Master gmat 2010 part 60 docx

9. In the passage, the author’s chief
concern is to
(A) acknowledge an error in
mainstream science.
(B) explain the reason for a modifi-
cation of a system.
(C) describe an anomalous biologi-
cal phenomenon.
(D) trace the development of a
scientific theory.
(E) outline a system of scientific
classification.
10. To ensure the integrity of fossil
evidence found at climatically
unstable archeological sites, the
immediate coating of newly exposed
fossils with a specially formulated
alkaline solution is as crucial, if not
more crucial than, the prompt
removal of the fossil from the site.
(A) crucial, if not more crucial
than, the
(B) crucial as, if not more crucial
than, the
(C) crucial as, if not more than the
(D) crucial, if not more crucial,
than the
(E) crucial, if not more crucial,
as the
11. While hiring decisions for most types
of jobs are based strictly on resumes

and interviews, job applicants for
computer programming jobs are at
times asked to demonstrate their
programming skills on the spot.
(A) job applicants for computer
programming jobs are at times
(B) some job applicants for com-
puter programming jobs are
(C) for some computer program-
ming jobs, job applicants are
at times
(D) in some cases some applicants
for computer programming
jobs are
(E) applicants for computer pro-
gramming jobs are sometimes
12. Airplanes departing in a timely
manner can some times be prevented
by any one of a variety of factors,
such as severe weather or a security
threat.
(A) Airplanes departing in a timely
manner can some times be
prevented by any one of a
variety of factors, such as
severe weather or a security
threat.
(B) Any one of a variety of factors,
such as severe weather or a
security threat, some times can

prevent airplanes from their
timely departing.
(C) Any one of a variety of factors,
such as severe weather or a
security threat, can sometimes
prevent the timely departure of
airplanes.
(D) The severity of the weather or a
security threat, among a variety
of other factors, can some of the
time prevent airplanes depart-
ingontime.
(E) Timely departures of airplanes
are sometimes prevented as a
result of severe weather, a
security threat, or various
other factors.
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13. For large pharmaceutical companies,
the profit motive has long been a
deterrent to the preparation of
medicines that treat illnesses
afflicting primarily people who
cannot easily afford to pay for
medicines. While diseases such as
cholera and malaria claim millions of

lives every year, medicines that the
companies have developed and that
can prevent these deaths are simply
not made available for this purpose.
Pharmaceutical companies have
expressed essentially the same
attitude toward preparing antidotes
in the event of germ warfare.
The passage is structured to lead to
which of the following conclusions?
(A) Large pharmaceutical compa-
nies fail to appreciate the
potential dangers of germ
warfare.
(B) The government must subsidize
the preparation of germ-war
antidotes in order to prevent a
large-scale catastrophe.
(C) Potential victims of germ
warfare cannot rely on large
pharmaceutical companies for
antidotes that might be needed
during war.
(D) A victim of cholera or malaria is
more likely to die from germ
warfare than a person who has
not contracted either disease.
(E) Large pharmaceutical compa-
nies do not have sufficient
resources to develop antidotes

for use in the event of germ
warfare.
14. Bayside Aquarium plans to capture a
great white shark and to display it at
the aquarium, in the hope that doing
so will help raise public awareness
that this species of shark is in
danger of extinction. But few such
sharks have ever survived in captiv-
ity for more than one month. In all
likelihood, then, this plan would
amount to a waste of the aquarium’s
financial resources, which would be
better directed toward other efforts
to preserve the great white shark.
Which of the following, if true, would
most seriously weaken the argument
above?
(A) Bayside Aquarium’s shark
habitat would resemble the
species’ natural environment far
more closely than the shark
habitats provided previously at
other facilities.
(B) Most visitors to the aquarium
are already aware that the
great white shark is an endan-
gered species.
(C) Certain other species of sharks
are at greater risk of extinction

than the great white shark.
(D) The expense involved in
capturing a great white shark is
difficult to predict.
(E) Bayside Aquarium’s popularity
is due primarily to its large
variety of sea life.
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QUESTIONS 15–17 ARE BASED ON THE
FOLLOWING PASSAGE:
Line The eighteenth-century literary work
Encyclopédie, which coincided with
nascent industrialization, distinguished
itself from its predecessors with its mix
of the theoretical with the practical.
While twenty pages were devoted to
metaphysical speculation about the
human soul, nearly as many were
devoted to the machine manufacture of
stockings, a principal industrial
product of the day. In fact, seventeen
volumes of text were accompanied by
eleven volumes of illustrations, at the
insistence of chief editors Denis
Diderot and Jean d’Alembert, known
as the “Encyclopedists.”
Prior to the mid-eighteenth century,

