GRE Preparation Kit 2 - Section 2 [21 - 38]

[Samuel]

21. Which of the following best describes the function of the last paragraph in relation to the
      passage as a whole?
(A) It summarizes the benefits that students can derive from the experimental scholarly methods
      course.
(B) It provides additional reasons why Griffith's work raises issues having to do with the canon of
      authors.
(C) It provides an illustration of the immediate nature of the experiences students can derive from 
      the experimental scholarly methods course.
(D) It contrasts the experience of a student in the experimental scholarly methods course with the
      experience of a student in the traditional course
(E) It provides information that emphasizes the suitability of Griffith's work for inclusion in the
      canon of authors.

22. It can be inferred that which of the following is most likely to be among the "issues" mentioned
      in line 38?
(A) Why has the work of Griffith, a woman writer who was popular in her own century, been
      excluded from the canon?
(B) In what ways did Griffith's work reflect the political climate of the eighteenth century?
(C) How was Griffith's work received by literary critics during the eighteenth century?
(D) How did the error in the title of Griffith's play come to be made?
(E) How did critical reception of Griffith's work affect the quantity and quality of that work?

23. It can be inferred that the author of the passage considers traditional scholarly methods
      courses  to be
(A) irrelevant to the work of most students
(B) inconsequential because of their narrow focus
(C) unconcerned about the accuracy of reference sources
(D) too superficial to establish important facts about authors
(E) too wide-ranging to approximate genuine scholarly activity

Experiments show that insects can function as pollinators of cycads, rare, palmlike tropical plants. Furthermore, cycads removed from their native habitats— and therefore from insects native to those habitats— are usually infertile. Nev- (5) ertheless, anecdotal reports of wind pollination in cycads cannot be ignored. The structure of cycads male cones is quite consistent with the wind dispersal of pollen, clouds of which are released from some of the larger cones. The male cone of Cycas circinalis, for example, sheds almost (10)100 cubic centimeters of pollen, most of which is probably dispersed by wind. Still, many male cycad cones are comparatively small and thus produce far less pollen. Furthermore, the structure of most female cycad cones seems inconsistent
with direct pollination by wind. Only in the Cycas (15)genus are the females' ovules accessible to airborne pollen, since only in this genus are the ovules surrounded by a loose aggregation of megasporophylls rather than by a tight cone.

24. According to the passage, the size of a male cycad cone directly influences which of the
      following?
(A) The arrangement of the male cone's structural elements
(B) The mechanism by which pollen is released from the male cone.
(C) The degree to which the ovules of female cycads are accessible to airborne pollen
(D) The male cone's attractiveness to potential insect pollinators
(E) The amount of pollen produced by the male cone

25. The passage suggests that which of the following is true of the structure of cycad cones?
(A) The structure of cycad cones provides conclusive evidence in favor of one particular explanation
      of cycad pollination.
(B) The structure of cycad cones provides evidence concerning what triggers the first step in the
       pollination process.
(C) An irresolvable discrepancy exists between what the structure of most male cycad cones
      suggests about cycad pollination and what the structure of most female cones suggests about
      that process.
(D) The structure of male cycad cones rules out a possible mechanism for cycad pollination that is
      suggested by the structure of most female cycad cones.
(E) The structure of male cycad cones is consistent with a certain means of cycad pollination, but
      that means is inconsistent with the structure of most female cycad cones.

26. The evidence in favor of insect pollination of cycads presented in lines 2-4 would be more
      convincing if which of the following were also true?
(A) Only a small variety of cycad species can be successfully transplanted.
(B) Cycads can sometimes be pollinated by means other than wind or insects.
(C) Insects indigenous to regions to which cycads are transplanted sometimes feed on cycads.
(D) Winds in the areas to which cycads are usually transplanted are similar to winds in cycads'
      native habitats.
(E) The transplantation of cycads from one region to another usually involves the accidental removal
      and introduction of insects as well.

27. The passage suggests that which of the following is true of scientific investigations of cycad 
      pollination?
(A) They have not yet produced any systematic evidence of wind pollination in cycads.
(B) They have so far confirmed anecdotal reports concerning the wind pollination of cycads.
(C) They have, until recently, produced little evidence in favor of insect pollination in cycads.
(D) They have primarily been carried out using cycads transplanted from their native habitats.
(E) They have usually concentrated on describing the physical characteristics of the cycad
      reproductive system.

28. PROCRASTINATION:
(A) diligence
(B) complacence
(C) reasonableness
(D) allegiance
(E) rehabilitation

29. CIRCUITY
(A) straightforwardness
(B) inventiveness
(C) authenticity
(D) insightfulness
(E) practicality

30. CONCLUDE:
(A) foster
(B) frequent
(C) emanate from
(D) empower to
(E) embark on

31. RITE:
(A) coherent interpretation
(B) improvised act
(C) deductive approach
(D) casual observation
(E) unnecessary addition

32. BLATANT:
(A) indecisive
(B) perceptive
(C) unobtrusive
(D) involuntary
(E) spontaneous

33. PONTIFICATE:
(A) request rudely
(B) glance furtively
(C) behave predictably
(D) work efficiently
(E) speak modestly

34. POSIT:
(A) deceive
(B) begrudge
(C) deny
(D) consent
(E) reinforce

35. FETTER:
(A) justify
(B) comfort
(C) intrude
(D) liberate
(E) optimize

36. SYNERGIC:
(A) natural in origin
(B) fragile in structure
(C) untainted
(D) inessential
(E) antagonistic

37. DEPRIVATION:
(A) sanity
(B) awareness
(C) surfeit
(D) fecundity
(E) health

38. CORPOREAL:
(A) unreliable
(B) unscientific
(C) indistinguishable
(D) inanimate
(E) immaterial