Reading Comprehension Practice for the GRE

On the GRE revised General Test, roughly half the Verbal Reasoning section consists of Reading Comprehension questions .

These questions ask you about the content or argument structure of a given reading passage.

In another lesson, you learned about the types of GRE Reading Comprehension questions in theory; now, it’s time to take that theory for a test drive.

Don’t worry, though; you’ll get some training wheels to start out with.

In this lesson, you’ll start out with some sample questions followed by complete explanations, so you can get a feel for the test.

Then, you’ll move on to working independently in the quiz.

But before all that, here’s a lightning fast strategy review:

Reading comprehension questions come in three varieties classic multiple choice with one answer, multiple choice with multiple answers, and select a sentence, where you choose a sentence from the passage in response to the question.

Pay attention to which question type you’re answering.

Base your answer only on the passage.

It helps to read the question, then find the answer in the passage, and then look at the answer choices last.

Skip if it’s too hard, but put a guess for everything.

No points are deducted for wrong answers, so you lose nothing by guessing.

Okay, are you ready to start?

Grab some scrap paper and a pen, since you’ll have that on the actual test, and get ready for the passage.

As you read the passage, you’ll be allowed to take notes on your scrap paper.

Pause the video until you’re done the passage and then press play again to move on to the questions.

That was the passage; now, it’s time for the questions.

If you want to look at the passage again while you answer the questions, then that’s completely fine.

just move the progress bar back to the beginning of the passage section.

1) Which of the following does the passage identify as a reason why the stem cell controversy cannot simply be solved by using only adult stem cells?

A) The use of stem cells from adult blood, bone marrow, and fat tissue

B) The use of cells that can differentiate into other types of cells

C) The greater utility of embryonic stem cells, compared to adult cells

D) The objections of people who believe that life begins at conception

E) The use of cells from human umbilical cords

Go back to the passage if you like and find an answer based on the text.

if you need more time, pause the video now because the answers coming up.

Ready to hear the answer?

The correct answer is C.

In sentence three, the author mentions adult cells’ ‘limited ability to differentiate’, and sentence six discusses ‘applications where adult stem cells are not viable’.

In other words, embryonic stem cells are needed for some applications where adult stem cells just won’t do the job.

Watch for trap answers, like E, choice E sounds familiar if you know outside information about stem cells, but the passage doesn’t mention umbilical cords anywhere!

Ready for the next question?

2) Which of the following arguments would provide a way of sidestepping the controversy that the author raises in this article? This question may have multiple correct answers; select all that apply.

A) Some researchers have developed a technique for extracting stem cells from an embryo without destroying it

B) Researchers are close to discovering a way to change adult stem cells so that they differentiate as well as embryonic cells

C) When being treated with stem cells, the patient’s immune system sometimes accepts his or her own stem cells, but rejects embryonic cells

Again, if you want the passage back, just go to the beginning of THE PASSAGE section.

pause the video now because the answers coming up.

The correct answers are A and B.

Choice A would sidestep the controversy because the objections raised in the passage hinge on the fact that the embryo is destroyed.

If the embryo is not destroyed, there would be no reason to object.

Choice B would sidestep the controversy by eliminating the need for embryonic stem cells at all, while still giving the researchers everything they need.

Choice C is an argument in favor of using adult stem cells for certain applications, but it does not address the main controversy in the passage, so it isn’t a correct answer.

3) Select the sentence that characterizes opponents of embryonic stem cell research.

You’ll notice in the passage that the sentences are numbered one through six to make it easy for you.

Pick the number of the correct sentence.

pause the video now because the answers coming up.

The correct answer is (5).

This sentence characterizes the opponents as ‘people who believe that human life begins at the moment of conception.’

In this lesson, you got some practice on GRE Reading Comprehension questions.

These questions ask you about the content and/or the argument structure of a given reading passage.

You worked through one of each type of reading comprehension question

Classic multiple-choice questions with five answer choices and one correct answer

Multiple choice questions with three answer choices and more than one possible answer

Select in passage questions where you answer by choosing a sentence

When you’re working on these questions, remember that they’re all about the passage: don’t get sucked into bringing in outside information.

Base every answer on the passage; it may help to look at the passage and decide on your own answer before you start looking at the answer choices.

Now, try some questions on your own on the quiz.