verbal reasoning

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 12

Dilip Oak's Academy

Dear Reader,

One of the easiest ways to learn new words is through association. Instead of trying to learn by remembering the equivalent of a word in your mother tongue or its usage in English, you can learn by thinking of words in groups. These groupings can be grammatical: all action verbs or nouns related to knowledge (ending with -logy), for instance; or logical: as found in our VocabApp.

Today, all our links and questions are about pictures and photographs, which can be helpful in recollecting a bunch of words. Here are some of those words, see how many you can guess correctly.

Question 1

For a ______ like myself, there was no wrong age to take up photography: I just had to get a smartphone!

A] tyro

B] sage

C] transgressor

 

Question 2

The light cast by the setting sun is the most _____________ and hence, it is known as the Golden Hour in Hollywood.

A] voluble

B] voluminous

C] luminous

 

Question 3

Whenever I look at these pictures of people from my past, I am filled with _________.

A] nostalgia

B] animosity

C] catharsis

 

Question 4

4] The only surviving picture of my great-grandmother is a small painted __________.

A] frieze

B] vignette

C] coda

 

Question 5

Editors often __________ black-and-white photos with colour images to choose the best ones.

A] riddle

B] amalgamate

C] juxtapose

 

Tell us your guesses in the comments section and look for the answers in our next edition!

Here are some articles you might interesting:

Hi-Res in Space!

Everyday Exemplars…

Recycling Could Help You Make Millions

 

Answers for last week’s questions:

1] “We found the glass splashed on little pieces of bone that were by the hearth, so we know that the molten glass had landed in this village while people were living there,” said coauthor Allen West, a member of the Comet Research Group, a nonprofit organization aimed at studying this particular cosmic impact and its consequences.

2] B] No magnetic marks, characteristic of lightning strikes, were found.

3] A] Climatic changes

4] B] exceptional D] atypical

5] A] imitate D] prevalent

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 11

Dilip Oak's Academy

Dear Reader,

As promised, from this week onwards, we will present some old and some new articles along with questions on Reading Comprehension, Sentence Equivalence, and Text Completion from the Verbal Reasoning section.

Tell us your guesses in the comments section and look for the answers in our next edition!

Dinosaurs weren’t the only ones!

Question 1

Select a sentence in the article that provides evidence that the comet struck while the village was under human habitation.

 Question 2

Why did the scientists rule out earthly causes such as volcanic activity or thunderstorms for the fires? Select all that apply.

A] They found evidence that natural sources of fire can also reach such high temperatures.

B] No magnetic marks, characteristic of lightning strikes, were found.

C] Molten metal was not found at the site.

Question 3

None of the following were reasons for the Abu Hureyra culture becoming agrarian EXCEPT

A] Climatic changes

B] Technological modifications

C] Survival of a few people

D] Animal husbandry

E] Ground-breaking invention of systematic agriculture

 

Alterations to Art

Question 1

The presence of halos as identifying appurtenances of holy figures in early Netherlandish paintings is as ________ an occurrence as it is commonplace in Italian paintings of the same period.

Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole, and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning.

A] trite

B] exceptional

C] recognizable

D] atypical

E] perceptible

F] sacral

The representation of mortals as saints, reflecting a desire to (i) ________ the lives of the saints and to follow their sacrifices and devotion to Christ, becomes increasingly (ii) _______ in the early sixteenth century. The practice reflects an extension of the beliefs of and widespread adherence to the Modern Devotion, a popular reform movement begun by Geert Grote in the late fourteenth century and initially practiced by the Brothers of the Common Life.

 Question 2

For each blank select one entry from the corresponding column of choices. Fill all blanks in the way that best completes the text.

Blank (i) Blank (ii)
A] imitate D] prevalent
B] animate E] predictable
C] stipple F] pretentious

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 10

Dilip Oak's Academy

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We celebrate the big 10 with a nod to big transformations and changes! From the tiniest of organisms to the infinite vastness of space, small changes tend to have big repercussions. From the next edition of the reading list, we will change too. To know more, keep following our lists.

Happy Readings!

  1. From Amoeba to Alpaca
  2. One small step for man…
  3. Marvel at the long history of an art you can read!
  4. Da Vinci: gone for 500 years, still schooling us!
  5. How technology changed us over the last 5,000 years…

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 9

Dilip Oak's Academy

Dear Reader,

As the end of the lockdown nears, we are on cloud nine. Let us remember to dress to the nines as we take solace in the fact that we went the whole nine yards in our fight against coronavirus, boredom, and Zoom fatigue! With prompt implementation of the lockdown and its subsequent easing, we have proudly proven that “a stitch in time saves nine”.

Read on to know more about the ninth edition of the reading list:

  1. Nine beauties for your a-muse-ment!
  2. Sorry Pluto, you just got dwarfed!
  3. Take heart, K9 lovers…this is just a myth!
  4. Divine Comedy or Infernal Tragedy?
  5. Ever wondered why the 99 cent stores are so popular?

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 8

Dilip Oak's Academy

As mindfulness (OED: a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique) becomes the buzzword, scientists are now claiming that the mind is more than what we imagined! This week, we present some audio-visual treats to keep your mind and body happy and humming!

