GRE Verbal Practice Test: Practice Test 3

A city’s transportation department notes that after installing protected bike lanes on three major corridors, bicycle commuting increased by 22% and reported cyclist injuries on those corridors fell by 14% over the next year. During the same period, overall car travel times on adjacent parallel streets did not measurably increase, according to GPS-based traffic data. Because the department aims to reduce injuries without worsening congestion, it argues that the city should expand protected bike lanes to additional corridors with similar traffic patterns.

Which of the following best states the conclusion of the argument?

A health columnist claims: "People who take daily vitamin supplements report fewer colds each winter than people who do not. Therefore, vitamins prevent colds, and employers should provide free supplements to reduce sick days." Which of the following best describes the reasoning employed in the argument?

Read the passage and answer the question.

A transportation agency evaluated a pilot program that replaced some curbside parking with protected bicycle lanes on Alder Avenue. The pilot covered a 1.6-mile segment between 3rd Street and 19th Street and was implemented in May 2021. According to the agency’s report, the project removed 112 on-street parking spaces and added 0.8 miles of protected bike lane (counting one direction only). The report also stated that average weekday bicycle counts at a mid-segment counter increased from 420 in June 2020 to 690 in June 2021. However, the agency noted that traffic signal timing was also adjusted in April 2021 to reduce vehicle speeds, and it did not claim that the bike lane alone caused the increase in cycling. The report did not include weekend bicycle counts.

The passage states that…

Read the passage and answer the question.

Some conservation biologists now advocate “assisted migration,” the deliberate relocation of species to habitats expected to remain suitable under climate change. The proposal is frequently presented as a pragmatic alternative to watching populations decline in place. Still, the confidence with which assisted migration is sometimes promoted can obscure how contingent its success is on ecological particulars that are difficult to forecast. Transplanted species may become invasive, introduce pathogens, or disrupt mutualisms that are not apparent in pre-move surveys. Proponents often reply that inaction carries risks as well, which is true; yet this retort can function as a rhetorical shortcut, substituting urgency for careful comparison of alternatives such as habitat corridors or targeted management of local stressors. The most persuasive case for assisted migration, then, is not as a general remedy but as a tightly circumscribed tool deployed when the relevant uncertainties are explicitly acknowledged and monitored over time.

The passage conveys an attitude that is primarily…​

Passage:

Some music theorists claim that listeners perceive musical structure primarily through hierarchical tonal relationships: certain chords and notes feel stable, others create tension that seeks resolution. This account fits well with many Western classical traditions.

Ethnomusicologists, however, document musical systems in which tonal hierarchy is less central. In some traditions, rhythmic cycles and timbral changes provide the primary cues for segmentation and expectation. Listeners trained in these traditions can accurately anticipate transitions based on rhythmic patterning even when pitch materials remain relatively constant.

Cognitive psychologists studying enculturation find that exposure shapes perception. Participants unfamiliar with a musical tradition often struggle to predict its phrase boundaries, but their performance improves after training that highlights the relevant structural cues—whether tonal, rhythmic, or timbral.

Meanwhile, computational researchers building music-prediction algorithms report that models trained only on pitch sequences perform poorly on repertoires where rhythm carries more information. Adding rhythmic and timbral features improves prediction, but increases the amount of data needed for training.

Question: Which statement is best supported by synthesizing information throughout the passage?

Passage:

Urban economists often claim that dense cities are more productive because proximity facilitates knowledge spillovers: workers learn from one another through formal collaboration and informal encounters. This view predicts that industries relying on tacit knowledge should benefit especially from clustering.

Yet some remote-work studies during recent years found that certain teams maintained output after shifting to distributed arrangements, particularly when tasks were modular and well documented. In these cases, collaboration relied heavily on written communication and standardized processes, reducing dependence on spontaneous in-person exchange.

