Googled a bit.....on the following link/blog, Eric mentions some nice strategies:
General Strategies for Reading Comprehension
" This may sound like odd advice, but one strategy that really helped me focus on RC passages was pretending that I was really interested in the subject matter discussed in the passages. I tried to read each RC passage with an attitude that I really wanted to learn something from them. Having this attitude helped me improve my performance quite a bit. "
I am trying hard to own the passage and till now it seems to have helped me in solving OG RC. This weekend's mock will show my actual improvement in RC accuracy.
Cheers!
Googled a bit.....on the following link/blog, Eric mentions some nice strategies:
General Strategies for Reading Comprehension
" This may sound like odd advice, but one strategy that really helped me focus on RC passages was pretending that I was really interested in the subject matter discussed in the passages. I tried to read each RC passage with an attitude that I really wanted to learn something from them. Having this attitude helped me improve my performance quite a bit. "
I am trying hard to own the passage and till now it seems to have helped me in solving OG RC. This weekend's mock will show my actual improvement in RC accuracy.
Cheers!
:)cool man.
i found that if i spend some more time analyzing the passage rather than jump to the questions and come back to the passage later(thats what most books recommend though) my overall accuracy increases and the total time taken is also less.
Coz anyway the difficult problems are always centered around the overall information(the author's strategy, the structure etc).So it helps if u really spend some time analyzing all that information while reading the passage the first time itself.
Hope it helps!
hey good to c such a discussion going on
also while going through RC which are quite long
or are on a subject which is of no interest to us
Maybe we can read them faster and underline the things
that seems important.
Other idea can be that we just take a glimpse of the questions
so as to get an idea of type of questions asked and then concentarting
more on that part which addresses the same question
Hope this helps
Cheers
Sillyfool
hey good to c such a discussion going on
also while going through RC which are quite long
or are on a subject which is of no interest to us
Maybe we can read them faster and underline the things
that seems important.
Other idea can be that we just take a glimpse of the questions
so as to get an idea of type of questions asked and then concentarting
more on that part which addresses the same question
Hope this helps
Cheers
Sillyfool
dear sillyfool,
we just cant underline anything in the Qs on the gmat simply coz it's on the computer screen.we could take notes but that again is time consuming.
secondly,u can't skim thru the Qs either coz u get to see only 1 Q at a time and the next one pops up only when u have answered the first.
the CAT(the Indian one) is also getting online, so the underlining and skimming "techniques" are almost outdated now.
Also almost all the passages are so damn boring and useless on purpose that u just have to act like u r so grateful that the author wrote it and did u such a huge favour by letting it be a part of the GMAT 😁
Googled a bit.....on the following link/blog, Eric mentions some nice strategies:
General Strategies for Reading Comprehension
" This may sound like odd advice, but one strategy that really helped me focus on RC passages was pretending that I was really interested in the subject matter discussed in the passages. I tried to read each RC passage with an attitude that I really wanted to learn something from them. Having this attitude helped me improve my performance quite a bit. "
I am trying hard to own the passage and till now it seems to have helped me in solving OG RC. This weekend's mock will show my actual improvement in RC accuracy.
Cheers!
I am new to pagalguy. I just took a Kaplan test today and found it pretty tough. I found the verbal section particularly difficult (especially RC) and was just looking for some strategies to tackle the section effectively. Although everyone says "pay attention to the matter", I dont think I have ever thought of it the way it has been put across here. I found the reasoning very interesting and will definitely try this approach.
Hi This RC is from 1000 RC series. Pls help with the answers and their explaination.
In Forces of Production, David Noble examines the transformation of the machine-tool industry as the industry moved from reliance on skilled artisans to automation. Noble writes from a Marxist perspective, and his central argument is that management, in its decisions to automate, conspired against labor: the power that the skilled machinists wielded in the industry was intolerable to management. Noble fails to substantiate this claim, although his argument is impressive when he applies the Marxist concept of de-skillingthe use of technology to replace skilled laborto the automation of the machine-tool industry. In automating, the industry moved to computer-based, digitized numerical-control (N/C) technology, rather than to artisan-generated record-playback (R/P) technology.
