GRE Practice Test 1
Passage for questions 1 to 3
Martin Luther King's active career extended from 1957 to 1968. During this brief career he led numerous protest demonstrations in the South as well as in the North of the USA. He challenged the moral complacency of America and fought for the rights of the Negroes. He hated the eye-for-an-eye method like Gandhiji and fought with the weapon of non-violence - "a weapon", said King, "that cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals." And he raised a vast army. It was an army that would move but not maul. It was an army to storm bastions of hatred, to lay siege to the fortress of segregation, to surround symbols of discrimination. It was an army whose allegiance was to God and whose strategy and intelligence were the eloquently simple dictates of conscience. His creed of nonviolence was criticized and challenged by 'Black Power' militants who would not renounce the use of violence to achieve their goals. Nevertheless, his faith in non-violence never wavered.
Choose the single correct answer option from the list provided:
Question: 1
The agenda of Martin Luther King's army was to
Maul while moving.
To remove hatred, segregation and discrimination from the society through non-violent moves.
Use swords to achieve their goals.
Use violent methods to fight their causes.
Make an army that fought using swords.
Correct Answer: B
Explanation
The passage given discusses the path adopted by Martin Luther King in order to fight for the rights of the Negroes. He belonged to Mahatma Gandhi's line of leaders who used no violent methods and wanted to make the society a better place to live in. The sentence in the passage 'an army to storm bastions of hatred, to lay siege to the fortress of segregation, to surround symbols of discrimination', is a metaphorical reference to his methodology, and makes us conclude that out of the given list of options, option 'B' is the correct answer.
Question: 2
Martin Luther King fought for the rights of Negroes and
Used violent methods to achieve his ends.
Stood against the political policies of American government.
Provided them with basic amenities.
Challenged the moral complacency of America.
Appreciated America's moral complacency.
Correct Answer: D
Explanation
Martin Luther King's struggle was to lead the Negroes towards a life of freedom that was not influenced by the American policies and culture. He had no problems with their political and governing systems, but wanted them to delimit themselves to their country only. He wanted to achieve freedom for them and that too strictly by non-violent means. The fourth option given to us is the most appropriate answer in this context.
Question: 3
His non-violent methods of fighting for the rights of Negroes were
Appreciated and keenly followed by the militants of America.
Disliked by the 'White Power' militants of America.
Criticized and challenged by 'Black Power' militants, who followed violent means.
Followed by 'Black Power' militants, who appreciated them.
Hated and condemned by the 'Black Power' militants, yet followed by them.
Correct Answer: C
Explanation
The passage given to us also throws light on the fact that the non-violent methods of Martin Luther King were opposed by the "Black Power" militants of Africa who were also fighting for the cause of the Negroes but were using violent methods. Thus, from all the options given to us, the third option, 'Criticized and challenged by 'Black Power' militants, who followed violent means' is the only correct answer.
Passage for questions 4 to 6
The jobs do not get changed around from time to time. Started off on one of the nicer ones, I sat at a conveyor belt slipping a piece of cardboard under each cake as it came down the line. The thirst was difficult to keep up. An uneconomic movement, a fumble and four cakes have gone without cards. I got up to chase the four cakes, eight more appeared and for five minutes or so I had to work at twice the speed to work my way back to where I was sitting before. But it takes half a day or so to learn how it's done and soon it becomes quite automatic. The frenzy had quite worn off by the end of the first day and then there was only the monotony and the aching arms. Later I moved to another job on the line, as the girl who usually did it had left. I wasn't surprised. It was the nastiest job in that department. As the cake came out of a machine that had sliced it in three layers, two streams of artificial cream were poured over the layers. I had to stack the layers up again, a messy and very tiring job. The cakes are heavy and the cream is slippery. Anyone who has worked at all in a factory knows how deathly conveyor belt work is. At first it is difficult to keep up and when you're tired it is quite merciless. After a while, when you have become fairly used to it, the fact that you can't work faster is also infuriating.
Choose the single correct answer option from the list provided:
Question: 4
The first day's frenzy was ascended by
Drowsiness, body ache and fatigue.
The feeling of being overjoyed and excited.
The feeling of satisfaction.
A sense of monotony and ache in the arms.
Happiness at being employed.
Correct Answer: D
Explanation
The passage explains the experience and reactions of a person who gets employed in a cake factory and is assigned the job of taking care of the cake pieces moving at the conveyer belt. As the person constantly has to layer the cakes that come on the belt and stack them properly, the primary experience of the person is that of being frenzied which later transforms into monotony and aching arms. This leads us to the conclusion that the fourth option in the given list is the correct answer.
Question: 5
The layers of the cakes that came out of the machine
Had to be poured over with cream and stacked on top of each other.
Were required to be watched over.
Needed to be packed in paper covers.
Had to be collected and kept aside.
Needed to be stacked straightaway.
Correct Answer: A
Explanation
The sentence has to be completed to explain the process of cake making as the sliced pieces come out on the conveyer belt. The passage explains that the process requires the person to pour cream on the pieces and then stack them on each other; other than packing or stacking them straightaway. Thus, the correct answer to this question is option 'A', as it describes this process properly.
Question: 6
Difficult to keep up in the beginning, the conveyer belt work
Starts seeming enjoyable later on.
Seems merciless and tires one badly after a while.
Gradually makes one get used to it and enjoy it.
Gives delighting experience afterwards.
Is a drudgery filled experience later on.
Correct Answer: B
Explanation
The passage explains the experiences of a conveyer belt worker, who finds it tough to keep up with the monotonous work that is required to be done. Since, it is monotonous, the work cannot be a delighting or enjoyable experience; also it is not drudgery as it requires physical labor. Therefore, the only option that is relevant in this context is option 'B'.