Academique Module 1 Test : Verbal

Total Questions : 30 Time Limit : 60 mins

To be self-timed by the test taker
Instructions
1.Questions to be attempted one after the other only. No skipping is allowed
2. If there is a gap in answer sheet, all answers after the gap will be ignored for
scoring . E.g. If you have given keys for Q1, but Q2 is blank and then all answers
after Q2 will be ignored for scoring.
3. No external aid like calculator, google is allowed.
4. Test must be taken in one sitting after starting it.
 READING COMPREHENSION
Passage 1

The fossil remains of the first flying vertebrates, the pterosaurs, have intrigued
paleontologists for more than two centuries. How such large creatures, which weighed
in some cases as much as a piloted hang-glider and had wingspans from 8 to 12
meters, solved the problems of powered flight, and exactly what these creatures were—
reptiles or birds—are among the questions scientists have puzzled over.
Perhaps the least controversial assertion about the pterosaurs is that they were
reptiles. Their skulls, pelvises, and hind feet are reptilian. The anatomy of their wings
suggests that they did not evolve into the class of birds. In pterosaurs a greatly
elongated fourth finger of each forelimb supported a wing-like membrane. The other
fingers were short and reptilian, with sharp claws. In birds the second finger is the
principal strut of the wing, which consists primarily of feathers. If the pterosaurs walked
on all fours, the three short fingers may have been employed for grasping. When a
pterosaur walked or remained stationary, the fourth finger, and with it the wing, could
only turn upward in an extended inverted V-shape along each side of the animal’s body.
The pterosaurs resembled both birds and bats in their overall structure and
proportions. This is not surprising because the design of any flying vertebrate is subject
to aerodynamic constraints. Both the pterosaurs and the birds have hollow bones, a
feature that represents a savings in weight. In the birds, however, these bones are
reinforced more massively by internal struts.
Although scales typically cover reptiles, the pterosaurs probably had hairy coats. T.
H. Huxley reasoned that flying vertebrates must have been warm-blooded because
flying implies a high rate of metabolism, which in turn implies a high internal
temperature. Huxley speculated that a coat of hair would insulate against loss of body
heat and might streamline the body to reduce drag in flight. The recent discovery of a
pterosaur specimen covered in long, dense, and relatively thick hairlike fossil material
was the first clear evidence that his reasoning was correct.
Efforts to explain how the pterosaurs became airborne have led to suggestions that
they launched themselves by jumping from cliffs, by dropping from trees, or even by
rising into light winds from the crests of waves. Each hypothesis has its difficulties. The
first wrongly assumes that the pterosaurs’ hind feet resembled a bat’s and could serve
as hooks by which the animal could hang in preparation for flight. The second
hypothesis seems unlikely because large pterosaurs could not have landed in trees
without damaging their wings. The third calls for high waves to channel updrafts. The
wind that made such waves however, might have been too strong for the pterosaurs to
control their flight once airborne.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that scientists now generally agree that
the
(A) enormous wingspan of the pterosaurs enabled them to fly great distances
(B) structure of the skeleton of the pterosaurs suggests a close evolutionary
relationship to bats
(C) fossil remains of the pterosaurs reveal how they solved the problem of powered
flight
(D) pterosaurs were reptiles
(E) pterosaurs walked on all fours
2. The author views the idea that the pterosaurs became airborne by rising into
light winds created by waves as
(A) revolutionary
(B) unlikely
(C) unassailable
(D) probable
(E) outdated
3. According to the passage, the skeleton of a pterosaur can be distinguished
from that of a bird by the
(A) size of its wingspan
(B) presence of hollow spaces in its bones
(C) anatomic origin of its wing strut
(D) presence of hooklike projections on its hind feet
(E) location of the shoulder joint joining the wing to its body
4. The ideas attributed to T. H. Huxley in the passage suggest that he would
most likely agree with which of the following statements?
(A) An animal’s brain size has little bearing on its ability to master complex
behaviors.
(B) An animal’s appearance is often influenced by environmental requirements and
physical capabilities.
(C) Animals within a given family group are unlikely to change their appearance
dramatically over a period of time.
(D) The origin of flight in vertebrates was an accidental development rather than the
outcome of specialization or adaptation.
(E) The pterosaurs should be classified as birds, not reptiles.
5. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following is
characteristic of the pterosaurs?
(A) They were unable to fold their wings when not in use.
(B) They hung upside down from branches as bats do before flight.
(C) They flew in order to capture prey.
(D) They were an early stage in the evolution of the birds.
(E) They lived primarily in a forest-like habitat.
 Passage 2