scholars had not dared to publicly
assert the intellectual freedom to
reason about the mundane tools of
daily life with the same seriousness as
the human soul. Understandably, in
1759 Pope Clement XIII listed Encyclo-
pédie in the Church’s Index of Prohib-
ited Books, and the French government
refused to license its printing. But due
in part to the surreptitious assistance
of an enlightened government official
and in part to greedy booksellers, the
work quickly became a best-seller
throughout Europe.
15. The author mentions the machine
manufacture of stockings most likely
in order to
(A) show that for the Encyclope-
dists illustrations were just as
important as text.
(B) underscore the Encyclopedists’
skepticism about prevailing
metaphysical notions.
(C) demonstrate the Encyclopedists’
concern for the practical realm
of human endeavor.
(D) point out the Encyclopedists’
great attention to detail.
(E) explain why it was necessary to
include eleven volumes of

illustrations in the work.
16. In the context of the passage, which
of the following is the most reason-
able explanation for the author’s
characterization of government
suppression of Encyclopédie as
understandable?
(A) Pope Clement XIII had already
called for the suppression of the
work.
(B) The same government official
who aided the Encyclopedists
also refused to grant a license
to print the work.
(C) The work’s entry about Chris-
tianity was briefer than its
entry about certain other
religions.
(D) In challenging the general
status quo, the work might
incite readers to question
political authority.
(E) The government had previously
banned similar works.
17. The author suggests that the com-
mercial success of Encyclopédie
(A) was the product of illegal
printing operations.
(B) brought fame to the work’s
chief editors.

(C) spawned more volumes than
were originally planned.
(D) was largely due to a publicity
campaign by one individual.
(E) owed to the work’s extensive
use of illustrations.
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18. Human exposure to even low levels
of nuclear radiation dramatically
increases the likelihood of contract-
ing some form of cancer. According to
a research study involving a town
near a former nuclear testing site, no
person who resided in the town
during the testing—which occurred
more than sixty years ago—and who
was under the age of 10 during the
testing lived beyond 50 years of age.
However, some of the town’s former
residents who are now over 50 years

old are cancer survivors but
resided in the town during the
nuclear testing.
If the information provided is true,
which of the following must on the
basis of it also be true about the
town that is the subject of the
research study?
(A) Some people who resided in the
town during the nuclear testing
do not remember the testing.
(B) The cancers contracted by the
town’s cancer survivors were
not caused by exposure to
nuclear radiation.
(C) Some of the town’s former
residents living today were over
10 years of age during the
nuclear testing.
(D) The nuclear testing resulted in
the emission of lower levels of
radiation than initially believed.
(E) Some of the town’s residents
died before turning 50 years
of age due to causes other
than cancer.
19. Since the release of MicroTeam
Corporation’s newest version of its
ActiveWeb software, more copies of
this new version have been sold than

any software product that competes
with ActiveWeb. Therefore, Mi-
croTeam Corporation’s marketing
campaign to promote the new version
of ActiveWeb was highly effective.
Which of the following, if true,
provides the best indication that the
conclusion in the argument above is
logically well supported?
(A) The number of potential
purchasers of ActiveWeb and of
products that compete with it
has increased since the release
of the new version of ActiveWeb.
(B) The number of products compet-
ing with ActiveWeb has dimin-
ished since the release of the
new version of ActiveWeb.
(C) The new version of ActiveWeb
corrected every known opera-
tional problem with previous
versions.
(D) More copies of the new version
of ActiveWeb have been sold
than of any earlier version of
ActiveWeb.
(E) Shortly after the release of the
new version of ActiveWeb, a
popular and influential maga-
zine recommended a competing

product over the new version of
ActiveWeb.
20. A pluralistic democracy, in greater
degree than any system of govern-
ment, diffuses power away from
a center.
(A) in greater degree than any
(B) which more than any
(C) to a greater extent than any
(D) as opposed to any other
(E) more than any other
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21. During her internship at the hospi-
tal, Dr. Paulson observed that
through careful examination, compe-
tent diagnosing and successful
treatment, patients can grow to trust
their physicians.
(A) diagnosing and successful
treatment, patients can grow to
trust their physicians
(B) diagnosis and treatment, if
successful, can lead patients to
trust their physicians
(C) and successful diagnosing and
treatment, physicians can
develop trust in their patients