  1. Mind OVER Matter!
  2. Food for Thought: Films
  3. Food for thought: Music
  4. Food for Thought: History
  5. Food for thought: Geography

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 7

Dilip Oak's Academy

Going into the fourth (and hopefully, final) iteration of the lockdown, forgive us for getting a little philosophical. As the quotidian becomes dishearteningly humdrum — jokes abound on how no one knows nor cares what day of the week it is — it is time to find transcendent beauty and muse on how the ordinary becomes extraordinary with patience and passion.

Here’s hoping this week’s reading helps you find your desire, something you can pursue with diligence and dedication, so, you too can achieve for perfection in an imperfect, kaput world.

  1. Way to go, Einstein!
  2. Slithering their way into each other’s hearts
  3. Bashfulness as a survival strategy: read on introverts…
  4. 105 years old and still fighting…
  5. An exceptional journey that offers a never-before-seen visual delight!

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 6

Dilip Oak's Academy

It seems like the end of the lockdown is in view. Social distancing may soon be a thing of the past, but we would like to start a new trend: social reading! Ask your parents if they remember the now-antiquated public libraries…you can do the same with a click: read and share these articles!

Some forward fodder for you to impress your friends!

  1. Investigating the detective fiction of Scandinavia
  2. Tender Loving Care
  3. Heliocentric, geocentric…eccentric?
  4. Evolution of the HMS Beagle: the ship that was home to Darwin
  5. Saving the earth with just a few cents!

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 5

Dilip Oak's Academy

As GRE-at Five Minute Reads turns “fabulous five” with this list, we would like to commend you, our readers, and present a tongue-in-cheek thank you speech for all those plaudits which are still to come: “Thank you, dear students, for persevering with reading when you would much rather be bingeing, for resisting the temptations of click-baits, and, for providing us with much-required validation on social media! As we stride forth, we want to look back and rejoice!”

So, this week’s list brings you articles on History — that supreme purveyor of lessons, which we never seem to learn!

  1. Dam! That burst destroyed one of the most powerful civilizations in history!
  2. Lincoln Logs: Wartime history
  3. Sticking kids in front of a screen: history of educational television (surely, an oxymoron!?!)
  4. Fun and games from the prehistoric times before Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga
  5. Environmental history: it is not all fun and games…it is TEOTWAWKI!

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 4

Dilip Oak's Academy

Take a break from the binge-watching and binge read this week’s eclectic selection which features everything from guns to gurus. Our two listicles talk about human evolution and innovation to focus on the indomitable spirit of our species. The three articles present a triptych on our current situation: an example from antiquity, a glimpse into future consequences, and of course, overcoming harsh conditions and soldiering on in the face of adversity!

Time to begin your binge…

  1. From social networking to undertaking global journeys, our ancestors did it all!
  2. What do AK-47s, office cubicles, and Comic Sans have in common?
  3. All play and no work make Jack duller, dumber, and poorer…
  4. A medieval superhighway to death…
  5. How to paint the town red from your home…

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 3

Dilip Oak's Academy

Welcome to the latest installment of the GREat Five-Minute Reads. As the dystopic future becomes the current reality, thanks to the worldwide lockdown brought about by a microscopic virus, we present a few distractions that can also serve as drills for your GRE Reading Comprehension and Sentence Completion tasks. Who said learning had to be boring?

  1. iGlasses, anyone? Augmented Reality: possibility or certainty?
  2. Lessons from History to Help you Prepare for the Worst
  3. Plata o plomo? O cobre? Learn how the Spanish conquered the Americas
  4. Did you know you can use oil and eggs to make paintings?
  5. Send out the Bat Signal: these flying oddities are everywhere!

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 2

Dilip Oak's Academy

In this second edition of GREat Five-Minute Reads, we present to you an eclectic mix of topics to whet your appetite for reading! From historic Moors to futuristic genetic studies, from hot-blooded activists to the cool-headed polar residents, munch on these thought-provoking titbits to make the most of your weekend.

  1. “A woman should have the right to be in the home as a wife and mother”
  2. Fittest or Fattest? It is all the same for these polar bears!
  3. The Moors: Islamic art in ancient Spain.
  4. One Man’s Rebel is Another Man’s Hero!
  5. If you think you may go mad when you are old, think again…or read this:

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!

GREat Five-Minute Reads: Episode 1

Dilip Oak's Academy

Tired of studying all the time? Instead of binge-watching the latest sitcom online, why not try some reading for fun?

Starting this week, we present to you GREat Five-Minute Reads, curated and compiled by faculty members to ensure that you augment your critical reasoning skills by understanding complex sentence structures and recognizing tricky context clues.

Need more incentive? Well, these articles will also boost your comprehension of tough vocabulary: since the ETS opts for words that can be broadly used in many contexts across many academic disciplines, these words are almost non-existent in everyday conversations or TV scripts. This makes grasping the vocabulary in Reading Comprehension passages or Sentence Completion texts like tackling a behemoth. A simple solution? Read a lot to find out how these words behave in their “natural habitat”, so you can tame the leviathans easily!

This Week’s Reading List:

1] Dinosaurs weren’t the only ones!

2] Alterations to Art

3] Oh Mummy! Old Egyptians, New Curses!

4] From Socialite to Novelist: Edith Wharton’s journey

5] We are all Carbon Copies

Look out for a new Reading List every week on Thursday!