Although both systems reduced reliance on skilled labor, Noble clearly prefers R/P, with its inherent acknowledgment of workers skills: unlike N/C, its programs were produced not by engineers at their computers, but by skilled machinists, who recorded their own movements to teach machines to duplicate those movements. However, Nobles only evidence of conspiracy is that, although the two approaches were roughly equal in technical merit, management chose N/C. From this he concludes that automation is undertaken not because efficiency demands it or scientific advances allow it, but because it is a tool in the ceaseless war of capitalists against labor.
Which of the following best characterizes the function of the second paragraph of the passage?
(A) It develops a topic introduced in the first paragraph.
(B) It provides evidence to refute a claim presented in the first paragraph.
(C) It gives examples of a phenomenon mentioned in the first paragraph.
(D) It presents a generalization about examples given in the first paragraph.
(E) It suggests two possible solutions to a problem presented in the first paragraph.
Which of the following phrases most clearly reveals the attitude of the author of the passage toward Nobles central argument?
(A) conspired against (line 6)
(B) intolerable to management (line 7)
(C) impressive when he applies the Marxist concept (line 9)
(D) clearly prefers (line 16)
(E) only evidence of conspiracy (line 21)
Which of the following best characterizes Forces of Production as it is described in the passage?
(A) A comparison of two interpretations of how a particular industry evolved
(B) An examination of the origin of a particular concept in industrial economics
(C) A study that points out the weakness of a particular interpretation of an industrial phenomenon
(D) A history of a particular industry from an ideological point of view(E) An attempt to relate an industrial phenomenon in one industry to a similar phenomenon in another industry
In Forces of Production, David Noble examines the transformation of the machine-tool industry as the industry moved from reliance on skilled artisans to automation. Noble writes from a Marxist perspective, and his central argument is that management, in its decisions to automate, conspired against labor: the power that the skilled machinists wielded in the industry was intolerable to management. Noble fails to substantiate this claim, although his argument is impressive when he applies the Marxist concept of de-skillingthe use of technology to replace skilled laborto the automation of the machine-tool industry. In automating, the industry moved to computer-based, digitized numerical-control (N/C) technology, rather than to artisan-generated record-playback (R/P) technology.
Although both systems reduced reliance on skilled labor, Noble clearly prefers R/P, with its inherent acknowledgment of workers skills: unlike N/C, its programs were produced not by engineers at their computers, but by skilled machinists, who recorded their own movements to teach machines to duplicate those movements. However, Nobles only evidence of conspiracy is that, although the two approaches were roughly equal in technical merit, management chose N/C. From this he concludes that automation is undertaken not because efficiency demands it or scientific advances allow it, but because it is a tool in the ceaseless war of capitalists against labor.
Which of the following best characterizes the function of the second paragraph of the passage?
(A) It develops a topic introduced in the first paragraph.
(B) It provides evidence to refute a claim presented in the first paragraph.
(C) It gives examples of a phenomenon mentioned in the first paragraph.
(D) It presents a generalization about examples given in the first paragraph.
(E) It suggests two possible solutions to a problem presented in the first paragraph.
Which of the following phrases most clearly reveals the attitude of the author of the passage toward Nobles central argument?
(A) conspired against (line 6)
(B) intolerable to management (line 7)
(C) impressive when he applies the Marxist concept (line 9)
(D) clearly prefers (line 16)
(E) only evidence of conspiracy (line 21)
Which of the following best characterizes Forces of Production as it is described in the passage?
(A) A comparison of two interpretations of how a particular industry evolved
(B) An examination of the origin of a particular concept in industrial economics
(C) A study that points out the weakness of a particular interpretation of an industrial phenomenon
(D) A history of a particular industry from an ideological point of view(E) An attempt to relate an industrial phenomenon in one industry to a similar phenomenon in another industry
Hi This RC is from 1000 RC series. Pls help with the answers and their explaination.
In Forces of Production, David Noble examines the transformation of the machine-tool industry as the industry moved from reliance on skilled artisans to automation. Noble writes from a Marxist perspective, and his central argument is that management, in its decisions to automate, conspired against labor: the power that the skilled machinists wielded in the industry was intolerable to management. Noble fails to substantiate this claim, although his argument is impressive when he applies the Marxist concept of de-skillingthe use of technology to replace skilled laborto the automation of the machine-tool industry. In automating, the industry moved to computer-based, digitized numerical-control (N/C) technology, rather than to artisan-generated record-playback (R/P) technology.
