gre rc practice module

7/29/2019 GRE Rc Practice Module

1/7

LEVEL I [261 to 320]

Passage 1 [FINISHED] [LEVEL I] [LONG PASSAGE]

According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the new

pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek godswere the Olympians, residing atop Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. Besides

the Olympians, the Greeks worshipped various gods of the countryside, river

gods, Satyrs, and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the

underworld.

In the wide variety of myths and legends that Greek mythology consists of, the

gods that were native to the Greek peoples are described as having essentially

corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert, the defining characteristic

of Greek anthropomorphism is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions,

ideas or concepts". Regardless of their underlying forms, the Ancient Greek godshave many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by

disease, and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The

Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this

immortality, as well as unfading youth, was insured by the constant use of nectar

and ambrosia, by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins.

Each god descends from his or her own genealogy, pursues differing interests, has

a certain area of expertise, and is governed by a unique personality; however,

these descriptions arise from a multiplicity of archaic local variants, which do not

always agree with one another. When these gods are called upon in poetry, prayeror cult, they are referred to by a combination of their name and epithets, that

identify them by these distinctions from other manifestations of themselves.

Alternatively the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god,

sometimes thought to be already ancient during the classical epoch of Greece.

Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite

was the goddess of love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the god of

the dead, and Athena the goddess of wisdom and courage. Some gods, such as

Apollo and Dionysus, revealed complex personalities and mixtures of functions,

while others, such as Hestia (literally "hearth") and Helios (literally "sun"), werelittle more than personifications. The most impressive temples tended to be

dedicated to a limited number of gods, who were the focus of large pan-Hellenic

cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their

own cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with

unusual local rites and associated strange myths with them that were unknown

elsewhere.

For all three questions, select ONE answer choice

[1] The author of the passage is primarily concerned with presenting

A. An understanding of Greek mythology.B. An overview of Greek Gods

1


2/7

C. The concept of Classical-era mythology.

D. An overview of Greek Gods in Classical-era mythology.

E. A discussion on different myths, legends & characteristics related to Greek

Gods.

[2] The last paragraph of the passage performs which of the following

functions?

A. Provides examples for the earlier three paragraphs.

B. Provides examples to support what is stated in the previous paragraph.

C. Provides examples to contradict what is stated in the previous paragraph.

D. Provides examples to neutralize what is stated in the previous paragraphs.

E. Provides conclusions for the entire passage.

[3] According to the passage, which of the following is true ?

A. The Greek Gods can neither be wounded nor can they die.

B. Olympians were the only Greek Gods.

C. Few cities conducted unusual local rites and associated strange myths with the

more well-known gods.

D. Walter Burkert was an expert on Greek mythology.

E. Each Greek God has an unique personality & is an expert in a certain area

Passage 2 [FINISHED] [LEVEL I] [MEDIUM PASSAGE]

The digital display showed that over the previous two days, the pavilion like

structure, designed by architectural and engineering students from Virginia Tech,

had drawn about 20 kilowatt-hours from the electric grid. But during the same

period, double-sided photovoltaic cells on the roof had pumped about 60 kilowatt-

hours back.

Thats pretty good, said Mr. Hamilton, who was tweaking the houses control

systems on Thursday afternoon because his firm, Siemens, is a sponsor. We rode

it hard this morning.

The Virginia Tech team members had been busy with last-minute preparations for

the opening of their project, called Lumenhaus, and of the Solar Decathlon, afederal Department of Energy competition to design and build an efficient and

livable solar-powered dwelling. The 10-day event includes 20 student teams from

universities in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Some groups had been scurrying around even more frantically. Students and

faculty advisers from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, were in hard hats,

sawing and hammering, and were still working long after the 1 p.m. opening

ceremonies. The Virginia Tech houses net production of energy will be worth

some points in the competition. But it and the other entries will not be judged by

electrical use alone. There are points to be had for architectural design,engineering skill, comfort and marketability 10 categories in all.

2


3/7

The idea is to prove to people that solar works, and you dont have to give up

your lifestyle to use it, said Richard King, director of the biennial competition for

the Energy Department, which gives $100,000 to each team to get the projects

started. The event is also meant to get the students to think about solving energy

problems in affordable ways all the projects have to be geared to a specificmarket, from low to high income.

