Practice Test 7 - GRE Verbal Reasoning

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

Complete the sentence. Once dismissed as fanciful, the chemist's claims were _____ when later experiments confirmed every prediction.
A software firm notes that customer support tickets about password resets fell sharply after it introduced optional biometric login on its mobile app. The firm also found that each password-reset ticket costs several dollars in staff time. Because biometric login can be extended to the desktop version with minimal development effort, the firm argues that it should add biometric login there as well to reduce support costs. Which statement is the author primarily trying to establish?
Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. The new evidence did not merely weaken the theory; it _____ it entirely.
Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. The reviewer found the film's pacing uneven: the opening is deliberately slow, but the final act becomes so ______ that key motivations are barely explained.
Select the best completion. The essay's opening anecdote is not merely _____; it introduces the paradox the remaining pages try to resolve.
A conservation agency reintroduced an apex predator to a national park. Ecologists expected that reducing the population of a large herbivore would allow young trees to recover. After five years, surveys showed that the herbivore population did decline markedly, yet the density of young trees in river valleys also declined. At the same time, the number of beavers in those valleys increased substantially, and beaver dams became more common. Which explanation best accounts for the situation described?
Complete the sentence. Though the review was ostensibly _____, its faint praise left readers in no doubt of the critic's disdain.
In "The bridge should close, since its cables are corroded and it was last inspected a decade ago," which claim do the "since" clauses support?
Passage: In climate science, detection-and-attribution studies aim to determine whether observed climate changes can be explained by natural variability alone or whether human influences are required. Early studies focused on global mean temperature because it offers a relatively high signal-to-noise ratio. Later work incorporated spatial "fingerprints," comparing observed patterns of warming across latitudes and between land and ocean to patterns predicted by models under different forcings. These fingerprint approaches can strengthen attribution because some natural drivers produce distinctive spatial patterns. However, model uncertainty complicates interpretation. Different models represent cloud feedbacks and aerosol effects differently, which can alter the magnitude and regional distribution of predicted warming. Researchers therefore often use multi-model ensembles and evaluate whether key features of the fingerprint are robust across model structures. Separately, paleoclimate reconstructions provide estimates of temperature variability before instrumental records. These reconstructions suggest that while substantial regional fluctuations occurred, the recent global-scale trend is unusual in both magnitude and coherence across regions. Question: Based on the passage, which conclusion can be drawn by combining information from multiple paragraphs?
Though the critic clearly disliked the film's uneven pacing and derivative plot, her published review expressed only ______ disapproval, reserving harsher language for films she considered truly inept.
Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. Hoping to flatter rather than offend, the host described his guest's thin frame as _____.
Critics quickly accused the bestselling memoir of being ______, since the author's persistent tendency to embellish minor incidents made readers doubt the accuracy of even the book's central claims.
In "Her praise was tepid; she called the film competent and little more," the clause after the semicolon serves to
A public health researcher claims that introducing a small tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) reduces overall sugar consumption. The researcher cites (1) sales data from City M showing that SSB purchases decreased by 9% in the year after a 1-cent-per-ounce tax, while bottled water purchases increased by 6%; (2) a survey in City M in which respondents reported drinking fewer SSBs but also reported buying more fruit juice; (3) a neighboring City N without a tax where SSB purchases decreased by 3% over the same period; and (4) a report noting that City M ran a concurrent media campaign encouraging residents to "choose water." Which of the following best characterizes the support for the author's claim?
Rather than confronting the allegations directly, the CEO issued a statement so ______ that reporters left the press conference more confused than before, unable to discern any clear admission or denial.
Passage: In neuroscience, the "default mode network" (DMN) was initially identified as a set of brain regions more active during rest than during many externally focused tasks. Early interpretations linked the DMN to mind-wandering and self-referential thought. Later experiments broadened the picture. The DMN also shows engagement during tasks involving autobiographical memory and imagining future scenarios, suggesting a role in constructing internal models rather than mere idle activity. Moreover, the DMN's activity can be coordinated with other networks during complex cognition. Clinical studies report altered DMN connectivity in several conditions. In depression, some findings associate DMN hyperconnectivity with rumination, while in Alzheimer's disease, disruptions in DMN regions overlap with areas vulnerable to amyloid deposition. However, researchers caution that similar-looking connectivity changes can arise from different underlying mechanisms. Methodologists add that measuring "rest" is itself challenging: participants may differ in what they think about during scanning, and head motion can introduce artifacts that mimic connectivity differences. Improved preprocessing reduces but does not eliminate these concerns. Question: Which statement is best supported by synthesizing information throughout the passage?
An education researcher claims that later school start times improve attendance. The researcher cites: (1) District D moved start times from 7:30 to 8:20, and average daily attendance in grades 9–12 rose from 91.2% to 92.6% the following year; (2) in the same year, the district also implemented a new automated parent notification system for absences; and (3) a student survey reported that 54% of students said they slept at least 30 minutes more on school nights after the change. Which statement best evaluates how the author uses evidence?
For each blank, choose the word or phrase that best contributes to a clear, logical sentence. Choose one answer for each blank: the choices for the first blank are labeled A–C; the choices for the second blank are labeled D–F. The negotiations, initially expected to be brief, dragged on for months as each side proved (i) to compromise, yet the eventual settlement was so (ii) that observers wondered why it had taken so long to reach.
The children were ______ after the long car ride, complaining about being hungry and bored.
Passage: In debates about online misinformation, one proposal is to rely on automated content moderation to identify and remove false claims at scale. Supporters argue that the volume and speed of social media posts make human review insufficient; machine learning systems, continually updated, could flag misleading content quickly and consistently. The promise is a kind of technical fix to a social problem. Opponents respond that automated systems struggle with context. Satire, quoted material, and evolving scientific claims can be misclassified, and adversarial actors can learn to evade detection. More fundamentally, critics worry that delegating epistemic authority to opaque algorithms risks suppressing legitimate dissent and entrenching the biases of those who design the models. Recognizing these concerns, some researchers advocate a hybrid approach. Automation can be used to triage—surfacing likely problems for human reviewers—while platforms invest in transparent appeals processes and in reducing the virality of unverified claims rather than deleting them outright. This approach reframes moderation as risk management under uncertainty, not as the elimination of error. Question: The primary function of the second paragraph is to…

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