Although both systems reduced reliance on skilled labor, Noble clearly prefers R/P, with its inherent acknowledgment of workers skills: unlike N/C, its programs were produced not by engineers at their computers, but by skilled machinists, who recorded their own movements to teach machines to duplicate those movements. However, Nobles only evidence of conspiracy is that, although the two approaches were roughly equal in technical merit, management chose N/C. From this he concludes that automation is undertaken not because efficiency demands it or scientific advances allow it, but because it is a tool in the ceaseless war of capitalists against labor.
Which of the following best characterizes the function of the second paragraph of the passage?
(A) It develops a topic introduced in the first paragraph.
(B) It provides evidence to refute a claim presented in the first paragraph.
(C) It gives examples of a phenomenon mentioned in the first paragraph.
(D) It presents a generalization about examples given in the first paragraph.
(E) It suggests two possible solutions to a problem presented in the first paragraph.
Which of the following phrases most clearly reveals the attitude of the author of the passage toward Nobles central argument?
(A) conspired against (line 6)
(B) intolerable to management (line 7)
(C) impressive when he applies the Marxist concept (line 9)
(D) clearly prefers (line 16)
(E) only evidence of conspiracy (line 21)
Which of the following best characterizes Forces of Production as it is described in the passage?
(A) A comparison of two interpretations of how a particular industry evolved
(B) An examination of the origin of a particular concept in industrial economics
(C) A study that points out the weakness of a particular interpretation of an industrial phenomenon
(D) A history of a particular industry from an ideological point of view(E) An attempt to relate an industrial phenomenon in one industry to a similar phenomenon in another industry
hi dextar,
i think the answers are
1 A
C looks good too but in the first paragraph, Noble says that management conspired against labor and in the second paragraph, he gives only 1 example and not examples.
B is out of the question coz the evidence does not refute the claim.
Not D coz examples are not presented in 1st paragraph, only in 2nd.
Not E coz the author of the passage is not suggesting the problems and solutions.he is merely analyzing Noble's work.
2 E
the author of the passage says that Noble did not substantiate his claim and presented only 1 evidence of conspiracy.The whole passage seems to revolve around this weakness in Noble's work.
C looks good but the author seems to be less impressed and more critical of Noble's work.
Rest of the choices A, B, D are attitudes of Noble rather than the author of the passage.
3 D
"David Noble examines the transformation of the machine-tool industry".D just fits.
Not A coz theres no comparison of interpretations in the book.
Not E coz other industries are not mentioned.
Not B coz the transformation, and not any concept, is examined.
Not C coz "Forces of Production" is an interpretation and the passage finds a weakness in it.
Let us know the right answers soon.
Cheers!
Bingo !!!! All correct
Thanks for the explainations.
Here is one more
Protein synthesis begins when the gene encoding a protein is activated. The genes sequence of nucleotides is transcribed into a molecule of messenger RNA (mRNA), which reproduces the information contained in that sequence. Transported outside the nucleus to the cytoplasm, the mRNA is translated into the protein it encodes by an organelle known as a ribosome, which strings together amino acids in the order specified by the sequence of elements in the mRNA molecule. Since the amount of mRNA in a cell determines the amount of the corresponding protein, factors affecting the abundance of mRNAs play a major part in the normal functioning of a cell by appropriately regulating protein synthesis. For example, an excess of certain proteins can cause cells to proliferate abnormally and become cancerous; a lack of the protein insulin results in diabetes.
Biologists once assumed that the variable rates at which cells synthesize different mRNAs determine the quantities of mRNAs and their corresponding proteins in a cell. However, recent investigations have shown that the concentrations of most mRNAs correlate best, not with their synthesis rate, but rather with the equally variable rates at which cells degrade the different mRNAs in their cytoplasm. If a cell degrades both a rapidly and a slowly synthesized mRNA slowly, both mRNAs will accumulate to high levels.
