Verbal Question-Bank for GMAT (Focus Edition) Winners

An exhaustive 500+ Page Question Bank with over 600 fully solved questions covering ALL areas of GMAT Verbal

Internalising Verbal concepts is a sine qua non for a high Score.

It is difficult to understand GMAT Verbal conceptually, even though it is all High School level stuff.

Moreover, under time pressure, it is all too common to see students fumbling about with their grammar and their concepts, losing precious time.

What is needed is to be able to look at a problem, and have a A-ha, I have seen it before, moment!

And that is what the Winners do.

Most winners are so well conversant with the concepts, that they don’t have to spend too much time thinking about how to approach the problem, and which rules to apply.

How do they do this? With Practice, Practice and more Practice.

After you have gone through the theory, you should try to solve as many different problems as you can get your hand on.

This is where the Question Bank for GMAT Winners comes in.

This exhaustive eBook:

Contains 600+ fully Solved Questions covering ALL topics of GMAT Verbal
All problems Fully explained .
Problems based around REAL GMAT Questions that have appeared in the recent past.
Majority of questions are at the 700+ level to give you thorough practice.
Focus on the important topics of Critical Reasoning (including Bold Face Type Questions) & Reading Comprehension.
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Have a look at some sample Questions from this book:

Sample Critical Reasoning Questions
There are nearly 200 Critical Reasoning Questions in the Verbal Question Bank for GMAT Winners

Critical Reasoning Sample Set of 10 Questions

1. In Sunnyville the new Alternative Energy Action party won two seats on the seven-member town council in 1988, it lost both of those seats in the 1992 election; even though the party’s pro- alternative energy platform had essentially remained unchanged. This decline in the party’s fortunes clearly demonstrates that, in Sunnyville, alternative energy concerns faded in significance between 1988 and 1992.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?

(A) Between 1998 and 1992, the number of eligible voters in Sunnyville rose, but not the percentage who actually voted.

(B) Between 1988 and 1992, Sunnyville’s leading political party revised its platform, adopting the policies of the Alternative Energy Action party

(C) The parties that ran candidates in the 1992 election in Sunnyville were the same as those that had done so in the 1988 election.

(D) In 1992 the Alternative Energy Action party won fewer votes in Sunnyville than it had won in 1988.

(E) Between 1988 and 1992, some measures intended to provide alternative energy had been adopted by the town council, but with inconclusive results

2. A program instituted in a particular state allows parents to prepay their children’s future high school boarding school tuition at current rates. The program then pays the tuition annually for the child at any of the state’s boarding schools in which the child enrolls. Parents should participate in the program as a means of decreasing the cost of their children’s high school education.

Which of the following, if true is the most convincing reason for parents not to participate in the program?

(A) The parents are unsure about which boarding school in the state the child will attend,

(B) The amount of money accumulated by putting the prepayment funds in an interest-bearing account today will be greater than the total cost of tuition for any of the boarding schools when the child enrolls.

(C) The annual cost of tuition at the state’s boarding schools is expected to increase at a faster rate than the annual increase in the cost of living.

(D) Some of the state’s boarding schools are contemplating large increases in tuition next year.

(E) The prepayment plan would not cover the cost of room and board at any of the state’s boarding schools.

3. Last year, dental insurance paid $11 billion of the $16 billion spent on dental care. It is thus indispensable for a dental care provider to be eligible for reimbursement by a patient insurer. As a result, it is the insurers who decide who is a dental healer in modern society.

Which of the following, if true, weakens the argument above?

(A) The kinds of dental services not covered by dental insurance are relatively inexpensive

(B) Dental insurance companies must reimburse any provider licensed by state agencies that regulate dental care

(C) Patients sometimes choose to receive a particular treatment from a familiar dentist even if that treatment is not eligible for reimbursement

(D) Many of the dental-care services demanded by insured patients are unnecessary

(E) A significant portion of uninsured patients forgo needed treatment because they are unable to afford the high cost

4. In a recent study, sedentary middle-aged women who drank more than two cups of caffeinated tea a day were found more likely than other middle-aged women to have a high blood level of cholesterol, which is a factor increasing the risk of heart disease. Cholesterol can reach the blood from food and drink but is not contained in tea.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakness a conclusion from the study that for sedentary middle-aged women tea increases the risk of heart attack?

