cathmom Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Maybe it's because it's midnight my time, but this seems like the kind of gobbledy-gook I would seriously edit, NOT what I would be writing test questions off of!! Is it just me? Sample questions 1 to 3 below are based on this passage: Policymakers must confront the dilemma that fossil fuels continue to be an indispensable source of energy even though burning them produces atmospheric accumulations of carbon dioxide that increase the likelihood of potentially disastrous global climate change. Currently, technology that would capture carbon dioxide emitted by power plants and sequester it harmlessly underground or undersea instead of releasing it into the atmosphere might double the cost of generating electricity. But because sequestration does not affect the cost of electricity transmission and distribution, delivered prices will rise less, by no more than 50 percent. Research into better technologies for capturing carbon dioxide will undoubtedly lead to lowered costs. Sample Multiple-choice Questions — Select One Answer Choice 1. The passage implies which of the following about the current cost of generating electricity? It is higher than it would be if better technologies for capturing carbon dioxide were available. It is somewhat less than the cost of electricity transmission and distribution. It constitutes at most half of the delivered price of electricity. It is dwelt on by policymakers to the exclusion of other costs associated with electricity delivery. It is not fully recovered by the prices charged directly to electricity consumers. Answer: C Sample Multiple-choice Questions — Select One or More Answer Choices Consider each of the three choices separately and select all that apply. 2. The passage suggests that extensive use of sequestration would, over time, have which of the following consequences? The burning of fossil fuels would eventually cease to produce atmospheric accumulations of carbon dioxide. The proportion of the delivered price of electricity due to generation would rise and then decline. Power plants would consume progressively lower quantities of fossil fuels. Answer: B Sample Select-in-Passage Question 3. Select the sentence that explains why an outcome of sequestration that might have been expected would not occur. Answer: "But because sequestration does not affect the cost of electricity transmission and distribution, delivered prices will rise less, by no more than 50 percent." Sample questions 4 to 6 below are based on this passage: Reviving the practice of using elements of popular music in classical composition, an approach that had been in hibernation in the United States during the 1960s, composer Philip Glass (born 1937) embraced the ethos of popular music without imitating it. Glass based two symphonies on music by rock musicians David Bowie and Brian Eno, but the symphonies' sound is distinctively his. Popular elements do not appear out of place in Glass's classical music, which from its early days has shared certain harmonies and rhythms with rock music. Yet this use of popular elements has not made Glass a composer of popular music. His music is not a version of popular music packaged to attract classical listeners; it is high art for listeners steeped in rock rather than the classics. Sample Multiple-choice Questions — Select One Answer Choice 4. The passage addresses which of the following issues related to Glass's use of popular elements in his classical compositions? How it is regarded by listeners who prefer rock to the classics How it has affected the commercial success of Glass's music Whether it has contributed to a revival of interest among other composers in using popular elements in their compositions Whether it has had a detrimental effect on Glass's reputation as a composer of classical music Whether it has caused certain of Glass's works to be derivative in quality Answer: E Sample Multiple-choice Questions — Select One or More Answer Choices Consider each of the three choices separately and select all that apply. 5. The passage suggests that Glass's work displays which of the following qualities? A return to the use of popular music in classical compositions An attempt to elevate rock music to an artistic status more closely approximating that of classical music A long-standing tendency to incorporate elements from two apparently disparate musical styles Answer: A and C Sample Select-in-Passage Question 6. Select the sentence that distinguishes two ways of integrating rock and classical music. Answer: "His music is not a version of popular music packaged to attract classical listeners; it is high art for listeners steeped in rock rather than the classics." Maybe I better rethink the idea that I'll do well on the verbal section of the GRE. Why did they have to change it???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 In particular, I am failing to see how B can possibly be right on question 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 That writing makes me cringe. I would have my red pen out, especially for the first paragraph. I have seen worse, though! But, still... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 That writing makes me cringe. I would have my red pen out, especially for the first paragraph. I have seen worse, though! But, still... I know, right? It's awful! Will it show my verbal skills if I edit their test instead of taking it???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I know, right? It's awful! Will it show my verbal skills if I edit their test instead of taking it???? :D The rule following, box checking test people will not think so, although I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 In particular, I am failing to see how B can possibly be right on question 2. I got it by deciding the other two were even less supported. Or luck. What happened to Rock: Paper as Dog: ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) In particular, I am failing to see how B can possibly be right on question 2. Agreeing with Kalanamak re. Q2, but I do think that B answers #2 best. The text says that the sequestration will double the cost of generation, but that by the time you add the cost of transmission and distribution to the cost of generation, the increase in the total price due to sequestration would only be 50%. Then as research leads to better methods of sequestration, the proportional cost of the sequestration will decline. So, initial increase and later decline. I may use these sentences in my lesson tomorrow for my AmLit class. I'm teaching the students how to edit sentences so they are direct and powerful. :lol: Edited February 28, 2012 by Valerie(TX) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 When they create these tests, they are concerned with a lot of other things besides whether the passages are well-written, I'm sure. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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