Free Test Prep GRE-Verbal-Reasoning Exam Questions

In the United States, the extent of adult illiteracy at the workplace has been obscured by adequate employment for adults with few or no literacy skills, too-simple definitions of literacy, faulty survey methods, and a stigma associated with illiteracy that keeps many people from admitting illiteracy or seeking help in overcoming it. With today’s increasingly rapid technological advances and increased foreign competition, however, U.S. businesses are growing more and more aware of the extent and the costs of illiteracy in the work force. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics warns that the U.S. labor-force entrants in the years ahead may not have the skills that employers need-that new jobs in the service industries, where most job growth is projected to occur, will demand much higher literacy skill levels than today’s service jobs, and few new jobs will be created for those who cannot read and follow directions, fill out forms and communicate by e-mail with coworkers, and perform simple arithmetical computations applying the basic rules of mathematics. It can be inferred from the passage that

The Galapagos Islands are in the Pacific Ocean, off the western coast of South America. They are a rocky, lonely spot, but they are also one of the most unusual places in the world. One reason is that they are the home of some of the last giant tortoises left on earth. Weighing hundreds of pounds, these tortoises, or land turtles, wander slowly around the rocks and sand of the islands. Strangely, each of these islands has its own particular kinds of tortoises. There are seven different kinds of tortoises on the eight islands, each kind being slightly different from the other. Hundreds of years ago, thousands of tortoises wandered around these islands. However, all that changed when people started landing there. When people first arrived in 1535, their ships had no refrigerators. This meant that fresh food was always a problem for the sailors on board. The giant tortoises provided a solution to this problem. Ships would anchor off the islands, and crews would row ashore and seize as many tortoises as they could. Once the animals were aboard the ship, the sailors would roll the tortoises onto their backs. The tortoises were completely helpless once on their backs, so they could only lie there until used for soups and stews. Almost 100,000 tortoises were carried off in this way. The tortoises faced other problems, too. Soon after the first ships, settlers arrived bringing pigs, goats, donkeys, dogs and cats. All of these animals ruined life for the tortoises. Donkey and goats ate all the plants that the tortoises usually fed on, while the pigs. Dogs and cats consumed thousands of baby tortoises each year. Within a few years, it was hard to find any tortoise eggs-or even any baby tortoises. By the early 1900s, people began to worry that the last of the tortoises would soon die out. No one, however, seemed to care enough to do anything about the problem. More and more tortoises disappeared, even though sailors no longer needed them for food. For another fifty years, this situation continued. Finally, in the 1950s, scientist decided that something must be done. The first part of their plan was to get rid of as many cats, dogs and other animals as they could. Next, they tried to make sure that more baby tortoises would be born. To do this, they started looking for wild tortoise eggs. They gathered the eggs and put them in safe containers. When the eggs hatched, the scientists raised the tortoises in special pens. Both the eggs and tortoises were numbered so that the scientists knew exactly which kinds of tortoises they had-and which island they came from. Once the tortoises were old enough and big enough to take care of themselves, the scientists took them back to their islands and set them loose. This slow, hard work continues today, and, thanks to it, the number of tortoises is now increasing every year. When did people start to do something to save the tortoises?

The victory of the small Greek democracy of Athens over the mighty Persian empire in 490 B. C. is one of the most famous events in history. Darius, king of the Persian empire, was furious because Athens had interceded for the other Greek city-states in revolt against Persian domination. In anger the king sent an enormous army to defeat Athens. He thought it would take drastic steps to pacify the rebellious part of the empire. Persia was ruled by one man. In Athens, however, all citizens helped to rule. Ennobled by this participation, Athenians were prepared to die for their city-state. Perhaps this was the secret of the remarkable victory at Marathon, which freed them from Persian rule. On their way to Marathon, the Persians tried to fool some Greek city-states by claiming to have come in peace. The frightened citizens of Delos refused to believe this. Not wanting to abet the conquest of Greece, they filed from their city and did not return until the Persians had left. They were wise, for the Persians next conquered the city of Etria and captured its people. Tiny Athens stood alone against Persi deliverance. They asked their gods to expedite their victory. The Athenians refurbished their weapons and moved to the plain of Marathon, where their little band would meet the Persians. At the last moment, soldiers from Plataea reinforced the Athenian troops. The Athenian army attacked, and Greek citizens fought bravely. The power of the mighty Persians was offset by the love that the Athenians had for their city. Athenians defeated the Persians in archery and hand combat. Greek soldiers seized Persian ships and burned them, and the Persians filed in terror. Herodotus, a famous historian, reports that 6400 Persians died, compared with only 192 Athenians. The Athenians were _by some soldiers who arrived from Plataea.

VESTIGIAL:

American history scholars generally attribute formation of the League of Indian Nations to Degandawida, who convinced the warring and fiercely autonomous Iroquois nations to embrace his radical idea for a league by tying it to familiar Iroquois customs and institutions. He associated the notion of peace and partnership with the Iroquois custom by which the families of slain warriors adopted war prisoners into the tribe. He invoked unquestioned social institutions as symbols, comparing the League to the traditional Iroquois clan in which several families share a "Longhouse" and Iikening the Great Council, comprised of representatives from each nation, to the Longhouse’s ever-burning Council Fire. And he assigned to each nation specific duties in order to assuage its fear of losing national identity. (For instance, he assigned to the Onondagas, who were centrally positioned geographically, the role of perpetual hosts.) Perhaps most persuasive, however, was how Degandawida’s League replicated the power structure of the traditional Iroquois clan. Each of the five Iroquois nations was comprised of matriarchal totemic clans in which the chiefs were men, the clan heads were women, and the chief’s children were considered members of his wife’s clan. Degandawida determined that the heads of each nation should select their League representatives, thereby effectively precluding the possibility of League representatives passing their power on to their sons, as well as decreasing the likelihood that a pro-war representative would be appointed. Iroquois unification under the League lasted about two centuries, when disagreement as to whether to become involved in the American Revolutionary war dMded the Iroquois. The revo|utionaries’ success and their subsequent encroachment upon Iroquois lands forced many Iroquois to resettle in Canada, while those who remained behind lost respect from other Indian nations. The introduction of distilled spirits led to widespread alcoholism and, in turn, to a rapid decline of the culture and population. The Quakers’ influence impeded, yet in another sense contributed, to this decline. By establishing schools for the Iroquois and by introducing them to modern technology for agriculture and husbandry, the Quakers instilled some hope for the future yet undermined their sense of national identity. Ironically, it was the alcoholic halfbrother of Seneca, Cornplanter, the most outspoken proponent among the Iroquois for assimilation of white customs and institutions, who revived the Iroquois culture. Around 1800, Handsome Lake, a former member of the Great Council, established a new religion among the Iroquois that tied the more useful aspects of Christianity to traditional Indian beliefs and customs. Lake’s teachings quickly became firmly entrenched among the Iroquois, sparking reunification and renewed confidence while also curbing rampant alcoholism. Lake’s influence is still evident today: many modern- day Iroquois belong both to his religion and to one or another Christian sect Assuming that the reasons asserted in the passage for the decline of the Iroquois culture are historically representative of the decline of cultural minorities, which of the following developments would most likely contribute to the demise of a modernday ethnic minority? and write in both their traditional language and the language prevalent in the present culture to improve efficiency active role