GRE Set 12

The author's overall concern is with describing the process researchers are following to identify the genes responsible for preventing cell death and with the direction (and goals) of current research based on their findings. Of the five choices, choice B. best expresses the gist of the discussion. enterprise was prepared for privatization and which form was most suitable for it. Slow privatization, some claim, is the only way to establish true private ownership, because only those who must pay for enterprise- ownership rights will be engaged in its management. But this method would only prolong the core problems of inefficiency and misallocation of labor and capital, and hence either of two approaches to rapid privatization is preferable. Under one such approach, shares of an enterprise would be distributed among its employees, who would become its owners. This socialist reform method is deeply flawed; it discriminates in favor of workers who happen to be employed by modern, efficient enterprises, and it jeopardizes workers' property by requiring them to invest in the same enterprise in which they are employed, rather than diversifying their investments. The better approach involves distribution of enterprise shares, free of charge, among all the people by means of vouchers--a kind of investment money. Some critics charge that voucher holders would not be interested in how their enterprises are managed--as may be true of small corporate shareholders in capitalist countries who pay little attention to their investments until the corporation's profits wane, at which time they rush to sell their securities. But while the resulting fall in stock prices can be perilous for the corporation, this very pressure is what drives private firms toward efficiency and profitability. Other detractors predict that most people will sell their vouchers to foreign capitalists. However, these skeptics ignore the capacity of individuals to compare the future flow of income secured by a voucher to the benefits of immediate consumption. Moreover, even if an individual should decide to sell, the aim of voucher privatization is to secure equality not of property but of opportunity. The passage mentions all of the following as possible adverse consequences of rapid privatization EXCEPT

The author's overall concern is with describing the process researchers are following to identify the genes responsible for preventing cell death and with the direction (and goals) of current research based on their findings. Of the five choices, choice B. best expresses the gist of the discussion. enterprise was prepared for privatization and which form was most suitable for it. Slow privatization, some claim, is the only way to establish true private ownership, because only those who must pay for enterprise- ownership rights will be engaged in its management. But this method would only prolong the core problems of inefficiency and misallocation of labor and capital, and hence either of two approaches to rapid privatization is preferable. Under one such approach, shares of an enterprise would be distributed among its employees, who would become its owners. This socialist reform method is deeply flawed; it discriminates in favor of workers who happen to be employed by modern, efficient enterprises, and it jeopardizes workers' property by requiring them to invest in the same enterprise in which they are employed, rather than diversifying their investments. The better approach involves distribution of enterprise shares, free of charge, among all the people by means of vouchers--a kind of investment money. Some critics charge that voucher holders would not be interested in how their enterprises are managed--as may be true of small corporate shareholders in capitalist countries who pay little attention to their investments until the corporation's profits wane, at which time they rush to sell their securities. But while the resulting fall in stock prices can be perilous for the corporation, this very pressure is what drives private firms toward efficiency and profitability. Other detractors predict that most people will sell their vouchers to foreign capitalists. However, these skeptics ignore the capacity of individuals to compare the future flow of income secured by a voucher to the benefits of immediate consumption. Moreover, even if an individual should decide to sell, the aim of voucher privatization is to secure equality not of property but of opportunity. Which of the following would the author probably agree is the LEAST desirable outcome of economic reform in formerly Communist countries?

For absolute dating of archeological artifacts, the radiocarbon method emerged during the latter half of the twentieth century as the most reliable and precise method. The results of obsidian (volcanic glass) dating, a method based on the belief that newly exposed obsidian surfaces absorb moisture from the surrounding atmosphere at a constant rate, proved uneven. It was initially thought that the thickness of the hydration layer would provide a means of calculating the time elapsed since the fresh surface was made. But this method failed to account for the chemical variability in the physical and chemical mechanism of obsidian hydration. Moreover, each geographic source presented unique chemical characteristics, necessitating a trace element analysis for each such source. Yet despite its limitations, obsidian dating helped archeologists identify the sources of many obsidian artifacts, and to identify in turn ancient exchange networks for the flow of goods. Nor were ceramic studies and fluoride analysis supplanted entirely by the radiocarbon method, which in use allows for field labeling and laboratory errors, as well as sample contamination. In addition, in the 1970s, dendrochronological (tree-ring) studies on the bristlecone pine showed that deviation from radiocarbon values increases as one moves back in time. Eventually calibration curves were developed to account for this phenomenon; but in the archeological literature we still find dual references to radiocarbon and sidereal, or calendar, time. The author would probably consider which of the following the LEAST likely means of dating archeological artifacts?

For absolute dating of archeological artifacts, the radiocarbon method emerged during the latter half of the twentieth century as the most reliable and precise method. The results of obsidian (volcanic glass) dating, a method based on the belief that newly exposed obsidian surfaces absorb moisture from the surrounding atmosphere at a constant rate, proved uneven. It was initially thought that the thickness of the hydration layer would provide a means of calculating the time elapsed since the fresh surface was made. But this method failed to account for the chemical variability in the physical and chemical mechanism of obsidian hydration. Moreover, each geographic source presented unique chemical characteristics, necessitating a trace element analysis for each such source. Yet despite its limitations, obsidian dating helped archeologists identify the sources of many obsidian artifacts, and to identify in turn ancient exchange networks for the flow of goods. Nor were ceramic studies and fluoride analysis supplanted entirely by the radiocarbon method, which in use allows for field labeling and laboratory errors, as well as sample contamination. In addition, in the 1970s, dendrochronological (tree-ring) studies on the bristlecone pine showed that deviation from radiocarbon values increases as one moves back in time. Eventually calibration curves were developed to account for this phenomenon; but in the archeological literature we still find dual references to radiocarbon and sidereal, or calendar, time. The author mentions all of the following as problems with radiocarbon dating EXCEPT for

