GMAT Verbal Reasoning: Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension questions test your ability to analyze written information and include passages from the social sciences, the physical and biological sciences, and sometimes the humanities.
The typical Reading Comprehension section consists of three passages with approximately 15 questions in total. Each passage is approximately 350 words long. You will be allowed to scroll through the passages when answering the questions. However, many of the questions are based on what is implied in the passages rather than on what is explicitly stated. Your ability to draw inferences from the material is critical to completing this section successfully. Inference questions will be identified. Main idea and specific questions are also generally identified as such. You are to select the best answer from five alternatives.
Types of Reading Comprehension Questions
Reading comprehension questions usually fall into several general categories. In most questions, you will be asked about one of the following:
Main Idea Questions
Supporting Idea Questions
Drawing Inferences
Specific Details
Tone or Attitude of the Passage
Authors' Techniques
Logical Structure of the Passage
Select-In Passage questions require you to select a certain sentence in the passage itself; clicking on any part of the sentence will highlight it.
Tips and Tricks for Reading Comprehension:
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You may encounter a passage with content that you have never
heard of before. Do not worry! All the questions are based on the
information in the passage. You can always come back to the passage if
it’s particularly challenging.
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Any GMAT answers that are politically incorrect will likely be
wrong. GMAT passages will not offend any race or religion.
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Mark important ideas and keywords. Doing so will help you
remember the important ideas when answering all the questions.
Example:
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Growing up in Atlanta during the heyday of the city's |
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baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, gave me a unique |
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perspective of America's national pastime. Witnessing |
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the team and the city win a World Series title in 1996 |
5 |
forever connected my destiny with that of professional |
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baseball; wherever I might be after that point in time, |
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I will always remember the joy and emotion that I was |
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filled with on that day. |
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There are some who denigrate the sport because it does |
10 |
not appear to incorporate a traditional sporting skill |
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set, but it is baseball's unique nature that makes it |
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remarkable. Instead of requiring athletes to run for |
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extended lengths of time, like so many traditional |
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forms of sport, baseball is an exercise in skill and |
15 |
power, one that combines the precision of sports like |
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golf or archery with the pure brawn of sports like |
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weightlifting or the Olympic hammer throw. It is this |
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distinct characteristic of combination that gives |
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baseball its intrigue and singularity. |
20 |
And to those critics who belittle the athletes |
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themselves, I must ask, "Have you ever played baseball |
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at a competitive level?" While the players themselves |
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make their jobs look incredibly easy, it is only |
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because they have both been born with incredible gifts |
25 |
AND trained for entire lifetimes to develop their |
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skills. Five minutes spent competing against baseball's |
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best would convince any naysayer of the sport's true |
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legitimacy. |
Q. Which of the following best describes the tone of the author of the passage?
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Personal and opinionated |
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Narrative |
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Neutral |
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Ambivalent |
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Equivocal |
Correct Answer: A
Solution:
The passage begins with an anecdote which establishes the author's personal connection. The next two paragraphs describe his position on the issue at hand (why baseball should be considered a sport). Therefore, the best choice is A, personal and opinionated.
Answer choice B is incorrect because proportionally, the author only spends a tiny amount of the passage telling a story (the first two sentences). The entire rest of the passage is an argument.
Answer choice C is wrong because this author definitely takes a one-sided stand in support of baseball's validity.
Answer choice D is incorrect because the author is far from ambivalent here; he even describes the reason behind his strong personal connection.
Answer choice E is incorrect for the same reason that C is incorrect.