In the eighteenth century, Japan’s feudal overlords, from the shogun to the
humblest samurai, found themselves under financial stress. In part, this stress can be
attributed to the overlords’ failure to adjust to a rapidly expanding economy, but the
stress was also due to factors beyond the overlords’ control. Concentration of the
samurai in castle-towns had acted as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in turn,
had put temptations in the way of buyers. Since most samurai had been reduced to
idleness by years of peace, encouraged to engage in scholarship and martial exercises
or to perform administrative tasks that took little time, it is not surprising that their tastes
and habits grew expensive. Overlords’ income, despite the increase in rice production
among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses. Although shortfalls
in overlords’ income resulted almost as much from laxity among their tax collectors (the
nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office-holding) as from their higher standards of
living, a misfortune like a fire or flood, bringing an increase in expenses or a drop in
revenue, could put a domain in debt to the city rice-brokers who handled its finances.
Once in debt, neither the individual samurai nor the shogun himself found it easy to
recover.
It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because the
amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited, and since
the income of Japan’s central government consisted in part of taxes collected by the
shogun from his huge domain, the government too was constrained. Therefore, the
Tokugawa shoguns began to look to other sources for revenue. Cash profits from
government-owned mines were already on the decline because the most easily worked
deposits of silver and gold had been exhausted, although debasement of the coinage
had compensated for the loss. Opening up new farmland was a possibility, but most of
what was suitable had already been exploited and further reclamation was technically
unfeasible. Direct taxation of the samurai themselves would be politically dangerous.
This left the shoguns only commerce as a potential source of government income.
Most of the country’s wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of
city merchants. It appeared reasonable that they should contribute part of that revenue
to ease the shogun’s burden of financing the state. A means of obtaining such revenue
was soon found by levying forced loans, known as goyo-kin; although these were not
taxes in the strict sense, since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount, they
were high in yield. Unfortunately, they pushed up prices. Thus, regrettably, the
Tokugawa shoguns’ search for solvency for the government made it increasingly difficult
for individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet
6. The passage is most probably an excerpt from
(A) an economic history of Japan
(B) the memoirs of a samurai warrior
(C) a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan
(D) an essay contrasting Japanese feudalism with its Western counterpart
(E) an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales
7. Which of the following financial situations is most analogous to the financial
situation in which Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns found themselves in the
eighteenth century?
(A) A small business borrows heavily to invest in new equipment, but is able to pay
off its debt early when it is awarded a lucrative government contract.
(B) Fire destroys a small business, but insurance covers the cost of rebuilding.
(C) A small business is turned down for a loan at a local bank because the owners
have no credit history.
(D) A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits
decrease.
(E) A small business is able to cut back sharply on spending through greater
commercial efficiency and thereby compensate for a loss of revenue.
8. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the
samurai discussed ?
(A) Warmly approving
(B) Mildly sympathetic
(C) Bitterly disappointed
(D) Harshly disdainful
(E) Profoundly shocked
9. According to the passage, the major reason for the financial problems
experienced by Japan’s feudal overlords in the eighteenth century was that
(A) spending had outdistanced income
(B) trade had fallen off
(C) profits from mining had declined
(D) the coinage had been sharply debased
(E) the samurai had concentrated in castle-towns

10. The passage implies that individual samurai did not find it easy to recover
from debt for which of the following reasons?
(A) Agricultural production had increased.
(B) Taxes were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount.
(C) The Japanese government had failed to adjust to the needs of a changing
economy.
(D) The domains of samurai overlords were becoming smaller and poorer as
government revenues increased.
(E) There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay.
 CRITICAL REASONING

11. Mr. Janeck: I don’t believe Stevenson will win the election for governor. Few voters
are willing to elect a businessman with no political experience to such a responsible
public office.
Ms. Siuzdak: You’re wrong. The experience of running a major corporation is a
valuable preparation for the task of running a state government.

