11. A and C
    Choice A: The author states “Freud’s tendency to deflect attention is not, as
    some commentators have stated, wholly a by-product of a desire to prevent
    encroachments into his personal life.” The use of the word “wholly” implies
    that his rejection of self-promotion is somewhat motivated by a desire to
    maintain his privacy. Thus Choice A is correct.
    Choice B: Though Freud’s beliefs about art were unorthodox for a
    20th-century artist, nothing in the passage suggests that a desire to be

14 4 PART 2 ■ GRE ANALYTICAL WRITING AND VERBAL REASONING

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