GRE Last year question paper for Verbal section

Can you provide me the GRE Last year question paper for Verbal section????????

[Arun Vats]

Here is the GRE Last year question paper for Verbal section:

1. Many find it strange that her writing is thought to
be tortuous; her recent essays, although longer than
most of her earlier essays, are extremely .
A painstaking
B tedious
C insightful
D sophisticated
E clear
2. Most spacecraft are still at little risk of collision
with space debris during their operational
lifetimes, but given the numbers of new satellites
launched each year, the orbital environment in the
future is likely to be less .
A crowded
B invulnerable
C protected
D polluted
E benign
3. The author presents the life of Zane Grey with
unusual in a biographer: he is not even
convinced that Grey was a good writer.
A a zeal
B a deftness
C a detachment
D an eloquence
E an imaginativeness

4. The unironic representation of objects from everyday life is i
serious American art of the twentieth century: “high” artists ceded the
straightforward depiction of the iito illustrators, advertisers,
and packaging designers.
Blank i
A missing from
B valued in
C crucial to
Blank ii
D beautiful
E commonplace
F complex
5. A newly published, laudatory biography of George Bernard Shaw fails,
like others before it, to capture the essence of his personality: the more he
is i, the more his true self seems to ii.
Blank i
A discussed
B disparaged
C disregarded
Blank ii
D disappear
E emerge
F coalesce
6. Although he has long had a reputation for i, his behavior
toward his coworkers has always been ii, suggesting he may
not be as insolent as people generally think.
Blank i
A inscrutability
B venality
C impudence
Blank ii
D brazen
E courteous
F predictable

7. There is nothing that iscientists more than having an old problem in their field solved by someone
from outside. If you doubt this ii, just think about the iiireaction of paleontologists to the
hypothesis of Luis Alvarez—a physicist—and Walter Alvarez—a geologist—that the extinction of the
dinosaurs was caused by the impact of a large meteor on the surface of the planet.
Blank i
A amazes
B pleases
C nettles
Blank ii
D exposition
E objurgation
F observation
Blank iii
G contemptuous
H indifferent
I insincere
8. If one could don magic spectacles—with lenses that make the murky depths of the ocean become
transparent—and look back several centuries to an age before widespread abuse of the oceans began, even the
most iobserver would quickly discover that fish were formerly much more abundant. Likewise,
many now-depleted species of marine mammals would appear ii. But without such special glasses,
the differences between past and present oceans are indeed hard to iii.
Blank i
A casual
B prescient
C clearheaded
Blank ii
D threatened
E plentiful
F unfamiliar
Blank iii
G ignore
H discern
I dismiss

For each of Questions 9 to 14, select one answer
choice unless otherwise directed.
Historian F. W. Maitland observed that legal
documents are the best—indeed, often the
only—available evidence about the economic and
social history of a given period. Why, then, has it
taken so long for historians to focus systematically on
the civil noncriminallaw of early modern
sixteenth- to eighteenth-centuryEngland? Maitland
offered one reason: the subject requires researchers to
“master an extremely formal system of pleading and
procedure.” Yet the complexities that confront those
who would study such materials are not wholly
different from those recently surmounted by
historians of criminal law in England during the same
period. Another possible explanation for historians’
neglect of the subject is their widespread assumption
that most people in early modern England had little
contact with civil law. If that were so, the history of
legal matters would be of little relevance to general
historical scholarship. But recent research suggests
that civil litigation during the period involved
artisans, merchants, professionals, shopkeepers, and
farmers, and not merely a narrow, propertied, male
elite. Moreover, the later sixteenth and early
seventeenth centuries saw an extraordinary explosion
in civil litigation by both women and men, making
this the most litigious era in English history on a
per capita basis.

9. The passage suggests that the history of criminal
law in early modern England differs from the
history of civil law during that same period in that
the history of criminal law
A is of more intellectual interest to historians and
their readers
B has been studied more thoroughly by
historians
C is more relevant to general social history
D involves the study of a larger proportion of the
population
E does not require the mastery of an extremely
formal system of procedures
10. The author of the passage mentions the
occupations of those involved in civil litigation in
early modern England most likely in order to
A suggest that most historians’ assumptions
about the participants in the civil legal system
during that period are probably correct
B support the theory that more people
participated in the civil legal system than the
criminal legal system in England during that
period
C counter the claim that legal issues reveal more
about a country’s ordinary citizens than about
its elite
D illustrate the wide range of people who used
the civil legal system in England during that
period
E suggest that recent data on people who
participated in early modern England’s legal
system may not be correct
11. The author of the passage suggests which of the
following about the “widespread assumption”
?
A Because it is true, the history of civil law is of
as much interest to historians focusing on
general social history as to those specializing
in legal history.
B Because it is inaccurate, the history of civil
law in early modern England should enrich the
general historical scholarship of that period.
C It is based on inaccurate data about the
propertied male elite of early modern England.
D It does not provide a plausible explanation for
historians’ failure to study the civil law of
early modern England.
E It is based on an analogy with criminal law in
early modern England.
line 15