M. Siuzdak’s response shows that she has interpreted Mr. Janeck’s remark to
imply which of the following?
(A) Mr. Janeck considers Stevenson unqualified for the office of governor.
(B) No candidate without political experience has ever been elected governor of a
state.
(C) Mr. Janeck believes that political leadership and business leadership are closely
analogous.
(D) A career spent in the pursuit of profit can be an impediment to one’s ability to
run a state government fairly.
(E) Voters generally overestimate the value of political experience when selecting a
candidate.
12. Which of the following best completes the passage below?

One tax-reform proposal that has gained increasing support in recent years is the
flat tax, which would impose a uniform tax rate on incomes at every level.
Opponents of the flat tax say that a progressive tax system, which levies a higher
rate of taxes on higher-income taxpayers, is fairer, placing the greater burden on
those better able to bear it. However, the present crazy quilt of tax deductions,
exemptions, credits, and loopholes benefits primarily the high-income taxpayer, who
is consequently able to reduce his or her effective tax rate, often to a level below
that paid by the lower-income taxpayer. Therefore, ______

(A) higher-income taxpayers are likely to lend their support to the flat-tax proposal
now being considered by Congress
(B) a flat-tax system that allowed no deductions or exemptions would substantially
increase actual government revenues
(C) the lower-income taxpayer might well be penalized by the institution of a flat-tax
system in this country
(D) the progressive nature of our present tax system is more illusory than real
(E) the flat tax would actually be fairer to the lower-income taxpayer than any
progressive tax system could be
13. As part of our program to halt the influx of illegal immigrants, the administration is
proposing the creation of a national identity card. The card would be available only
to U.S. citizens and to registered aliens, and all persons would be required to
produce the card before they could be given a job. Of course, such a system holds
the potential, however slight, for the abuse of civil liberties. Therefore, all personal
information gathered through this system would be held strictly confidential, to be
released only by authorized personnel under appropriate circumstances. Those who
are in compliance with U.S. laws would have nothing to fear from the identity card
system.
In evaluating the above proposal, a person concerned about the misuse of
confidential information would be most interested in having the author clarify
the meaning of which of the following phrases?

(A) “all persons” (line 5)

(B) “however slight” (line 7)
(C) “civil liberties” (line 8)
(D) “appropriate circumstances” (line 11)
(E) “U.S. laws” (line 2)
14. At one time, European and Japanese companies tried to imitate their American
rivals. Today, American appliance manufacturers import European scientists to lead
their research staffs; American automakers design cars that mimic the styling of
German, Italian, and French imports; and American electronics firms boast in their
advertising of “Japanese-style” devotion to quality and reliability. In the world of high
technology, America has lost the battle for international prestige.
Each of the following statements, if true, would help to support the claim
above EXCEPT:
(A) An American camera company claims in its promotional literature to produce
cameras “as fine as the best Swiss imports.”
(B) An American maker of stereo components designs its products to resemble
those of a popular Japanese firm.
(C) An American manufacturer of video games uses a brand name chosen because
it sounds like a Japanese word.
(D) An American maker of televisions studies German-made televisions in order to
adopt German manufacturing techniques.
(E) An American maker of frozen foods advertises its dinners as “Real European-
style entrees prepared by fine French and Italian chefs.”
15. Johnson is on firm ground when he asserts that the early editors of Dickinson’s
poetry often distorted her intentions. Yet Johnson’s own, more faithful, text is still
guilty of its own forms of distortion. To standardize Dickinson’s often indecipherable
handwritten punctuation by the use of the dash is to render permanent a casual
mode of poetic phrasing that Dickinson surely never expected to see in print. It
implies that Dickinson chose the dash as her typical mark of punctuation when, in
fact, she apparently never made any definitive choice at all.
Which of the following best summarizes the author’s main point?
(A) Although Johnson is right in criticizing Dickinson’s early editors for their
distortion of her work, his own text is guilty of equally serious distortions.
(B) Johnson’s use of the dash in his text of Dickinson’s poetry misleads readers
about the poet’s intentions.
(C) Because Dickinson never expected her poetry to be published, virtually any
attempt at editing it must run counter to her intentions.
(D) Although Johnson’s attempt to produce a more faithful text of Dickinson’s poetry
is well-meaning, his study of the material lacks sufficient thoroughness.
(E) Dickinson’s editors, including Johnson, have failed to deal adequately with the
problem of deciphering Dickinson’s handwritten manuscripts.
16. A law requiring companies to offer employees unpaid time off to care for their
children will harm the economic competitiveness of our nation’s businesses.
Companies must be free to set their own employment policies without mandated
parental-leave regulations.
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion
of the argument above?
(A) A parental-leave law will serve to strengthen the family as a social institution in
this country.
(B) Many businesses in this country already offer employees some form of parental
leave.
(C) Some of the countries with the most economically competitive businesses have
strong parental-leave regulations.
(D) Only companies with one hundred or more employees would be subject to the
proposed parental-leave law.
(E) In most polls, a majority of citizens say they favor passage of a parental-leave
law.
17. If A, then B.
If B, then C.
If C, then D.