(D) diagnosis and successful treat-
ment, physicians can help their
patients grow to trust them
(E) diagnosis and successful
treatment, physicians can
develop in their patients
growing trust
22. Topical application of oil from the
bark of aoli trees, which are quite
rare and grow only in certain regions
of South America, has been shown to
be the only effective means of
treating certain skin disorders. At
the current rate of harvesting bark
for aoli oil, however, aoli trees will
become extinct within fifty years.
Clearly, measures must be taken
soon to reduce the demand for aoli
oil; otherwise, fifty years from now it
will no longer be possible to treat
these skin disorders effectively.
Which of the following, if true, would
most seriously weaken the argument
above?
(A) One of the skin disorders for
which aoli oil is an effective
treatment is caused by exposure
to chemicals used in a manufac-
turing process that is quickly
becoming obsolete.

(B) The bark of newly planted aoli
trees can be harvested for oil
within twenty years after the
new trees are planted.
(C) The cause of skin disorders
treatable with aoli oil is also
the cause of certain other
health problems which are
treated effectively by ingesting
aoli oil.
(D) In South America aoli tree bark
is widely used in making a
variety of decorative craft items
and utensils.
(E) Only people who live in the
regions of South America where
aoli trees are found suffer from
skin disorders treatable with
aoli oil.
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23. A child’s conception of whether
certain behavior is right or wrong,
referred to as “behavioral predisposi-
tion,” is fully developed by the age of
10. During a person’s teenage years,
other teenagers with whom the

person associates regularly have a
significant influence on whether the
person later acts in accordance with
his or her predisposition. In other
words, teenagers tend to mimic their
peers’ behavior. It is interesting to
note that the vast majority of adult
criminals also committed crimes as
teenagers and associated primarily
with other teenagers who later
became adult criminals.
Which of the following conclusions
can most properly be drawn from the
information above?
(A) A child’s conception of whether
certain behavior is right or
wrong can change during the
child’s teenage years.
(B) Until a child becomes a teen-
ager it is impossible to predict
whether the child will eventu-
ally become an adult criminal.
(C) Law-abiding adults are unlikely
to have developed a predisposi-
tion for adult criminal behavior.
(D) An adult criminal is likely to
have been predisposed as a
child to criminal behavior.
(E) Pre-teen children who are not
predisposed to criminal behav-

ior are unlikely to become adult
criminals.
24. The game of Rugby began in the
Middle Ages as a day-long free-for-all
between neighboring villages,
without limit of the numbers of
players on a side or of the boundaries
to the playing field.
(A) without limit of the numbers of
players on a side or of the
boundaries
(B) with no limit on the number of
players on a side and with no
boundaries
(C) without limitation as to how
many players on each side or as
to boundaries
(D) and it was without a limit on
the number of players on a side
or on boundaries
(E) with no limits on the numbers
of players or boundaries
25. Rather than approving the rebuilding
of oceanfront houses destroyed by the
hurricane, land-use authorities are
considering alternative ways to
utilize the land on which the houses
once sat, acknowledging that the
region will always be vulnerable to
nature’s fury.

(A) alternative ways to utilize
(B) alternative ways of utilization of
(C) alternatives to using
(D) using alternatives as for
(E) alternative utilizations for
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QUESTIONS 26–29 ARE BASED ON THE
FOLLOWING PASSAGE:
Line In the past century, Irish painting has
changed from a British-influenced
lyrical tradition to an art that evokes
the ruggedness and roots of an Irish
Celtic past. At the turn of the twenti-
eth century, Irish painters—including
notables Walter Frederick Osborne and
Sir William Orpen—looked elsewhere
for influence. Osborne’s exposure to
“plein air” painting deeply affected his
stylistic development, and Orpen allied
himself with a group of English artists,
while at the same time participating in
the French avant-garde experiment,
both as painter and teacher.
However, nationalist energies were
beginning to coalesce, reviving interest
in Irish culture, including Irish visual
arts. Beatrice Elvery’s Éire (1907), a