A different strand of research examines innovation outcomes rather than short-run output. Patent analyses suggest that while routine production may be sustained remotely, the generation of novel ideas can decline when workers lack opportunities for unplanned interaction across departments. Firms attempting to offset this effect invested in periodic in-person retreats and redesigned digital platforms to encourage cross-team visibility.

Finally, sociologists note that remote work can widen inequality within cities: high-income workers may leave expensive centers while service workers remain tied to location-specific jobs. This can alter the urban tax base and reduce funding for public amenities that also support informal interaction.

Question: Which of the following is most strongly supported by information from the passage taken as a whole?

For each blank select one entry from the corresponding column of choices. Fill all blanks in the way that best completes the text.. The answer choices are grouped by blank: choices A–C are candidates for Blank (i); choices D–F are candidates for Blank (ii); and if there is a third blank, choices G–I are candidates for Blank (iii).

The curator’s essay is notably   about the painting’s provenance, a caution that is prudent given the archive’s gaps; in contrast, the catalog entry is oddly  , asserting a single origin without qualification.

Passage:

In debates about whether microfinance reduces poverty, some evaluations focus on average income changes among borrowers. A multi-country meta-analysis reported that mean income effects were small and often statistically indistinguishable from zero, especially in studies with short follow-up periods. The authors cautioned that borrowers use loans for varied purposes, including smoothing consumption rather than expanding businesses.

A separate set of field studies examined volatility rather than averages. In several rural regions, households with access to microloans reported fewer months of severe food shortage and were less likely to sell productive assets after a bad harvest. Yet these same studies found no consistent increase in long-term business profits among the median borrower.

Finally, qualitative interviews suggested that participants valued microfinance partly for non-income reasons: greater ability to handle medical expenses and reduced reliance on informal lenders who charged unpredictable rates. Interviewers also noted that the most successful business expansions tended to occur among a minority of borrowers who already had some market access.

Question: The passage as a whole suggests which of the following?​

Read the passage and answer the question.

A linguist analyzing changes in coastal dialects compiled a corpus of recorded interviews from the town of Greyhaven. The corpus consisted of 96 interviews: 48 recorded in 1975 and 48 recorded in 2015. Each interview lasted exactly 30 minutes, and all speakers were lifelong residents of Greyhaven. The linguist focused on the pronunciation of the vowel in words like “boat” and coded each instance as either a “raised” or “non-raised” variant. In the 1975 recordings, 31% of coded instances were raised; in the 2015 recordings, 54% were raised. The study explicitly noted that the 2015 speakers had a higher average level of formal education than the 1975 speakers, but it did not provide the education averages. The linguist also stated that the interviews were conducted by different fieldworkers in the two years.

According to the passage, which of the following is true?

Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence.

The historian initially dismissed the diary as unreliable, but the discovery of matching shipping records later   its account of the voyage.

Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence.

The author’s argument appears rigorous at first, but its key claim is   by a single counterexample that directly contradicts the supposed rule.

A restaurant group tested a smaller menu at one location and found that food waste fell by 18% while customer ratings for food quality rose slightly. The manager explains that a smaller menu allows the kitchen to focus on fewer ingredients, improving freshness and reducing spoilage. Since the streamlined menu did not reduce total revenue at the test location, the group should simplify menus at its other restaurants to reduce waste without sacrificing sales. Which statement is the author primarily trying to establish?

Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence. The auditor found no evidence of fraud, but noted several   practices—such as missing receipts—that could create confusion during future reviews.

An ecologist claims that reintroducing wolves to a national park will likely increase riparian (riverbank) vegetation over time. As evidence, the ecologist cites (1) a 10-year dataset from Park X showing that after wolves returned, elk counts in river valleys declined by 25% and the proportion of time elk spent browsing in open riverbank areas decreased; (2) photographs from Park X showing taller willow stands at three monitored river sites five years after wolf reintroduction; (3) a study from Park Y in which wolf presence did not change elk population size but did change elk movement patterns; and (4) an analysis indicating that in Park X, average spring rainfall increased over the same decade.

Which statement best evaluates how the author uses evidence?

A regional electric utility claims that offering customers a rebate for installing smart thermostats will reduce peak electricity demand enough to avoid building a new substation. The utility bases this conclusion on a small pilot program in which participating households used 10% less electricity during peak hours than they had the previous summer. The utility argues that because peak demand is driven largely by residential air-conditioning use, expanding the rebate program will produce similar reductions at scale. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

Passage:

In organizational psychology, “psychological safety” refers to a shared belief that interpersonal risk-taking—such as admitting mistakes or proposing unconventional ideas—will not lead to punishment or humiliation. Studies often link psychological safety to team learning.

Yet researchers note that psychological safety is not identical to comfort or consensus. Some teams report high safety while also engaging in frequent task-related conflict, because members feel able to challenge one another’s ideas without personal hostility. In contrast, teams that avoid disagreement can appear harmonious but may suppress dissent.

A separate literature on performance management finds that when evaluation systems emphasize individual rankings, employees may withhold information that could help peers, especially if rewards are zero-sum. Some firms have attempted to counteract this by incorporating team-based metrics, though critics argue that such metrics can obscure individual contributions.

Finally, case studies of high-reliability organizations (such as aviation maintenance units) suggest that structured reporting systems—checklists, incident logs, and routine debriefs—can institutionalize speaking up, but only when leaders respond to reports by fixing processes rather than blaming individuals.

Question: Based on the passage, which conclusion can be drawn by combining information from multiple paragraphs?

A research institute compared two grant-application formats: a long narrative and a shorter structured form. Reviewers spent 20% less time evaluating applications using the structured form, yet their final funding decisions closely matched those made under the narrative format in prior years. Because faster review allows the institute to process more applications without hiring additional staff, it should switch to the structured form for next year’s grants. Which of the following best states the conclusion of the argument?

Passage:

In corporate governance, stakeholder capitalism is sometimes introduced as a corrective to shareholder primacy, promising that firms can simultaneously pursue profits and broader social goals. The aspiration is not incoherent, but its operational content is often left vague. Appeals to “all stakeholders” can function as a flexible mandate that justifies almost any managerial choice, including choices that would previously have required clearer accountability. Metrics meant to track social performance are proliferating, yet they are frequently incomparable across firms and susceptible to selective disclosure. Without enforceable standards, stakeholder rhetoric may do less to constrain corporate behavior than to provide a more polished vocabulary for it.

Question: The author’s attitude toward stakeholder capitalism is best described as…

An archaeologist proposes that a coastal settlement relied heavily on marine resources. As evidence, the archaeologist notes: (1) 62% of animal bone fragments recovered from household middens are fish vertebrae and shellfish remains; (2) isotopic analysis of human teeth from the site indicates elevated nitrogen-15 levels consistent with diets high in marine protein; and (3) a nearby inland site from the same period contains more deer bones than fish bones.

Which of the following best characterizes the support for the author’s claim?

Read the passage and answer the question.

In public health, wastewater surveillance has been promoted as a low-cost way to track infectious disease trends, since viral fragments can be detected before clinical testing captures an outbreak. The approach has clear advantages: it can reveal community-level signals even when individuals avoid clinics or home-test results go unreported. Still, claims that wastewater data provide a straightforward “early warning system” often neglect practical complications. Sampling sites may not correspond neatly to neighborhoods, industrial discharge can distort readings, and interpreting concentration changes requires assumptions about flow rates and population size that are not always defensible. Wastewater surveillance is therefore best understood as a valuable complement to, not a replacement for, more direct epidemiological measures.