If all of the statements above are true, which of the following must also be
true?

(A) If D, then A.
(B) If not B, then not C.
(C) If not D, then not A.
(D) If D, then E.
(E) If not A, then not D.

18. Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your application. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you a position
in our local government office for the summer. As you know, funding for summer
jobs is limited, and it is impossible for us to offer jobs to all those who want them.
Consequently, we are forced to reject many highly qualified applicants.
Which of the following can be inferred from the letter?

(A) The number of applicants for summer jobs in the government office exceeded
the number of summer jobs available.
(B) The applicant who received the letter was considered highly qualified.
(C) Very little funding was available for summer jobs in the government office.
(D) The application of the person who received the letter was considered carefully
before being rejected.
(E) Most of those who applied for summer jobs were considered qualified for the
available positions.
19. Studies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which
one occupant of an automobile is killed while another survives, it is the passenger,
not the driver, who is killed. It is ironic that the innocent passenger should suffer for
the driver’s carelessness, while the driver often suffers only minor injuries or none at
all.
Which of the following is an assumption underlying the reasoning in the
passage above?
(A) In most fatal automobile accidents, the driver of a car in which an occupant is
killed is at fault.
(B) Drivers of automobiles are rarely killed in auto accidents.
(C) Most deaths in fatal automobile accidents are suffered by occupants of cars
rather than by pedestrians.
(D) Auto safety experts should increase their efforts to provide protection for those
in the passenger seats of automobiles.
(E) Automobile passengers sometimes play a contributing role in causing auto
accidents.
Questions 20-21 are based on the following
As one who has always believed that truth is our nation’s surest weapon in the
propaganda war against our foes, I am distressed by reports of “disinformation”
campaigns by American intelligence agents in Western Europe. In a disinformation
campaign, untruths are disseminated through gullible local journalists in order to
damage the interests of our enemies and protect our own. Those who defend this
practice say that lying is necessary to counter Soviet disinformation campaigns aimed at
damaging America’s political interests. These apologists contend that one must fight fire
with fire. I would point out to the apologists that the fire department finds water more
effective.
20. The author of the passage above bases his conclusion on which of the
following?
(A) A circular definition of “disinformation”
(B) An example of the ineffectiveness of lying as a weapon in the propaganda war
(C) An analogy between truth and water
(D) An appeal to the authority of the fire department
(E) An attack on the character of American intelligence agents in Western Europe
21. The author’s main point is that
(A) although disinformation campaigns may be effective, they are unacceptable on
ethical grounds
(B) America’s moral standing in the world depends on its adherence to the truth
(C) the temporary political gains produced by disinformation campaigns generally
give way to long-term losses
(D) Soviet disinformation campaigns have done little to damage America’s standing
in Europe
(E) disinformation campaigns do not effectively serve the political interests of the
United States

SENTENCE CORRECTION

22. A powder derived from the North American Echinacea flower, which has been
effective in preventing colds, is grown by many small farmers out West.

(A) A powder derived from the North American Echinacea flower, which has been
effective in preventing colds,
(B) A derivative, which has been effective in preventing colds, of the North American
Echinacea flower
(C) A North American Echinacea flower derivative, which has been effective in
preventing colds
(D) The North American Echinacea flower has a derivative which has been effective
in preventing colds, that
(E) The North American Echinacea flower, a derivative of which has been effective
in preventing colds,

23. Trying to mimic some of the pitch variations of a dolphin chattering is the same
as attempting to sing like a sick parakeet when one is intoxicated; the complete
lack of harmony and apparent randomness of the noise means the human vocal
chords are completely incapable of reproducing these sounds.

