GRE RC Select Many Sample Questions



RC Passage

In his unique blend of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a genuinely new kind of American politician, one that both parties have lamentably failed to provide in the past couple of decades. In the US political wars, he’s a synthesis. In the American culture wars, he’s a truce.

In some ways, the culture wars in the States for the past couple of decades have been about the 1970s. The sexual and cultural revolution of that decade symbolizes for one side all that has gone wrong with America, and for the other, much that has gone right. The US has lurched back and forth in reaction to this ‘ with the multicultural left on one side and the religious right on the other, and the rest of the citizenry uncomfortably in between, longing for some kind of synthesis, some way out and forward.

Arnold taps into this. He is, after all, the ultimate creature of the 1970s. If you don’t believe me, go rent Pumping Iron, the extraordinary documentary of Schwarzenegger’s rise in the nascent body-building culture of the time. He took a minor and largely derided sport and made it a world-wide sensation. And he extolled its pleasures and revelled in its vanity. And then in the 1980s and 1990s, his movies created almost a parody of the Rambo-esque Reaganite action figure. Schwarzenegger took the genre, amped up its testosterone and then finished it off with a huge and merry dollop of irony. In his first two careers, Arnold deeply understood both the bohemian and conservative aspects of the popular culture of which he was a part. He immersed himself in them and helped bring them together.

The fact that he is a Republican makes his former bohemianism all the more salient. If such a pleasure loving person were a Democrat, the Republican right would attack him with the venom they reserved for Clinton. Indeed, some Republican scolds like Alan Keyes chastised Schwarzenegger last week for being on the ‘evil side’ in the culture wars. But when left-wing feminists tried the right’s anti-Clinton tactics on Arnold-making much of the last minute flurry of accusations of sexual misconduct ‘ they sounded bitter and not a little hypocritical. In their scolding of the big-grinned Arnold, they seemed as uptight as the far right and were rejected by the post-Clinton electorate. So Arnold snuck through the left-right paradigm with the dexterity of a well-honed deltoid flex.

Schwarzenegger represents a cultural politics that is missing in America: culturally liberal on issues like sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, fiscally conservative on taxes and spending, and hawkish on foreign policy. He is neither the interest-group drone of Democratic establishment nor the dour scold of the Republican base.

Directions:

Consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply.

1. Which of the following is NOT true in respect of body buildingas a sport in the 1970s?

  • A. Body building, as a sport, was highly ridiculed before Arnold Schwarzenegger got associated with it.
  • B. The highly popular sport of body building was made even more sensational after Pumping Iron was released
  • C. Arnold is responsible for making body building popular as a sport
  • D. The body building culture was still in its budding stage when Arnold got associated with it
  • E. Body building was a fully established culture with a large fan following


Answer

The correct answers are B and E

The passage clearly brings out that body building was a minor and a largely derided sport before it was popularized by Arnold Schwarzenegger. This implies that A is true in respect of body building as a sport in the 1970s. It is not true that body building was already popular when Arnold got associated with it. Therefore, A is an incorrect answer option and B is a correct answer option. C is clearly true as has been brought out in the passage and hence, it is an incorrect answer option. It has been brought out that body building as a culture was in its nascent stage in the 1970s. Therefore, D is also true and is an incorrect answer option and E is untrue. Therefore, B and E are the correct answers.

2. The claim that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a blend of fiscal conservatism and social liberalism, implies that he is

  • A. economically radical and socially liberal
  • B. economically traditional and socially progressive
  • C. socially broad-minded and fiscally unorthodox
  • D. financially conventional and socially unorthodox
  • E. socially conformist and economically orthodox


Answer

The correct answers are B and D

The term fiscal is used in reference to financial matters. Liberal means being progressive, broad-minded or unorthodox. Conservative means being orthodox, conventional or traditional. Conformist is the same as being orthodox and radical means the same as unorthodox. In view of theabove, it is evident that B and D are the correct answers.

3. The two aspects of the popular culture which Arnold was able tobring together were

  • A. Republican and Democratic
  • B. body building and acting
  • C. non-conformist and conventional
  • D. unconventional and traditional
  • E. the left and the right


Answer

The correct answers are C and D.

It has been clearly brought out that Arnold deeply understood both the bohemian and conservative aspects of the popular culture of which he was a part and he worked to bring them together. Bohemian is used to refer to a non-conformist or an unconventional attitude. This implies that answer options A and B are clearly incorrect. E is also incorrect as it is ambiguous and it does not specify what left and right are referring to. In view of the above, it is evident that C and D are the correct answers as they reflect the same meaning as bohemianand conservative.

4. Which of the following can be drawn as a justified conclusionbased on the contents of the given passage?

  • A. A political leader with views as those of Arnold may not be easily found in America
  • B. American society is yet to reach a consensus on cultural and religious views
  • C. Arnold freely uses brute force whenever he is confronted with other political leaders
  • D. The views of Arnold on fiscal and social issues are shared by many others
  • E. Arnold has been embroiled in various scandals time and again


Answer

The correct answers are A and B.

The passage begins and ends on a note that substantiates the conclusion made at option A. It has been clearly brought out that Arnold represents a form of politics that is missing in America and none of the parties have been able to provide a politician like him in the past. Therefore, A is correct and D is clearly incorrect. The author discusses the culture wars in America in the beginning of the passage and this discussion substantiates the claim at B. Therefore, B is correct. C is clearly incorrect as it has not been implied anywhere in the passage. The author has used the example of deltoids to imply that Arnold evades accusations just like one would be able to escape something using his deltoids. Therefore, C and E are incorrect. This implies that A and B are the correct answers.

5. Which of the following describe the crux of the issue beingdiscussed in the passage?

  • A. A biography of Arnold Schwarzenegger
  • B. American politics and Arnold Schwarzenegger
  • C. The careers of Arnold Schwarzenegger
  • D. American Politics
  • E. The history of body building


Answer

The correct answers are B and C

The passage is describing how Arnold has fared as a politician so far. There is also a discussion on how he started his career in the field of body building and acting. Therefore, B and C are correct as they aptly describe the crux of the issue being discussed in the passage. A is incorrect as there is no reference to Arnold’s earlier life and his childhood, so the contents of the passage cannot be described as his biography. D refers to a vast subject and it does not clearly define the crux of the issue being discussed in this passage and therefore, D is incorrect. E is clearly incorrect as body building has been discussed only in one segment of the passage and E cannot be used to describe the crux of the issue being discussed in the passage.In view of the above, it is evident that B and C are the correct answers.

GRE RC Select Many Sample Questions



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