Questions 12 and 13 are based on this passage.
Geese can often be seen grazing in coastal salt
marshes. Unfortunately, their intense grazing
removes the grassy covering, exposing marsh
sediment; this increases evaporation, which in turn
increases salt concentration in marsh sediments.
Because of this increased concentration, regrowth of
plants is minimal, leading to increased erosion, which
leads to a decrease in the fertile topsoil, leading to
even less regrowth. In time, the salt marsh becomes a
mudflat. This process challenges one of the most
widely held beliefs about the dynamics of salt-marsh
ecosystems: supposedly, consumers such as geese do
not play a large role in controlling the productivity of
marsh systems. Rather, the standard view claims,
marshes are controlled by bottom-up factors, such as
nutrients and physical factors.
12. The author discusses “the standard view”
most likely in order to identify a
view that
A explains the occurrence of the chain of events
described in the passage
B provides a summary of the chain of events
described in the passage
C is called into question by the chain of events
described in the passage
D advocates reassessment of the widely held
belief described in the passage
E is undermined by the widely held belief
described in the passage

13. According to the passage, which of the following is
a widely held belief about geese?
A They are not often seen grazing in coastal salt
marshes.
B They are not the primary consumers in
salt-marsh ecosystems.
C They play only a minor role in the productivity
of salt-marsh ecosystems.
D They are the primary determinants of which
resources will thrive in coastal salt marshes.
E They control the productivity of salt-marsh
ecosystems through a bottom-up process.

Question 14 is based on this passage.
Newspaper Editorial
Last year, Mayor Stephens established a special
law-enforcement task force with the avowed mission
of eradicating corruption in city government. The
mayor’s handpicked task force has now begun
prosecuting a dozen city officials. Since all of these
officials were appointed by Mayor Bixby, Mayor
Stephens’ predecessor and longtime political foe, it is
clear that those being prosecuted have been targeted
because of their political affiliations.
14. Which of the following, if true, most weakens the
editorial’s argument?
A Complaints of official corruption in city
government have decreased since the
anticorruption task force began operating.
B Former mayor Bixby did not publicly oppose
Mayor Stephens’ establishment of the
anticorruption task force.
C Almost all of the officials who have served in
city government for any length of time are
appointees of Mayor Bixby.
D All of the members of the anticorruption task
force had other jobs in city government before
the task force was formed.
E During the last mayoral election campaign,
then–Mayor Bixby hotly disputed the current
mayor’s claim that there was widespread
corruption in city government.

15. The slower-learning monkeys searched
but unintelligently: although they worked closely
together, they checked only the most obvious
hiding places.
A competitively
B impulsively
C cooperatively
D deviously
E craftily
F harmoniously
16. By about age eight, children’s phonetic capacities
are fully developed but still ; thus children
at that age can learn to speak a new language with a
native speaker’s accent.
A plastic
B vestigial
C inarticulate
D unformed
E nascent
F malleable

For each of Questions 15 to 19, select the two
answer choices that, when used to complete the
sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence
as a whole and produce completed sentences
that are alike in meaning.

17. In medieval philosophy every physical
phenomenon is presumed to have some
determinate cause, leaving no place for in
the explanation of particular events.
A happenstance
B chance
C error
D experience
E context
F miscalculation
18. Although the film is rightly judged imperfect by
most of today’s critics, the films being created
today are it, since its release in 1940
provoked sufficient critical discussion to enhance
the intellectual respectability of cinema
considerably.
A beholden to
B indebted to
C derivative of
D based on
E distinguishable from
F biased against
19. The detective’s conviction that there were few
inept crimes in her district led her to impute some
degree of to every suspect she studied.
A deceit
B acumen
C duplicity
D shrewdness
E evasiveness
F equivocation