(A) the same as attempting to sing like a sick parakeet when one is intoxicated
(B) similar to an intoxicated person singing like a sick parakeet
(C) like singing like a sick parakeet as an intoxicated person
(D) the same as an intoxicated person singing like a sick parakeet
(E) like the intoxicated person is singing like a sick parakeet
24. The possibility of an attack on Indian Point, a nuclear power plant, has caused
local governmental officials to plan evacuation routes, build shelters, and offering
citizens potassium pills so there will be fewer casualties in case of a leak.

(A) plan evacuation routes, build shelters, and offering citizens potassium pills
so there will be
(B) plan evacuation routes, build shelters, and offer citizens potassium pills in
order to have
(C) planning evacuation routes, building shelters, and the offer of potassium
pills to citizens so there will be
(D) evacuation route planning, building shelters, and offering citizens potassium
pills in order to have
(E) a planning of evacuation routes, shelter building, and offering potassium
pills to citizens to have

25. Although the sting of Egyptian Scorpions are rarely dangerous, they cause red
welts to appear, posing minor health risks to infants, who are particularly vulnerable
to its venom.

(A) Egyptian Scorpions are rarely dangerous, they cause red welts to appear,
posing minor health risks to infants, who are particularly vulnerable to its
(B) Egyptian Scorpions are rarely dangerous, they cause red welts to appear and
pose minor health risks to infants, who are particularly vulnerable to their
(C) Egyptian Scorpions is rarely dangerous, it causes red welts to appear, posing
minor health risks to infants, who are particularly vulnerable to their
(D) Egyptian Scorpions is rarely dangerous, it causes red welts to appear and
poses minor health risks to infants, who are particularly vulnerable to its
(E) Egyptian Scorpions is rarely dangerous, they cause red welts to appear, posing
the greatest danger to the infant, who are particularly vulnerable to its

26. The catastrophic San Francisco Earthquake at the turn of the century destroyed
numerous buildings and many were led to believe that the city had become a
permanent disaster zone.

(A) many were led to believe that the city had become
(B) many had been led to believing of the city as if it were
(C) the belief this led to was that the city had become
(D) led many to the belief of the city as if it were
(E) led many to believe that the city had become
27. Besides offering such physiological rewards as toned muscles, karate, if practiced
regularly, can turn the body into a dangerous weapon and produce numerous
other benefits.

(A) karate, if practiced regularly, can turn the body into a dangerous weapon
(B) one can turn the body into a dangerous weapon through karate, if it is practiced
regularly
(C) the body can be turned into a dangerous weapon as a result of karate if
practiced regularly
(D) when karate is practiced regularly, the body can be turned into a dangerous
weapon
(E) when practiced regularly, the results of karate can be to turn the body into a
dangerous weapon

28. The new government requires employers to inform an employee of their legal
right to holidays and overtime pay.

(A) employers to inform an employee of their

(B) employers to inform employees that he has a
(C) employers to inform employees that there is a
(D) that employers inform an employee of their
(E) that employers inform the employees that they have a

29. Riddled with bullets, shattered by bombs, and hidden in alleys, the historic buildings
in Lodz, Poland, were long ignored by tourists, traveling instead to more
well-known memorial museums.

(A) the historic buildings in Lodz, Poland, were long ignored by tourists, traveling
(B) the historic buildings in Lodz, Poland, were long ignored by tourists, who
traveled
(C) tourists long ignored the historic buildings in Lodz, Poland, traveling
(D) tourists long ignored the historic buildings in Lodz, Poland and traveled
(E) tourists long ignored the historic buildings in Lodz, Poland; they depended
30. Rallies organized in conjunction with the dissemination of democratic principles
which was once prohibited by Communist Chinese leaders, are beginning to take
shape at a grass roots level permitted by the new Chinese leadership.

(A) Rallies organized in conjunction with the dissemination of democratic principles

which was once prohibited by Communist Chinese leaders, are
(B) Rallies organized in conjunction with the dissemination of democratic principles,
a practice that Communist Chinese leaders once prohibited, is
(C) Organizing rallies in conjunction with the dissemination of democratic principles,
as once prohibited by Communist Chinese leaders, is
(D) Communist Chinese leaders once prohibited organizing rallies in conjunction
with the dissemination of democratic principles, but they are
(E) Communist Chinese leaders once prohibited organizing rallies in conjunction
with the dissemination of democratic principles, but such principles are