An important example of this phenomenon is the development of red blood cells from their unspecialized parent cells in bone marrow . For red blood cells to accumulate sufficient concentrations of hemoglobin (which transports oxygen) to carry out their main function, the cells parent cells must simultaneously produce more of the constituent proteins of hemoglobin and less of most other proteins. To do this, the parent cells halt synthesis of non-hemoglobin mRNAs in the nucleus and rapidly degrade copies of the non-hemoglobin mRNAs remaining in the cytoplasm. Halting synthesis of mRNA alone would not affect the quantities of proteins synthesized by the mRNAs still existing in the cytoplasm. Biologists now believe that most cells can regulate protein production most efficiently by varying both mRNA synthesis and degradation, as developing red cells do, rather than by just varying one or the other.
The passage suggests that a biologist who held the view described in the first sentence of the second paragraph would most probably also have believed which of the following?
(A) The rate of degradation of specific mRNAs has little effect on protein concentrations.
(B) The rate of degradation of specific mRNAs should be studied intensively.
(C) The rates of synthesis and degradation for any given mRNA are normally equal.
(D) Different mRNAs undergo degradation at widely varying rates.
(E) Most mRNAs degrade very rapidly.
To begin to control a disease caused by a protein deficiency, the passage suggests that a promising experimental treatment would be to administer a drug that would reduce
(A) only the degradation rate for the mRNA of the protein involved
(B) only the synthesis rate for the mRNA of the protein involved
(C) both the synthesis and degradation rates for the mRNA of the protein involved
(D) the incidence of errors in the transcription of mRNAs from genetic nucleotide sequences
(E) the rate of activity of ribosomes in the cytoplasm of most cells
The passage suggests that a biologist who detected high levels of two proteins in a certain type of cell would be likely to consider which of the following as a possible explanation?
(A) The rate of mRNA degradation for one of the proteins increases as this type of cell develops a more specialized function.
(B) The two proteins are most likely constituents of a complex substance supporting the cells specialized function.
(C) The cells are likely to proliferate abnormally and possibly become cancerous due to the levels of these proteins.
(D) The mRNAs for both proteins are being degraded at a low rate in that type of cell.
(E) The mRNAs for the two proteins are being synthesized at identical rates in that type of cell.
hi dextar,
i think the answers are:
1 D
The biologists basically believe that "the parent cells halt synthesis of non-hemoglobin mRNAs in the nucleus and rapidly degrade copies of the non-hemoglobin mRNAs remaining in the cytoplasm".Simply put, the synthesis of specific mRNAs (not all) is halted in the nucleus and the existing specific mRNAs (not all) are degraded in the cytoplasm.Only D comes close.
A is false and contrary to what the passage says.
Not B coz study is already done and the biologists "believe" the findings.
Not C coz rates are not equal.Synthesis is stopped and degradation occurs.
Not E coz most mRNAs dont degrade.Only the useless ones degrade and the required mRNAs stay and are produced too.
2 D
A and B dont work alone.U gotta stop the synthesis as well as degrade the useless mRNAs.
Not C coz u want to cure protein deficiency.So u need to create the protein, not reduce it.So actually u have to increase the synthesis rate and reduce the degradation rate of the mRNA for the protein involved (and the opposite for all the other mRNAs in the cell).
E is baseless and irrelevant.
3 B
Presence of high levels of 2 proteins only suggests that both are somehow required to perform the functions that the cell is responsible for.Thats why they are there.
A doesnt make sense.
Not C coz high level of protein is is not always cancerous.
D, E do not mention degradation and synthesis together.So they are incomplete.
Dextar,
i really doubt whether such hi-fi technical passages could appear on GMAT.Not sure though but i havent found anything like this anywhere else, not even Kaplan,which is supposed to dish out crappy RCs.
Anyway nice timepass solving em as long as they are correct :D
Post the answers soon.
hi dextar,
i think the answers are:
1 D
The biologists basically believe that "the parent cells halt synthesis of non-hemoglobin mRNAs in the nucleus and rapidly degrade copies of the non-hemoglobin mRNAs remaining in the cytoplasm".Simply put, the synthesis of specific mRNAs (not all) is halted in the nucleus and the existing specific mRNAs (not all) are degraded in the cytoplasm.Only D comes close.
A is false and contrary to what the passage says.