The houses, which are limited to 800 square feet, are fully outfitted with furniture,

appliances and furnishings even sheets, towels and books. Team members do

not live in them, but they have to do household activities like cooking and

washing clothes, and are judged on whether their systems can maintain

comfortable air temperatures and produce enough hot water. The television has to

be left on six hours each day, to demonstrate that there is enough electricity for

entertainment.

For both questions, consider each of the choices separately and select

all that apply.

[1] If the statements in the passage are true, which of the following

must also be true?

A. The 800 square feet houses are being used for solar energy testing purposes.

B. Net production of energy is not the only criteria for judging projects.

C. Mr. Hamilton is a part of Virginia Tech.

[2] The passage is most probably drawn from, which of the following

sources?

A. A complete entry in a encyclopedia of the energy sciences.

B. A newspaper article.

C. Extracts from a article in a Physics journal.

For this question, select ONE answer choice.

[3] The style of the passage can be best described as

A. Scholarly B. Biased C. Skeptical D. Informative E. Optimistic

Passage 3 [EDITED] [LEVEL I]

Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, in Wrttemberg, Germany, on March 14, 1879. Six

weeks later the family moved to Munich, where he later on began his schooling at

the Luitpold Gymnasium. Later, they moved to Italy and Albert continued his

education at Aarau, Switzerland and in 1896 he entered the Swiss Federal

Polytechnic School in Zurich to be trained as a teacher in physics and

mathematics. In 1901, the year he gained his diploma, he acquired Swiss

citizenship and, as he was unable to find a teaching post, he accepted a position

as technical assistant in the Swiss Patent Office. In 1905 he obtained his doctor's

degree.

3


4/7

During his stay at the Patent Office, and in his spare time, he produced much of

his remarkable work and in 1908 he was appointed Privatdozent in Berne. In 1909

he became Professor Extraordinary at Zurich, in 1911 Professor of Theoretical

Physics at Prague, returning to Zurich in the following year to fill a similar post. In

1914 he was appointed Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Physical Institute andProfessor in the University of Berlin. He became a German citizen in 1914 and

remained in Berlin until 1933 when he renounced his citizenship for political

reasons and emigrated to America to take the position of Professor of Theoretical

Physics at Princeton*. He became a United States citizen in 1940 and retired from

his post in 1945.

After World War II, Einstein was a leading figure in the World Government

Movement, he was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, which he

declined, and he collaborated with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Einstein always appeared to have a clear view of the problems of physics and the

determination to solve them. He had a strategy of his own and was able to

visualize the main stages on the way to his goal. He regarded his major

achievements as mere stepping-stones for the next advance.

At the start of his scientific work, Einstein realized the inadequacies of Newtonian

mechanics and his special theory of relativity stemmed from an attempt to

reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. He

dealt with classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they

were merged with quantum theory: this led to an explanation of the Brownian

movement of molecules. He investigated the thermal properties of light with a low

radiation density and his observations laid the foundation of the photon theory of

light.

LEVEL I

PassageNo.

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5

1 A B E

2 A & B B & C D

LEVEL II [321 to 330]

Passage 1 [EDITED] [LEVEL II]

In the United States, the Bill of Rights is the name by which the first ten

amendments to the United States Constitution are known. They were introduced

4


5/7

by James Madison to the First United States Congress in 1789 as a series of

articles, and came into effect on December 15, 1791, when they had been ratified

by three-fourths of the States. Thomas Jefferson was a proponent of the Bill of

Rights.

The Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making any law respecting an

establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, forbids

infringement of "... the right of the people to keep and bear Arms ...", and

prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or

property, without due process of law. In federal criminal cases, it requires

indictment by grand jury for any capital or "infamous crime", guarantees a speedy

public trial with an impartial jury composed of members of the state or judicial

district in which the crime occurred, and prohibits double jeopardy. In addition, the

Bill of Rights states that "the enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights,

shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people," andreserves all powers not granted to the federal government to the citizenry or

States. Most of these restrictions were later applied to the states by a series of

decisions applying the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which

was ratified in 1868, after the American Civil War.