landmark achievement, merged the
devotional simplicity of fifteenth-cen-
tury Italian painting with the iconogra-
phy of Ireland’s Celtic past, linking the
history of Irish Catholicism with the
still-nascent Irish republic. And, al-
though also captivated by the French
plein air school, Sir John Lavery in-
voked the mythology of his native land
for a 1928 commission to paint the cen-
tral figure for the bank note of the new
Irish Free State. Lavery chose as this
figure Éire, with her arm on a Celtic
harp, the national symbol of indepen-
dent Ireland.
In Irish painting from about 1910,
memories of Edwardian romanticism
coexisted with a new sense of realism,
exemplified by the paintings of Paul
Henry and Seán Keating, a student of
Orpen. Realism also crept into the
work of Edwardians Lavery and Orpen,
both of whom made paintings depicting
World War I, Lavery with a distanced
Victorian nobility, Orpen closer to the
front, revealing a more sinister and
realistic vision. Meanwhile, counter-
point to the Edwardians and realists
came Jack B. Yeats, whose travels
throughout the rugged and more

authentically Irish West led him to
depict subjects ranging from street
scenes in Dublin to boxing matches
and funerals. Fusing close observations
of Irish life and icons with an Irish
identity in a new way, Yeats changed
the face of Irish painting and became
the most important Irish artist of
his century.
26. With respect to which of the follow-
ing painters does the passage provide
LEAST support for the assertion that
the painter was influenced by the
contemporary art of France?
(A) Walter Frederick Osborne
(B) Sir William Orpen
(C) Beatrice Elvery
(D) Seán Keating
(E) Sir John Lavery
27. Which of the following best explains
the author’s use of the word “counter-
point” (lines 46–47) in referring to
Yeats?
(A) Yeats’ paintings differed
significantly in subject matter
from those of his contemporar-
ies in Ireland.
(B) Yeats reacted to the realism of
his contemporary artists by in-
voking nineteenth-century natu-

ralism in his own painting style.
(C) Yeats avoided religious and
mythological themes in favor of
mundane portrayals of Irish life.
(D) Yeats’ paintings suggested that
his political views departed
radically from those of the
Edwardians and the realists.
(E) Yeats built upon the realism
painting tradition, elevating it to
unprecedented artistic heights.
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28. The author points out the coexistence
of romanticism and realism (lines
36–37) most probably in order to

show that
(A) Irish painters of the early
twentieth century often com-
bined elements of realism with
those of romanticism into a
single painting.
(B) Irish painters of the early
twentieth century tended to
romanticize the harsh reality
of war.
(C) for a time painters from each
school influenced painters from
the other school.
(D) Yeats was influenced by both
the romantic and realist schools
of Irish painting.
(E) the transition in Irish painting
from one predominant style to
the other was not an abrupt one.
29. Which of the following is the most
likely title of a longer article in
which the passage might have
appeared?
(A) “Twentieth Century Irish
Masterpieces: A Coalescence of
Painting Styles”
(B) “Among Irish Painters, who
Deserves Credit for the Preemi-
nence of Yeats?”
(C) “Realism vs. Romanticism:

Ireland’s Struggle for National
Identity”
(D) “Irish Paintings: Reflections of
an Emerging Independent State”
(E) “The Role of Celtic Mythology in
Irish Painting”
30. Newspaper publishers earn their
profits primarily from advertising
revenue, and potential advertisers
are more likely to advertise in
newspapers with a wide circula-
tion—a large number of subscribers
and other readers—than with other
newspapers. However, the circulation
of the newspaper that is currently
the most profitable one in this city
has steadily declined during the last
two years, while the circulation of
one of its competitors has steadily
increased.
Any of the following, if true, would
help explain the apparent discrep-
ancy between the two statements
above EXCEPT:
(A) Advertisers generally switch
from the most widely circulated
newspaper to another one only
when the other one becomes the
most widely circulated newspa-
per instead.

(B) The number of newspapers
competing viably with the most
profitable newspaper in the city
has increased during the last
two years.
(C) The most profitable newspaper
in the city receives revenue
from its subscribers as well
from advertisers.
(D) The circulation of the most
profitable newspaper in the city
is still greater than of any of its
competitors.
(E) Advertising rates charged by
the most profitable newspaper
in the city are significantly
higher than those charged by
its competitors.
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31. The purpose of the proposed law
requiring a doctor’s prescription for
obtaining hypodermic needles is to
lower the incidence of drug-related
deaths, both accidental and inten-
tional, involving hypodermic needles.
But even knitting needles can be
lethal if they fall into the wrong

hands; yet everyone would agree that
imposing legal restrictions on
obtaining knitting needles would be
preposterous. Hence the proposed
law involving hypodermic needles
makes no sense and should not
be enacted.
Which of the following, it true, would
provide most support for the argu-
ment above?
(A) Knitting needles have been
known to cause injury
and death.
(B) The benefits of hypodermic
needles outweigh those of
knitting needles.
(C) The proposed law would not
deter the sort of activity known
to result in drug-related deaths.
(D) The proposed law could not be
effectively enforced.
(E) Knitting needles are not readily
available to anybody who wants
to obtain them.
32. The celestial equator divides an
imagined celestial globe into two
hemispheres just as Earth’s equator
does, and the center of Earth’s own
galaxy, the Milky Way, lies to the
south of the celestial equator.

(A) the center of Earth’s own
galaxy, the Milky Way, lies
(B) the center of the Milky Way,
the galaxy where Earth is
located, lies
(C) Earth’s own galaxy, which lies
at the Milky Way’s center, lies
(D) the Milky Way’s center of
Earth’s own galaxy is located
(E) the Milky Way, which is located
at Earth’s galaxy’s center, lies
33. Neither result of the two experiments
involving Alzheimer’s patients were
what the researchers have expected.
(A) Neither result of the two
experiments involving Alzhe-
imer’s patients were what the
researchers have expected.
(B) Of the two experiments involv-
ing Alzheimer’s patients,
neither result was expected by
the researchers.
(C) Neither of the two experiments
involving Alzheimer’s patients
result in what the researchers
expected.
(D) Neither of the two experiments
involving Alzheimer’s patients
resulted in what the research-
ers had expected.

(E) What the researchers have
expected was the result of
neither of the two experiments
involving Alzheimer’s patients.
34. Were empty space nothing real, then
any two atoms located in this
“nothingness” would contact each
other since nothing would be
between them.
(A) Were empty space
(B) In the event that empty space is
(C) If empty space is
(D) That empty space were
(E) If empty space was
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35. During the past year, nationwide
membership in health and fitness
clubs has declined by about 7
percent. Over the same time period,
sales of fast-food products widely
known to contribute to health
problems have risen by about the
same percent. These statistics clearly
show that consumers have become
decreasingly concerned about their
health and level of fitness during the

past year.
The argument that consumers have
become decreasingly concerned about
their health and fitness over the
most recent one-year period depends
most heavily on which of the follow-
ing assumptions?
(A) Concern about health is a major
reason that consumers join
fitness clubs and maintain their
memberships.
(B) The overall level of health and
fitness among consumers
declined over the most recent
one-year period.
(C) Consumers spent less money on
health- and fitness-club mem-
berships than on fast food
during the past year.
(D) Fitness equipment designed for
home use has become increas-
ingly affordable over the past year.
(E) Consumers who have a low
level of health and fitness tend
to spend more money than
other consumers on fast food.
QUESTIONS 36–38 ARE BASED ON THE
FOLLOWING PASSAGE:
Line The Andean cordillera is made up of
many interwoven mountain ranges,

which include high intermontane
plateaus, basins, and valleys. The
Northern Andes contains several broad
ecosystems falling into four altitudinal
belts. Its northern subregion is distin-
guished from the rest of the region by
higher relative humidity and greater
climatic symmetry between the eastern
and western flanks of the range. The
Central Andes are characterized by a
succession of agricultural zones with
varied climatic conditions along the
mountains’ flanks and by large,
high-altitude plateaus, variously called
puna or altiplano, which are not
present in the Northern Andes. The
soil fertility of the northern altiplano is
generally good. The western Central
Andean ranges are relatively arid with
desert-like soils, whereas the eastern
ranges are more humid and have more
diverse soils. The eastern slopes of the
Central Andes in many ways are
similar to the wet forests of the
Northern Andes. Unlike the Northern
Andes, however, these slopes have a
dry season.
Extreme topography and climate
make regional weather projections in
the Andean cordillera difficult. For

example, while air temperature
generally decreases with increasing
altitude, variability of mountain
topography can produce much lower
than expected air temperatures.
Vegetation can also be unpredictable,
although certain general patterns are
discernible. At the regional or macros-
cale level, vegetation patterns in the
Northern and Central Andes tend to
reflect climatic zones determined by
latitude and altitude. At the local or
mesoscale level, however, this corre-
spondence becomes less precise, as
local variations in soil type, slope,
drainage, climate, and human inter-
vention come into play.
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