Create an account to track your scores
and create your own practice tests:
Flashcards: Recognizing and Analyzing Supporting Ideas and Details in Humanities Passages
Adapted from The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (1513)
Every one admits how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keep faith, and to live with integrity and not with craft. Nevertheless our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word. You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second. Therefore it is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the man. This has been figuratively taught to princes by ancient writers, who describe how Achilles and many other princes of old were given to the Centaur Chiron to nurse, who brought them up in his discipline; which means solely that, as they had for a teacher one who was half beast and half man, so it is necessary for a prince to know how to make use of both natures, and that one without the other is not durable. A prince, therefore, being compelled knowingly to adopt the beast, ought to choose the fox and the lion; because the lion cannot defend himself against snares and the fox cannot defend himself against wolves. Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves. Those who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are about. Therefore a wise lord cannot, nor ought he to, keep faith when such observance may be turned against him, and when the reasons that caused him to pledge it exist no longer. If men were entirely good this precept would not hold, but because they are bad, and will not keep faith with you, you too are not bound to observe it with them. Nor will there ever be wanting to a prince legitimate reasons to excuse this non-observance. Of this endless modern examples could be given, showing how many treaties and engagements have been made void and of no effect through the faithlessness of princes; and he who has known best how to employ the fox has succeeded best. But it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic, and to be a great pretender and dissembler; and men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.
The author implies that Achilles was __________.
not able to defend himself
compelled to adopt only beastlike behavior
instilled with the ability to act with the mentalities of both man and beast
a prince disciplined in combat
a good student
All GMAT Verbal Resources
Studying for the GMAT is an absolute necessity, as the scores you receive help to form an objective measure of the abilities business programs are looking for in ideal candidates. For applicants who find greater ease in working with numbers than with words and for those who left the classroom environment months or years ago, preparing for the rigors of the GMAT’s Verbal section can seem like an uphill battle. In addition, the Verbal section tests a notably broad range of critical reasoning skills, one more expansive than what students may expect on a single test section or have experience with from previous standardized tests. Understanding exactly what is expected of you when answering each of the section’s three question types allows you to narrow your review to where it is most needed and gain confidence by improving your weakest abilities, leaving you with a well-rounded set of verbal skills and the confidence that you can use them to succeed on your test’s Verbal section. Whether you need GMAT tutoring in Atlanta, GMAT tutoring in Houston, or GMAT tutoring in San Francisco, working one-on-one with an expert may be just the boost your studies need.
The appearance of Reading Comprehension questions on this section likely come as no surprise, as being able to quickly and accurately understand what one reads is a skill necessary to success in business. The GMAT’s Reading Comprehension questions present passages of about 350 words in length drawn from topics in the natural sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, and business. While some Reading Comprehension questions test relatively straightforward concepts like main idea and argumentative claims, others require more abstract reasoning and concern elements of writing such as authorial tone, passage organization, and the purpose and effect of given selections. Still other questions demand that students pick up on subtle cues to make inferences and draw conclusions.
Sentence correction questions may come as a slight surprise on the same section featuring the analysis of prose passages, as many standardized exams split these two skills into a reading section and a writing or English section; however, one cannot deny that the ability to communicate concisely and unambiguously serves well individuals in managerial roles. The GMAT’s Sentence Correction questions provide you with a complete sentence, part or all of which is underlined. Your task is to decide whether the underlined portion of the sentence is incorrect or could be better phrased by exchanging it with one of the provided answer choices. These questions demand a rigorous attention to small grammatical details as well as a sense of how proposed changes function in the context of the sentence as a whole. Varsity Tutors also offers resources like a free GMAT Verbal Practice Tests to help with your self-paced study, or you may want to consider a GMAT tutor.
Perhaps the most surprising GMAT Verbal question type, the Critical Reasoning questions featured on this section of the exam measure a student’s skill in analyzing the logic and soundness of arguments. Critical Reasoning questions present you with a short argument a few sentences in length and concern premises, weaknesses, and implications of that argument. Familiarizing yourself with common argumental flaws such as flaws of sampling, flaws of analogy, and causal flaws can give you a framework to rely on when approaching these questions. In addition to the GMAT Verbal Flashcards and GMAT tutoring, you may also want to consider using some of our free GMAT Verbal Diagnostic Tests.
If you feel unprepared for one, two, or all of the question types that appear on the GMAT’s Verbal section, trying practice problems in your problem areas can be a first step toward mastering them. Varsity Tutors’ free GMAT Verbal flashcards are an excellent resource that you can use anywhere at any time to practice in a focused fashion on just the topics that trouble you. Our free GMAT Verbal flashcards each offer a full explanation of the reasoning used to arrive at the correct answer; this allows any flashcards you miss to become potential learning experiences. After all, any missteps you identify and correct while studying are mistakes you are not likely to make on test day. Whether you want to review an entire problem type or focus on one specific concept tested, our GMAT Verbal flashcards are organized so that you can study at the level of specificity that best suits the current needs of your review. With the help of our flashcards and other free GMAT Verbal resources, you can make yourself an expert on each GMAT Verbal question type and look forward to demonstrating your newly-sharpened skills on your exam.