Madison proposed the Bill of Rights while ideological conflict between Federalists

and anti-Federalists, dating from the 1787 Philadelphia Convention, threatened

the overall ratification of the new national Constitution. It largely responded to the

Constitution's influential opponents, including prominent Founding Fathers, who

argued that the Constitution should not be ratified because it failed to protect thebasic principles of human liberty. The Bill was influenced by George Mason's 1776

Virginia Declaration of Rights, the 1689 English Bill of Rights, works of the Age of

Enlightenment pertaining to natural rights, and earlier English political documents

such as Magna Carta (1215).

Two additional articles were proposed to the States; only the final ten articles were

ratified quickly and correspond to the First through Tenth Amendments to the

Constitution. The first Article, dealing with the number and apportionment of U.S.

Representatives, never became part of the Constitution. The second Article,

limiting the ability of Congress to increase the salaries of its members, wasratified two centuries later as the 27th Amendment. Though they are incorporated

into the document known as the "Bill of Rights", neither article establishes a right

as that term is used today. For that reason, and also because the term had been

applied to the first ten amendments long before the 27th Amendment was

ratified, the term "Bill of Rights" in modern U.S. usage means only the ten

amendments ratified in 1791.

The Bill of Rights plays a central role in American law and government, and

remains a fundamental symbol of the freedoms and culture of the nation. One of

the original fourteen copies of the Bill of Rights is on public display at the NationalArchives in Washington, D.C.

5


6/7

LEVEL III [331 to 340]

Passage 1 [EDITED] [LEVEL III]

If you are casting the cards in a Tarot reading for another person, as a sensitive

reader, you should always address the death card immediately when it appears ina reading, and then go back to the rest of the reading. The "Seeker" (who is

receiving the reading) should be reassured that the "death" being depicted here is

symbolic and transformational, not literal. You might even encourage the

individual to discuss his or her reactions to the card, relating it to events that may

be occurring in his or her life. The white rose which the Death figures hold is the

symbol of rebirth. It also portrays the mystery which surrounds death and

transformation. Since there is no Tarot card that specifically portrays birth, we

may wonder: Is the Death card really the birth card? The cycles of life, especially

birth and death are mysterious and paradoxical. Such mystery is embedded in the

Tarot's system. It is meant to challenge you and allow you to explore the meaning

of life on a deeper level and from a broader perspective.

When this card appears in your reading, it may be an invitation to embrace

change and transformation, especially as it refers to your consciousness or past

lifestyle. As such, it represents the quintessential example of "letting go." Its

appearance may encourage you as you are clearing out the old and making way

for the new. You can even meditate on the Death card in a creative visualization

process, allowing its potent imagery to infuse your unconscious with its implied

invitation to trust the process of transformation and release. The Death card can

assist you in dissolving any negative forces which, knowingly or unknowingly,

have taken root in your unconscious mind.

At other times, the Death card may appear in your reading when there are

changes which you know you need to make but which you are resisting. The

potent Death imagery may serve to remind you that the more you hate something

and the more you run from it, the more you are bound to it. You are caught by

that which you seek to avoid. Resistance leads to persistence and sometimes that

resistance to a problem or situation may actually help to maintain it. The Death

card may help you to release resistance. As the symbolism makes contact with

your deep mind, it retrieves the more elevated doctrine that shows the meaning

of death in a broader context. You can never know what miracles, what healing,

what insight or growth might come to you through the difficult times of your life

and as you face life's challenges. It is likely that the Spirit flowing through your

periods of change or difficulty will bring an expanded life, a greater self or a

greater good. The symbolic death that follows may allow you to move forward. For

example, perhaps you are holding onto friendships that are no longer supportive

or nurturing. Perhaps your career or job is no longer satisfying. The Death card's

appearance in your reading may be inviting you to deliberately address the issues

at hand regarding these changes. Perhaps Death asks, "Is it time to let go andmove on? Can you trust that some greater good will come to you as you surrender

6


7/7

to the change?"

It can be one of life's greatest challenges to know when it is time to let go and

allow "death" to claim whatever is being embraced. Meditation on the Death card

may allow you to discern if, and when, it is time to let go, to mourn and grieve if

necessary, and prepares you to be open to whatever is next. The Death card may

guide you through a loss or sorrow so that you will not dwell on it excessively.

7

gre rc practice module

Documents