Not B coz study is already done and the biologists "believe" the findings.
Not C coz rates are not equal.Synthesis is stopped and degradation occurs.
Not E coz most mRNAs dont degrade.Only the useless ones degrade and the required mRNAs stay and are produced too.
2 D
A and B dont work alone.U gotta stop the synthesis as well as degrade the useless mRNAs.
Not C coz u want to cure protein deficiency.So u need to create the protein, not reduce it.So actually u have to increase the synthesis rate and reduce the degradation rate of the mRNA for the protein involved (and the opposite for all the other mRNAs in the cell).
E is baseless and irrelevant.
3 B
Presence of high levels of 2 proteins only suggests that both are somehow required to perform the functions that the cell is responsible for.Thats why they are there.
A doesnt make sense.
Not C coz high level of protein is is not always cancerous.
D, E do not mention degradation and synthesis together.So they are incomplete.
Dextar,
i really doubt whether such hi-fi technical passages could appear on GMAT.Not sure though but i havent found anything like this anywhere else, not even Kaplan,which is supposed to dish out crappy RCs.
Anyway nice timepass solving em as long as they are correct :D
Post the answers soon.
Hi
This time none of ur answer is correct:(
Anyways here are the answers which I don't have any idea !!!!
1 A
2 A
3 D
See whether u can get me the explainnation for these.
Anyways there is no harm practising these RC. I'm particualrly weak in these hi-fi technical pasages being a technical guy!!:(. It is better to be prepared. Who knows if u perform so well in GMAT,GMAt comes up with these nasty RC to stop the momentum.
Oops :(
1 A seems rite.
I dont know why I was looking at (and quoted in the answer too )the 3rd sentence of the 3rd paragraph instead of the 1st sentence of 2nd paragraph.
The other 2 Qs are only half-answered by the choices u mentioned.The main idea in the passage is that Synthesis of the required mRNAs AND increased degradation of the other mRNAs lead to a high concentration of the required mRNAs.
So u really need to specify the rates of both to conclude anything.I think you should check out the OG and solve the right kind of problems instead of worrying about these dear.Just my personal opinion.
Hi
I've already finished OG-11. As far as RC is concerned, I don't think there is any point in revising Rc again from OG-11 (Can do for SC and CR). Rc needs practice and I don't have any other exhaustive source other than Kaplan Premier and Princeton Review. So have to go for 1000 series.ANy takers?
Hi
I've already finished OG-11. As far as RC is concerned, I don't think there is any point in revising Rc again from OG-11 (Can do for SC and CR). Rc needs practice and I don't have any other exhaustive source other than Kaplan Premier and Princeton Review. So have to go for 1000 series.ANy takers?
Thats true.Revising the RC from OG 11 wont be much help.
I dont have any other practice material either.We are in a similar kinda situation.
By the way, when are u appearing for the gmat?
Where is everybody? Isn't anyone doing RC these days?Im feeling so lonely out here :D
Dextar pal, what about you?
Lemme come in here ........... anyone here !!!
Hi
I'm here man!!!
Will soon post more Rc questions especially biological ones
Hi Puys,
I am in too. RCs and the discussions on the questions are really helpful. Pls let me know if the detailed solution for GMAT RCs can be found anywhere.
Cheers!
Rupesh
Hi Puys,
I am in too. RCs and the discussions on the questions are really helpful. Pls let me know if the detailed solution for GMAT RCs can be found anywhere.
Cheers!
Rupesh
The Official Guide is the only place u will get the official GMAT answers to the official GMAT questions.Everything official about it!
Hi All Help me with this RC
When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, he began a ten-year battle to win recognition from the Pullman ( Company, the largest private employer of Black people in the United States and the company that controlled the railroad industry's sleeping car and parlorservice. In 1935 the Brotherhood became the first Black union recognized by a major corporation. Randolph's efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions and toward themselves as an identifiable group; eventually, Randolph helped to weaken organized labor's antagonism toward Black workers.
In the Pullman contest Randolph faced formidable obstacles. The first was Black workers' understandable skepticism toward unions, which had historically barred Black workers from membership. An additional obstacle was the union that Pullman itself had formed, which weakened support among Black workers for an independent entity.
