Choice D: D is incorrect because it is too narrow. Though the author
suggests that Dostoevsky’s experience with the firing squad influenced the
themes of his novels, the author mentions the novels to support his main
point.
Choice E: E is incorrect because the choice is not supported by anything
mentioned in the passage.- B When answering a vocabulary in-context question, use clues in the sentence
to make your own prediction for the correct answer. The first sentence states
that “It is a belief so common as to be hackneyed.” Hackneyed must thus have
a definition similar in meaning to common. Of the choices, the word closest in
meaning to common is cliché. - A First, identify the situation: The government banned price increases on
prescription drugs, but per capita expenditure on prescription drugs went up.
The correct choice will provide information that resolves these apparently
contradictory facts.
Choice A: If this choice is true, then it can be inferred that, per person, the
amount spent on prescription drugs increased. This information thus helps
to explain the discrepancy. The correct answer is A.
Choice B: The actions that the pharmaceutical company took to offset
losses in revenue are irrelevant to the situation.
Choice C: If the population increased, you would expect per capita
expenditures to have decreased, not increased.
Choice D: More affordable generic drugs would more likely lead to a
decrease in per capita expenditure, not to an increase.
Choice E: The source of the drugs is irrelevant. - The main point is expressed in the passage’s first sentence. The author spends
the rest of the passage evaluating the pros and cons of the symphony. The best
answer is B.
Choice A: Though the author “wonders about the impetus behind this
decision to use Schiller’s Ode to Joy,” nowhere else in the passage does the
author consider Beethoven’s motivations.
Choice C: The author does discuss the differences between the first
three movements and the last movement, but the author discusses these
differences in the context of criticizing the fourth movement.
Choice D: The author mentions Beethoven’s deafness as one of the reasons
for the symphony’s positive reception. However, this issue of deafness is not
addressed anywhere else in the passage. This choice is thus too narrow in
scope.
Choice E: The author does discuss the text of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony,
but he does so to make a larger point about what he considers the
s y mphony ’s flaws.
CHAPTER 2 ■ GRE DIAGNOSTIC TEST 5901-GRE-Test-2018_001-106.indd 59 12/05/17 11:38 am