McGraw-Hill Education GRE 2019

Exercise Answers

Sentence Equivalence Set 1

1. A and D The word in the blank describes common beliefs about scientific
   discoveries. The contextual clue is “in fact,” which indicates that the following
   clause is in contrast to what is currently believed about scientific discoveries.
   If the discoveries actually “take years of painstaking work,” then the common
   belief is wrong. A good prediction for the blank would be false belief. Of
   the choices, the words that most closely match false belief are myth and
   misconception.


2. D and E The word in the blank describes what is necessary to ensure “success
   in this business.” The contextual clue is the causal clue “since.” If “one negative
   perception can often undo years of hard work,” then a business would need
   to maintain its reputation. The words that most closely match maintain are
   monitoring and oversight.


3. C and E The word in the blank describes the level of tardiness that caused
   the professor to chastise the student. The contextual clue “instead” indicates
   contrast. When the student was “occasionally late,” it did not bother the
   professor. The word in the blank should thus be the opposite of “occasional.”
   A good prediction would be constant. The choices that best match constant are
   habitual and commonplace.


4. B and D The word in the blank describes the player’s “brutish playing style.”
   The contextual clue “even” indicates that the player’s style was extreme for
   football. Since “violence is considered part of the game,” and the player’s style
   was extreme, a good prediction would be overboard. The choices that best
   match overboard are excessive and gratuitous.


5. A and B The word in the blank describes the character’s attitude toward the
   “loving couple.” Since the character is “cynical,” his attitude toward the couple
   would most likely be negative. A good prediction would be distaste for. The
   words in the choice that most closely match distaste for are disdain for and
   contempt for.


6. C and E The word in the blank tells us what the “financially minded critics
   have been skeptical” of. The contrast signal “Despite” indicates that their
   skepticism contrasts with the popularity of the website. If the critics are
   financially minded, then they would most likely be skeptical of the website’s
   ability to make money. A good prediction would be take advantage of. The
   choices that best match take advantage of are monetize and capitalize on.


7. A and D The word in the blank describes the attitude that philosophical
   thinking takes toward empirical support. The contextual clue “or at least”
   indicates that this attitude is similar to the belief that “takes empirical
   support as irrelevant.” A good prediction would be a synonym of “irrelevant”:
   unimportant. The words in the choices that most match unimportant are
   tangential and inconsequential.


8. A and B The word in the blank describes the company’s negative valuation.
   The contextual clue “rather” indicates contrast. Supporters of the company
   believe that the company is worthwhile, so they most likely have a positive
   view of the company. Thus they do not think the merits of the company
   explain its negative valuation. To predict a word we can conclude that the

118 PART 2 ■ GRE ANALYTICAL WRITING AND VERBAL REASONING

02-GRE-Test-2018_107-172.indd 118 13/05/17 11:06 am