For each of Questions 20 to 25, select one answer
choice unless otherwise directed.
Questions 20 to 22 are based on this passage.
The decrease in responsiveness that follows
continuous stimulation adaptationis common to all
sensory systems, including olfaction. With continued
exposure to chronically present ambient odors,
individuals’ perception of odor intensity is greatly
reduced. Moreover, these perceptual changes can be
profound and durable. It is commonly reported that
following extended absences from the odorous
environment, reexposure may still fail to elicit
perception at the original intensity.
Most research on olfactory adaptation examines
relatively transient changes in stimulus detection or
perceived intensity—rarely exceeding several hours
and often less—but because olfactory adaptation can
be produced with relatively short exposures, these
durations are sufficient for investigating many
parameters of the phenomenon. However, exposures
to odors in natural environments often occur over far
longer periods, and the resulting adaptations may
differ qualitatively from short-term olfactory
adaptation. For example, studies show that even brief
periods of odorant stimulation produce transient
reductions in receptors in the olfactory epithelium, a
process termed “receptor fatigue.” Prolonged odor
stimulation, however, could produce more
long-lasting reductions in response, possibly
involving structures higher in the central nervous
system pathway.

20. According to the passage, the phenomenon of
olfactory adaptation may cause individuals who
are reexposed to an odorous environment after an
extended absence to
A experience a heightened perception of the odor
B perceive the odor as being less intense than it
was upon first exposure
C return to their original level of perception of
the odor
D exhibit a decreased tolerance for the odorous
environment
E experience the phenomenon of adaptation in
other sensory systems

21. The passage asserts which of the following about
the exposures involved in the “research on
olfactory adaptation”?
A The exposures are of long enough duration for
researchers to investigate many aspects of
olfactory adaptation.
B The exposures have rarely consisted of
reexposures following extended absences
from the odorous environment.
C The exposures are intended to reproduce the
relatively transient olfactory changes typical
of exposures to odors in natural environments.
D Those exposures of relatively short duration
are often insufficient to produce the
phenomenon of receptor fatigue in study
subjects.
E Those exposures lasting several hours produce
reductions in receptors in the olfactory
epithelium that are similar to the reductions
caused by prolonged odor stimulation.
22. The author of the passage discusses “receptor
fatigue”primarily in order to
A explain the physiological process through
which long-lasting reductions in response are
thought to be produced
B provide an example of a process that subjects
would probably not experience during a
prolonged period of odorant stimulation
C help illustrate how the information gathered
from most olfactory research may not be
sufficient to describe the effects of extended
exposures to odors
D show how studies of short-term olfactory
adaptation have only accounted for the
reductions in response that follow relatively
brief absences from an odorous environment
E qualify a statement about the severity and
duration of the perceptual changes caused by
exposure to chronically present ambient odors

Questions 23 and 24 are based on this passage.
Among academics involved in the study of
Northern Renaissance prints reproducible graphic
artworks, an orthodox position can be said to have
emerged. This position regards Renaissance prints as
passive representations of their time—documents that
reliably record contemporary events, opinions, and
beliefs—and therefore as an important means of
accessing the popular contemporary consciousness.
In contrast, pioneering studies such as those by
Scribner and Moxey take a strikingly different
approach, according to which Northern Renaissance
prints were purposeful, active, and important shaping
forces in the communities that produced them.
Scribner, for example, contends that religious and
political prints of the German Reformation
ca. 1517–1555functioned as popular propaganda:
tools in a vigorous campaign aimed at altering
people’s behavior, attitudes, and beliefs.

Consider each of the choices separately and select all
that apply.
23. The passage suggests that an adherent to the
“orthodox position”would agree with
which of the following statements?
A Northern Renaissance prints should be
regarded as passive representations of their
time.
B Northern Renaissance prints were part of a
campaign aimed at altering contemporary
thinking.
C Northern Renaissance prints provide reliable
records of contemporary events, opinions, and
beliefs.
24. Replacement of the word “passive”
which of the following words results in the least
change in meaning for the passage?
A disinterested
B submissive
C flaccid
D supine
E unreceptive

Question 25 is based on this passage.
Recently an unusually high number of dolphins
have been found dead of infectious diseases, and
most of these had abnormally high tissue
concentrations of certain compounds that, even in
low concentrations, reduce dolphins’ resistance to
infection. The only source of these compounds in the
dolphins’ environment is boat paint. Therefore, since
dolphins rid their bodies of the compounds rapidly
once exposure ceases, their mortality rate should
decline rapidly if such boat paints are banned.
25. Which of the following, if true, most strengthens
the argument?
A The levels of the compounds typically used in
boat paints today are lower than they were in
boat paints manufactured a decade ago.
B In high concentrations, the compounds are
toxic to many types of marine animals.
C The compounds break down into harmless
substances after a few months of exposure to
water or air.
D High tissue levels of the compounds have
recently been found in some marine animals,
but there is no record of any of those animals
dying in unusually large numbers recently.
E The compounds do not leach out of the boat
paint if the paint is applied exactly in
accordance with the manufacturer’s directions.

Remaining questions are in the attachment, download it freely from here: