VERBAL REASONING
30 Questions • 30 Minutes
NOTE: In this section, questions of different formats are interspersed, just as
they are on the computer-based GRE. However, this practice session contains
more challenging questions than easy ones, whereas the actual computer-based
GRE adapts to your ability level.
1. Proponents of urban development
oppose the popular notion that social-
psychological mechanisms leading to
criminal and other antisocial activity
are more likely to _______ if _______
such as anonymity and population
density are found.
(A) emerge . . traits
(B) react..factors
(C) disappear . . problems
(D) fail . . criminals
(E) function..cities
2. ABRUPT:
(A) continual
(B) eventual
(C) gradual
(D) enduring
(E) lengthy
3. CORNUCOPIA:
(A) serenity
(B) darkness
(C) solitude
(D) sparseness
(E) modicum
4. AUSTERE:

(B) screen : television
(C) lawyer : jury
(D) manager : bureaucracy
(E) seasoning : recipe
9. QUELL : UPRISING ::
(A) bite : hunger
(B) quench : thirst
(C) strike : labor
(D) incite : hostility
(E) indulge : habit
10. IMPORTANT : PIVOTAL ::
(A) stern : draconian
(B) copious : thorough
(C) minimal : voluminous
(D) salient : compulsory
(E) impetuous : spontaneous
practicetest
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Questions 11 and 12 are based on
the following passage.
For absolute dating of archaeological
artifacts, the radiocarbon method
emerged during the latter half of the
twentieth century as the most reliable
and precise method. The results of
obsidian (volcanic glass) dating, a
method based on the belief that newly

tually calibration curves were developed
to account for this phenomenon; but in
the archeological literature we still find
dual references to radiocarbon and si-
dereal, or calendar, time.
11. The author would probably consider
which of the following the LEAST
likely means of dating archaeological
artifacts?
(A) Ceramics studies
(B) Radiocarbon dating
(C) Dendrochronological studies
(D) Fluoride analysis
(E) Obsidian hydration-layer
analysis
12. The author mentions all of the fol-
lowing as problems with radiocarbon
dating EXCEPT for
(A) disparities with the calendar
dating system
(B) deterioration of samples
(C) identification errors by archaeo-
logical field workers
(D) contamination of artifacts
(E) mistakes by laboratory workers
13. RANCOR:
(A) tranquility
(B) happiness
(C) impartiality
(D) humor

varied climatic conditions along the
region’s mountain flanks and by large,
high-altitude plateaus—variously called
puna or altiplano—which do not occur in
the Northern Andes. The soil fertility of
the northern altiplano is generally good,
whereas the western Central Andean
ranges are relatively arid with desert-like
soils. The eastern ranges are more humid,
like the Northern Andes, and have more
diverse soils.
Broadly speaking, the weather patterns
of the Andean cordillera reflect the move-
ments of high- and low-pressure cells
associated with the Intertropical Conver-
gence Zone, a low-pressure trough that
moves north and south on a seasonal
basis. These cells have their greatest
impact in the Central Andes, where
highland precipitation is seasonal. With
increasing distance south of the equator,
the seasonality of precipitation in the
Central Andes increases, whereas the
total annual amount generally decreases.
The aridity of the Central Andes coastal
zone is the result of the drying effect of the
cold Pacific Humboldt current and the
southern Pacific high-pressure cell.
In contrast to regions of gentle topog-
raphy, where climatic variation can be

tions for the climatic diversity
among different regions of the
Andean cordillera
(D) examining the effects of
topography on the precipitation
throughout the Andean cor-
dillera
(E) comparing the climate of the
Northern Andes to that of the
Central Andes
16. According to the passage, the north-
ern part of the high-altitude pla-
teaus is characterized by which of
the following?
(A) Fertile soil
(B) High relative humidity
(C) A succession of agricultural
zones
(D) Extremes in air temperature
(E) An arid climate
practicetest
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17. It can be inferred from the passage
that air temperatures in the Andean
cordillera are often “lower than
expected” probably due to wide
variations in

were both born and bred in Mid-
western America; yet the themes,
writing styles, and attitudes of these
two humorists are _______.
(A) widely admired
(B) essentially timeless
(C) distinctly different
(D) quite remarkable
(E) nearly identical
22. PRIZE : LOTTERY ::
(A) grade : student
(B) loan : bank
(C) game : casino
(D) diploma : college
(E) rank : tournament
23. CIRCUMSPECT : VIGILANCE ::
(A) courageous : bravado
(B) amicable : belligerence
(C) ardent : enthusiasm
(D) miserly : wealth
(E) intransigent : stability
24. In certain instances, tradition must
yield entirely to the utilitarian needs
of modern life. When it comes to his-
toric public buildings, whose struc-
tural integrity is (i)_______ to the
safety of the general public, modern-
ization sometimes requires no
less than razing the structure and
building anew. In other such

ration theory champions a model of com-
munity participation. Yet some of the
descriptions of what restorationists are
actually up to—for example, Turner’s
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description of humans as “the lords of cre-
ation,” or Jordan’s statement that “the
fate and well being of the biosphere
depend ultimately on us and our rela-
tionship with it”—do not cohere well with
the community-participation model.
Another holistic model—namely, that of
nature as an organism—might be more
serviceable to the restorationists. As with
the community model, the “organic” model
pictures nature as a system of intercon-
nected parts. A fundamental difference,
however, is that in an organism the parts
are wholly subservient to the life of the
organism.
25. In asserting that the organic model
“might be more serviceable to the
restorationists,” the author implies
that
(A) the descriptions by Turner and
Jordan of the restorationists’
program conform more closely

points, which are then
evaluated
(E) To identify a problem with a
school of thought, which is then
explored in detail
27. The science of astronomy is widely
viewed today as _______ at least as
much as theoretical, in that sooner
or later what astronomers detect
finds its way into theory, or the
theory is modified to _______ it.
(A) observational..disprove
(B) beneficial . . accept
(C) empirical . . embrace
(D) practical . . demonstrate
(E) important . . supersede
28. QUARRY : MARBLE ::
(A) well : oil
(B) ocean : tuna
(C) silo : grain
(D) reservoir : water
(E) observatory : stars
29. SNORKEL : DIVE ::
(A) baton : run
(B) taps : dance
(C) blade : skate
(D) ball : kick
(E) club : golf
30. EXACERBATE:
(A) prevent from occurring