The author’s attitude toward wastewater surveillance can best be described as…

Passage:

In public health, “nudge” interventions—such as changing default options or rearranging cafeteria layouts—are sometimes promoted as a way to improve behavior without coercion. Advocates emphasize that nudges preserve freedom of choice while counteracting predictable cognitive biases. Because nudges are often inexpensive, they can appear to offer a rare policy tool that is both effective and politically palatable.

Yet critics argue that the apparent gentleness of nudges can obscure important ethical and practical questions. If citizens are steered without knowing it, transparency may be compromised; if nudges substitute for structural reforms, they may merely tinker at the margins while leaving underlying constraints intact. Furthermore, evidence for nudge effectiveness is mixed, with some effects shrinking outside controlled settings.

Proponents respond that these objections conflate poor implementation with the concept itself. They propose standards for disclosure, rigorous field evaluation, and a division of labor in which nudges complement rather than replace more comprehensive policies. On this account, the debate should not be whether to use nudges, but under what conditions their use is legitimate and empirically justified.

Question: Which of the following best describes the role of the third paragraph in the passage?

Passage:

In linguistics, a long-standing question is whether children acquire grammar primarily by extracting patterns from input or by relying on innate constraints that narrow the hypothesis space. Pattern-learning accounts point to children’s sensitivity to distributional regularities and to the success of statistical models in approximating certain acquisition trajectories.

Nativist accounts reply that statistical learning, by itself, may be underdetermined: many grammars can generate the same surface strings, so a learner needs biases to choose among them. They also note that children converge on grammatical rules despite receiving limited explicit correction, suggesting that learning is guided by more than reinforcement.

More recent work has complicated the debate by showing that the two positions need not be framed as rivals over a single mechanism. Researchers increasingly ask which biases are necessary for statistical learning to be efficient and which aspects of input are most informative given those biases. The emphasis shifts from declaring a winner to specifying how constraints and data interact during development.

Question: The third paragraph primarily serves to​

Read the passage and answer the question.

Some commentators claim that the spread of digital reading inevitably diminishes comprehension because screens encourage skimming. The evidence, however, is more mixed than the claim suggests. Studies that compare print and screen often find small average differences, but those averages conceal substantial variation depending on task and design. When digital texts are presented with frequent notifications, hyperlinks, or infinite scrolling, readers are more likely to fragment attention and retain less. Yet when distractions are minimized and the interface supports navigation—through stable page numbers, clear headings, and easy annotation—screen reading can yield comprehension comparable to print. Moreover, the medium itself does not determine reading goals: people often choose screens for quick reference and print for sustained study, and then attribute the resulting differences to the medium rather than to their intentions. The more defensible conclusion is that comprehension depends less on “screen versus paper” than on how the reading environment shapes attention and how well the format supports the reader’s purpose.

The primary purpose of the passage is to:

Passage:

In discussions of urban heat, policymakers often treat tree planting as an unalloyed good: more canopy, the reasoning goes, must always lower temperatures. Yet this assumption overlooks how cooling is produced. Shade reduces incoming solar radiation, but evapotranspiration—the release of water vapor from leaves—can be equally important, and it depends on adequate soil moisture. In drought-prone cities, trees with high water demand may provide substantial shade while simultaneously intensifying competition for limited water, prompting restrictions that reduce irrigation for all vegetation.

A recent modeling study compared two greening strategies across neighborhoods with similar building density. The first emphasized fast-growing, high-canopy species; the second used smaller, drought-tolerant species paired with reflective pavement. Under typical summer conditions, both strategies reduced daytime surface temperatures. During simulated multiweek droughts, however, the high-canopy strategy lost much of its cooling benefit as stomata closed and evapotranspiration declined, whereas the mixed strategy retained more stable cooling.

These results do not imply that large-canopy trees are a mistake. Rather, they suggest that planting programs should be evaluated as water-and-heat interventions together, not as a single-variable canopy target.

The primary function of the final paragraph is to:

Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence.

Because the scientist refused to draw conclusions from a single experiment, she remained   until the results were replicated by independent labs.