GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions - GRE General Test - Verbal Reasoning Measure Exam - GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions - GRE General Test

Question 1

Read the following passage and answer the question. "The history of science is replete with instances in which a dominant paradigm, long accepted as settled truth, was overturned not by gradual accretion of evidence but by a sudden, convulsive reorientation of thought. Thomas Kuhn called these episodes 'paradigm shifts,' arguing that normal science proceeds incrementally within an accepted framework until anomalies accumulate to a breaking point. At that juncture, the old framework collapses and a new one rushes in to replace it — not always because it is more 'true,' but because it is more useful or generative of further inquiry." The author's primary purpose in this passage is to:

Argue that scientific knowledge is fundamentally unreliable Describe Kuhn's account of how scientific frameworks change Criticize scientists who cling to outdated paradigms Explain why some scientific theories are more useful than others

Correct Answer:

Describe Kuhn's account of how scientific frameworks change

Question 2

Read the following passage and answer the question. "The history of science is replete with instances in which a dominant paradigm, long accepted as settled truth, was overturned not by gradual accretion of evidence but by a sudden, convulsive reorientation of thought. Thomas Kuhn called these episodes 'paradigm shifts,' arguing that normal science proceeds incrementally within an accepted framework until anomalies accumulate to a breaking point. At that juncture, the old framework collapses and a new one rushes in to replace it — not always because it is more 'true,' but because it is more useful or generative of further inquiry." Which of the following can be most directly inferred from the passage?

Kuhn believed that scientific truth is purely subjective A paradigm shift can occur even if the new framework is not more accurate than the old one Normal science never makes genuine progress All scientific anomalies eventually lead to paradigm shifts

Correct Answer:

A paradigm shift can occur even if the new framework is not more accurate than the old one

Question 3

Read the following passage and answer the question. "Moral philosophers have long debated whether the rightness of an action depends solely on its consequences or also on the nature of the act itself. Consequentialists hold that an act is right if and only if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number. Deontologists, by contrast, insist that certain acts are inherently right or wrong regardless of outcome — that duties and rights impose constraints on what we may do even in pursuit of good ends. Neither camp has achieved a decisive victory in this debate, and many contemporary ethicists have sought to find common ground between the two frameworks." The passage most strongly suggests that the debate between consequentialism and deontology is:

Essentially resolved by contemporary ethicists Irrelevant to practical moral decision-making An ongoing dispute without a definitive winner Primarily a dispute about the meaning of 'good'

Correct Answer:

An ongoing dispute without a definitive winner

Question 4

Read the following passage and answer the question. "For centuries, historians treated the Black Death of 1347–1353 as an unambiguous catastrophe. Recent scholarship, however, has complicated this narrative. Some economic historians argue that the plague, by drastically reducing Europe's labor supply, inadvertently empowered surviving peasants to negotiate better wages and eventually loosened the bonds of serfdom. This revisionist view does not deny the appalling human cost — perhaps one-third of Europe's population perished — but insists that the long-run social consequences were not uniformly negative." The author's attitude toward the revisionist view of the Black Death can best be described as:

Enthusiastic endorsement Measured acceptance Vigorous skepticism Dismissive contempt

Correct Answer:

Measured acceptance

Question 5

Read the following passage and answer the question. "For centuries, historians treated the Black Death of 1347–1353 as an unambiguous catastrophe. Recent scholarship, however, has complicated this narrative. Some economic historians argue that the plague, by drastically reducing Europe's labor supply, inadvertently empowered surviving peasants to negotiate better wages and eventually loosened the bonds of serfdom. This revisionist view does not deny the appalling human cost — perhaps one-third of Europe's population perished — but insists that the long-run social consequences were not uniformly negative." Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the revisionist argument described in the passage?

Mortality rates from the Black Death varied widely across different European regions Peasant revolts demanding wage increases became significantly more common in the decades after the Black Death Medieval European records of the plague were largely kept by clerics who may have exaggerated mortality figures The Black Death returned in recurrent waves throughout the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

Correct Answer:

Peasant revolts demanding wage increases became significantly more common in the decades after the Black Death

Question 1

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Prepare with the GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions - GRE General Test - Verbal Reasoning Measure Exam practice quiz. This question bank includes 100 questions covering sentence, passage, completes, blank, and word. Use it to review important concepts, identify knowledge gaps, and build confidence for the related exam, course, or assessment.

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GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions - GRE General Test - Verbal Reasoning Measure Exam

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GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions - GRE General Test - Verbal Reasoning Measure Exam

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