The Brotherhood possessed a number of advantages, however, including Randolph's own tactical abilities. In 1928 he took the bold step of threatening a strike against Pullman. Such a threat, on a national scale, under Black leadership, helped replace the stereotype of the Black worker as servant with the image of the Black worker as wage earner . In addition, the porters' very isolation aided the Brotherhood. Porters were scattered throughout the country, sleeping in dormitories in Black communities; their segregated life protected the union's internal communications from interception. That the porters were a homogeneous group working for a single employer with single labor policy, thus sharing the same grievances from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood and encouraged racial identity and solidarity as well. But it was only in the early 1930's that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money eventually allowed the Brotherhood to become recognized as the porters' representative.
Not content with this triumph, Randolph brought the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor, where it became the equal of the Federation's 105 other unions. He reasoned that as a member union, the Brotherhood would be in a better position to exert pressure on member unions that practiced race restrictions. Such restrictions were eventually found unconstitutional in 1944.
1. According to the passage, by 1935 the skepticism of Black workers toward unions was
(A) unchanged except among Black employees of railroad-related industries
(B) reinforced by the actions of the Pullman Company's union
(C) mitigated by the efforts of Randolph
(D) weakened by the opening up of many unions to Black workers
(E) largely alleviated because of the policies of the American Federation of Labor
2. In using the word "understandable" (line 14), the author most clearly conveys
(A) sympathy with attempts by the Brotherhood between 1925 and 1935 to establish an independent union
(B) concern that the obstacles faced by Randolph between 1925 and 1935 were indeed formidable
(C) ambivalence about the significance of unions to most Black workers in the 1920's
(D) appreciation of the attitude of many Black workers in the 1920's toward unions
(E) regret at the historical attitude of unions toward Black workers
3. The passage suggests which of the following about the response of porters to the Pullman Company's own union?
(A) Few porters ever joined this union.
(B) Some porters supported this union before 1935.
(C) Porters, more than other Pullman employees, enthusiastically supported this union.
(D) The porters' response was most positive after 1935.
(E) The porters' response was unaffected by the general skepticism of Black workers concerning unions.
4. The passage suggests that if the grievances of porters in one part of the United States had been different from those of porters in another part of the country, which of the following would have been the case?
(A) It would have been more difficult for the Pullman Company to have had a single labor policy.
(B) It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to control its channels of communication.
(C) It would have been more difficult for the Brotherhood to build its membership.
(D) It would have been easier for the Pullman Company's union to attract membership.
(E) It would have been easier for the Brotherhood to threaten strikes.
5. The passage suggests that in the 1920's a company in the United States was able to
(A) use its own funds to set up a union
(B) require its employees to join the company's own union
(C) develop a single labor policy for all its employees with little employee dissent
(D) pressure its employees to contribute money to maintain the company's own union
(E) use its resources to prevent the passage of federal legislation that would have facilitated the formation of independent unions
6. The passage supplies information concerning which of the following matters related to Randolph?
(A) The steps he took to initiate the founding of the Brotherhood
(B) His motivation for bringing the Brotherhood into the American Federation of Labor
(C) The influence he had on the passage of legislation overturning race restrictions in 1944
(D) The influence he had on the passage of legislation to bar companies from financing their own unions
(E) The success he and the Brotherhood had in influencing the policies of the other unions in the American Federation of Labor
Hi All Help me with this RC
When A. Philip Randolph assumed the leadership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car
(E) The success he and the Brotherhood had in influencing the policies of the other unions in the American Federation of Labor
1. (c) Randolphs efforts in the battle helped transform the attitude of Black workers toward unions .......
2. (E) All other options are talking about particular period. in (C) and (D), 'ambivalence' and 'appreciation' are incorrect. (a) implies that author sympathizes with the attempts - which is wrong.
3. (C) all other options are clearly wrong
4. (C) Direct question...straight from the passage That the porters were a homogeneous group working for a single employer with single labor policy, thus sharing the same grievances from city to city, also strengthened the Brotherhood...
5. (A) direct from lines ..But it was only in the early 1930s that federal legislation prohibiting a company from maintaining its own unions with company money eventually ...
6. (B) no other options seems correct to me:happy:
Dextar,
please post the answers soon.