GRE Text Completion Sample Questions



1. Whom are you talking to? Know your audience, their background, values and common interests that may help you in your (1) ______________. If you are speaking to a group of accountants then it will help if you focus your speech on data and statistics, or if you are speaking to a group of teenagers, you should know the latest fashion or in-thing so you can establish rapport and make your speech (2) ____________ and simpler. Knowing your listeners is imperative to a successful speech. It will also help you (3) __________ if you know the people who are going to listen to your presentation.

Blank 1: presentation, communication, performance

Blank 2: comprehensible, lucid, lighter

Blank 3: relax, settle, becalm

Correct Answer: presentation, lighter, relax

Explanation: The paragraph explains the advantages of knowing your audience when you have to address a gathering. We fill the first blank with the word ‘presentation’. The author uses this word at the end of the paragraph also. The word ‘communication’ is not worth considering. Out of the other two options, ‘performance’ means the execution of the speech, while ‘presentation’ would refer to the content of the speech as well. Hence, we select ‘presentation’ over ‘performance’. In the sentence containing the second blank, the reader is advised to speak according to the interests of his audience. The author says that when you are addressing teenagers, you need to establish a rapport and give a simpler speech. The word ‘simpler’ implies the same that ‘comprehensible’ and ‘lucid’ do. By saying that the speech should be ‘lighter’, the author shows that teenagers might not be very receptive to some serious and deep thought. Hence, the option ‘lighter’ is correct. For the last blank, if we go with ‘settle’, the sentence would only pertain to the time immediately before the speech is delivered. Out of the remaining options, the option ‘becalm’ would show a greater level of anxiety than the word ‘relax’ would imply. Hence, we select the word ‘relax’.

2. (1) ____________, the state of this person will be frantic not to gain weight, they will think they are not thin though they resemble a skeleton, and they might be extremely lethargic and depressed. Also, they will complain of being cold, especially because of the loss of essential body fat. Also, they may be wanting to be left alone always and may not want to hang out with friends or be in the company of other people. They might become secretive and (2) _________. If they begin to wear really baggy clothing, they might be wishing to hide a really thin body because they are tired of people telling them it’s (3) _________, or others do it to hide a body they believe is really overweight. If any of these signs apply, seek help for this person immediately.

Blank 1: mentally, psychologically, physiologically

Blank 2: enigmatic, irritable, reclusive

Blank 3: unhealthy, abnormal, unsightly

Correct Answer: mentally, reclusive, unhealthy

Explanation: For the first blank, we reject the option ‘physiologically’ because it is not the physiology of the person that is the point of discussion; his behavior is being discussed. Out of the other two options, we select ‘mentally’. The word ‘mentally’ means involving the mind and ‘psychologically’ means relating to the mind. Since the sentence says that the person will be frantic not to gain weight, it is clear that it is a problem involving the subject’s mind i.e. his mental state. For the second blank, we reject the option ‘enigmatic’ since it means mysterious. The author says that the person will want to be left alone and may not want to socialize. Hence, the person will be ‘reclusive’. There is no reason for us to select the option ‘irritable’. The correct answer option for the second blank is ‘reclusive’. For the last blank, we need to see what the core issue here is. The discussion is around people who are frantic not to gain weight. Such people are actually very thin but they believe that they are overweight. Such people become secretive and reclusive. The concern of those around them should basically be about their health, rather than about their being ‘unsightly’ or ‘abnormal’. The correct answer for the third blank is thus, logically, ‘unhealthy’.

GRE Text Completion Sample Questions



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