The heart of the restorationist critique of environmental preservationism is the claim that it rests on an unhealthy dualism that conceives nature and humankind as radically distinct and opposed to each other. The crucial question about the restorationist outlook has to do with the degree to which the restorationist program is itself faithful to its first principle-- that nature and humanity are fundamentally united rather than separate. Rejecting the old domination model, which sees humans as over nature, restoration theory champions a model of community participation. Yet some of the descriptions of what restorationists are actually up to--for example, Turner's description of humans as "the lords of creation," or Jordan's statement that "the fate and well being of the biosphere depend ultimately on us and our relationship with it"--do not cohere well with the community-participation model. Another holistic model--namely, that of nature as an organism--might be more serviceable to the restorationists. As with the community model, the "organic" model pictures nature as a system of interconnected parts. A fundamental difference, however, is that in an organism the parts are wholly subservient to the life of the organism. In asserting that the organic model"might be more serviceable to the restorationists" (lines 2830), the author implies that

The heart of the restorationist critique of environmental preservationism is the claim that it rests on an unhealthy dualism that conceives nature and humankind as radically distinct and opposed to each other. The crucial question about the restorationist outlook has to do with the degree to which the restorationist program is itself faithful to its first principle-- that nature and humanity are fundamentally united rather than separate. Rejecting the old domination model, which sees humans as over nature, restoration theory champions a model of community participation. Yet some of the descriptions of what restorationists are actually up to--for example, Turner's description of humans as "the lords of creation," or Jordan's statement that "the fate and well being of the biosphere depend ultimately on us and our relationship with it"--do not cohere well with the community-participation model. Another holistic model--namely, that of nature as an organism--might be more serviceable to the restorationists. As with the community model, the "organic" model pictures nature as a system of interconnected parts. A fundamental difference, however, is that in an organism the parts are wholly subservient to the life of the organism. Which of the following best expresses the function of the first paragraph in relation to the second one?

A certain strain of bacteria called lyngbya majuscula, an ancient ancestor of modern-day algae, is making a comeback in ocean waters just off the world's most industrialized coastal regions. This primitive bacteria has survived for nearly three billion years due to a variety of survival mechanisms. It can produce its own fertilizer by pulling nitrogen out of the air; it relies on a different spectrum of light than algae do, allowing it to thrive even in deep, murky waters; and when it dies and decays, it releases its own nitrogen and phosphorous, on which the next generation of lyngbya feeds. Lyngbya emits more than one hundred different toxins harmful to other ocean life as well as to humans. Commercial fishermen and divers who come in contact with the bacteria frequently complain of skin rashes and respiratory problems, which can keep these workers off the job for months at a time. The bacteria further disrupts local economies by blocking sunlight to sea grasses that attract fish and other sea life. Scientists attribute the modern-day reappearance of lyngbya, and the resulting problems, chiefly to nitrogen- and phosphorous-rich sewage partially processed at wastewater treatment plants and pumped into rivers that feed coastal ocean waters. The passage as a whole can appropriately be viewed as an examination of which of the following?

A certain strain of bacteria called lyngbya majuscula, an ancient ancestor of modern-day algae, is making a comeback in ocean waters just off the world's most industrialized coastal regions. This primitive bacteria has survived for nearly three billion years due to a variety of survival mechanisms. It can produce its own fertilizer by pulling nitrogen out of the air; it relies on a different spectrum of light than algae do, allowing it to thrive even in deep, murky waters; and when it dies and decays, it releases its own nitrogen and phosphorous, on which the next generation of lyngbya feeds. Lyngbya emits more than one hundred different toxins harmful to other ocean life as well as to humans. Commercial fishermen and divers who come in contact with the bacteria frequently complain of skin rashes and respiratory problems, which can keep these workers off the job for months at a time. The bacteria further disrupts local economies by blocking sunlight to sea grasses that attract fish and other sea life. Scientists attribute the modern-day reappearance of lyngbya, and the resulting problems, chiefly to nitrogen- and phosphorous-rich sewage partially processed at wastewater treatment plants and pumped into rivers that feed coastal ocean waters. It can be inferred from the passage that the lyngbya majuscula strain has survived for billions of years partly because it

A certain strain of bacteria called lyngbya majuscula, an ancient ancestor of modern-day algae, is making a comeback in ocean waters just off the world's most industrialized coastal regions. This primitive bacteria has survived for nearly three billion years due to a variety of survival mechanisms. It can produce its own fertilizer by pulling nitrogen out of the air; it relies on a different spectrum of light than algae do, allowing it to thrive even in deep, murky waters; and when it dies and decays, it releases its own nitrogen and phosphorous, on which the next generation of lyngbya feeds. Lyngbya emits more than one hundred different toxins harmful to other ocean life as well as to humans. Commercial fishermen and divers who come in contact with the bacteria frequently complain of skin rashes and respiratory problems, which can keep these workers off the job for months at a time. The bacteria further disrupts local economies by blocking sunlight to sea grasses that attract fish and other sea life. Scientists attribute the modern-day reappearance of lyngbya, and the resulting problems, chiefly to nitrogen- and phosphorous-rich sewage partially processed at wastewater treatment plants and pumped into rivers that feed coastal ocean waters. According to passage, the lyngbya majuscula strain I. depends largely on nitrogen and phosphorous as nutrients II. can harm other ocean life as a result of its high toxicity III. thrives mainly in waters where algae is largely absent

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. Which of the following can be inferred solely on the basis of information in the passage?