Practice Test 11 - GRE Verbal Reasoning

20 questions. Answer them in any order, then submit to see your score and every explanation.

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1. In the sentence "The treaty was a hollow victory, its terms too vague to enforce," the word "hollow" most nearly means
2. Colleagues consistently praised the new manager for her ______ feedback during quarterly reviews, noting that she delivered hard truths without ever making employees feel belittled or demoralized.
3. Read the passage and answer the question. In discussions of scientific progress, a common image is that of a steady accumulation of facts. Yet many advances occur not by adding data but by revising the questions that data are meant to answer. When researchers inherit a standard measurement, they may treat it as neutral, even though it embodies assumptions about what matters. For example, a single index might combine several dimensions into one score, simplifying comparison but masking trade-offs among components. In such cases, collecting more observations can refine the score without clarifying whether the score captures the phenomenon of interest. Progress may require disaggregating the index, creating alternative measures, or even redefining the target concept. This is not an argument against quantification; rather, it is a reminder that measurement is an interpretive act. Scientific debates often hinge less on whose numbers are larger than on whether the numbers correspond to an adequate framing of the problem. The author's main objective is to:
4. A university introduced an "open educational resources" (OER) policy intended to reduce student costs by encouraging instructors to adopt free digital textbooks. Two years later, the university bookstore reported a 25% increase in revenue from course materials. Meanwhile, student surveys showed that the average amount students paid out of pocket for required texts declined. The bookstore also expanded its online platform and began selling access codes for homework systems bundled with some OER-adjacent courseware. Which of the following helps explain the seeming contradiction?
5. Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. Neighbors called her _____, but she saw herself as merely thrifty, since she gave generously to causes she valued.
6. Passage: In macroeconomics, some models predict that lowering interest rates stimulates consumption by reducing the return to saving and lowering borrowing costs. Central banks therefore often cut rates during downturns. However, when rates approach zero, conventional policy can lose traction. Banks may become reluctant to lend, and households may prefer to pay down debt rather than borrow more. In such environments, central banks have sometimes turned to unconventional tools such as asset purchases intended to lower longer-term yields. At the same time, fiscal policy can interact with monetary policy. Government spending increases can raise demand directly, but their effectiveness may depend on whether monetary policy accommodates the spending or offsets it to prevent inflation. Some empirical studies suggest that fiscal multipliers are larger when monetary policy is constrained by the zero lower bound. Finally, researchers note that expectations matter: if households believe a stimulus will be withdrawn quickly, they may save rather than spend the additional income. Clear communication about policy persistence can therefore affect outcomes. Question: Which of the following is most strongly supported by information from the passage taken as a whole?
7. Passage: Some economists argue that "green" industrial policy is justified only when it corrects a clear market failure, such as unpriced carbon emissions. On this view, governments should avoid picking winners and instead rely on broad carbon taxes. But this prescription assumes that firms can readily finance the large up-front investments required to scale low-carbon technologies. In practice, early-stage clean manufacturing often faces capital constraints that are not simply the result of poor business prospects. Investors may hesitate because learning-by-doing benefits spill over to competitors, so the first movers cannot capture the full return on their experimentation. Targeted subsidies, though imperfect, can therefore be understood as a response to a financing problem rather than as an attempt to outguess markets. This reframing does not settle which subsidies are prudent, but it does suggest that the blanket objection to industrial policy rests on an incomplete picture of how innovation is funded. Question: The primary function of the highlighted sentence is to
8. Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. The policy looked simple on paper, but in practice it proved _____ because different departments interpreted the guidelines in conflicting ways.
9. Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. The new hiring policy was intended to broaden the applicant pool, but in practice it proved _____, as the additional requirements discouraged many qualified candidates from applying.​
10. The critic praised the novel's ______ prose, noting that not a single word felt superfluous.
11. Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. To prevent bias in the trial, the judge instructed jurors to disregard media coverage and focus solely on the _____ presented in court.
12. In "The reviewer called the novel's ending contrived, as though every thread had been forced to tie neatly," "contrived" most nearly means:
13. Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. To meet the deadline, the team adopted a ____ approach, completing the most essential tasks first and postponing optional features until later.
14. Critics dismissed the mayor's proposal as merely ______, arguing that it addressed only the appearance of corruption while leaving the underlying bureaucratic incentives entirely untouched.
15. The professor's introductory lectures were praised year after year for being remarkably ______: complex theories were distilled into simple, memorable explanations that even first-year students could grasp immediately.
16. A national library system found that branches offering automatic renewal for eligible books had 12% fewer overdue items than branches requiring patrons to renew manually. Because fewer overdues reduce staff time spent on notices and collections, and because the software update needed for automatic renewal is already included in the system's vendor contract, the system should enable automatic renewal at all branches. Which of the following best states the conclusion of the argument?
17. When the flight was delayed for the third time in a single day, passengers grew increasingly ______, some shouting at the gate agents while others stormed off in search of supervisors.
18. A 2021 archaeology paper describes the excavation of a coastal site at Cape Lumen. The authors state that the excavation grid covered exactly 24 square meters and was divided into 96 equal squares. Charcoal samples were collected from two distinct layers: Layer 2 and Layer 4. The paper explicitly reports that 14 charcoal samples from Layer 2 were submitted for radiocarbon dating, while 6 charcoal samples from Layer 4 were submitted. The laboratory used accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for all submitted samples. The paper also notes, as a minor methodological detail, that all sediment was dry-sieved through 3-millimeter mesh, and that shell fragments larger than 2 centimeters were weighed separately from smaller fragments. In discussing results, the authors mention that the median calibrated age for the Layer 2 samples was 2,350 years before present. The passage states that…​
19. Read the passage and answer the question. A materials scientist tested a biodegradable polymer film intended for food packaging. In laboratory composting conditions, the film lost 60% of its mass within eight weeks. In a separate test simulating a low-oxygen landfill environment, the same film lost only 10% of its mass over eight weeks. The scientist emphasized that biodegradation rates depend strongly on microbial activity and oxygen availability. A marketing team proposed labeling the product "rapidly biodegradable" without specifying the disposal environment. The scientist objected, noting that consumers dispose of packaging in varied waste streams. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
20. Colleagues deeply respected the negotiator's ______ approach to contract disputes, admiring how she anticipated each side's hidden priorities without ever resorting to deception or manipulation.

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