(A) A sedentary style of life increases levels of cholesterol in the blood.

(B) Tea contains caffeine, which acts as a stimulant that increases heart rate.

(D) In both groups, the women were likely to be over-weight, and excess weight is a factor that increases the risk of heart disease.

(E) The women who drank more than two cups of tea a day also at more foods high in cholesterol.

5. Since the federal government began deregulating railroad ravel in the mid 1970s, major train companies in the United States have cut their employees ranks by more than 1000 persons. Thus, although deregulated competition has afforded consumers dramatically lower fares, the economy of the United States has been harmed by the deregulation of the railways.

The argument above would be most seriously weakened if it were true that

(A) a poll of people in the United States shows exceptionally strong support for railroad deregulation

(B) fewer passengers now travel on commercial trains than traveled on them in 1976, with the consequence that fewer employees are needed to operate the airlines than were needed in 1976

(C) trains now run a more restricted regular schedule of routes than they did in 1976, with the consequence that the industry is more highly concentrated and competitive than it was before 1976

(D) several major train companies now enjoy significantly higher profits and levels of employment than they did in the years preceding the Deregulation Acts

(E) smaller carriers have thrived as a result of deregulation and now provide more new jobs than the major train companies have eliminated since 1976

6. In primates it is the hard palate that permits breathing while eating. Clearly, breathing while eating is necessary to maintain the high rate of metabolism of primates.

The author’s assertions would be most weakened by the discovery of primate species that had a

(A) high rate of metabolism and the ability to breathe while eating

(B) low rate of metabolism and the ability to breathe while eating

(D) high rate of metabolism and no hard palate

(E) low rate of metabolism and a hard palate

7. The average age of university presidents in a large sample of universities is 62. The average age of university presidents in those same universities 25 years ago was approximately eight years younger. On the basis of those data, it can be concluded that university presidents, including those at online universities, in general tend to be older now.

Which of the following casts the most doubt on the conclusion drawn above?

(A) The dates when the university presidents assumed their current positions have not been specified.

(B) No information is given concerning the average number of years that university presidents remain in office.

(D) Information concerning the exact number of universities in the sample has not been given.

(E) None of the answers provided cast doubt on the conclusion drawn above.

8. A government agency that reimburses its clients for bills they have paid for child care has had this year’s budget cut. To save money without cutting reimbursements or otherwise harming clients financially, it plans to delay reimbursements to clients for forty days, thereby earning 180 million per year in interest on the reimbursement money.

Which of the following, if true, is the best criticism of the agency’s plan?

(A) Daycares typically hold parents responsible for the ultimate payment of their bills.

(B) The agency cannot save money by cutting staff because it is already understaffed.

(D) Some clients pay their daycare bills immediately, but they often taken more than forty days to file with the agency for reimbursement.

(E) The agency’s budget was cut by more than $180 million last year.

9. Modern computers are more susceptible to viruses than computers of the early 1980s and early 1990s. Today, computers are web-enabled and most often used connected to the internet. Recently, a government computer system was infected with a computer virus that was caused by an internet website.

Clearly, modern computers are put at risk by the internet.

The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(A) The first is a principle that the argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that can be drawn from the first.

(B) The first is a fact that argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that must be drawn from this argument.

(D) The first is an evidence that supports the conclusion, the second is that conclusion.

(E) The first is a principle that is necessary for this argument, the second is a conclusion that could be drawn from this argument.

10. Modern navigation systems, which are found in most of today’s corporate helicopters are made with low-power circuitry, which is more susceptible to interference than the vacuum-tube circuitry found in older aircraft.

During landing, navigation systems receive radio signals from the air traffic control to guide the helicopter to the landing strip. Recently, one helicopter with low-power circuitry veered off course during landing, its dials dimming, when a passenger turned on a laptop computer. Clearly, modern aircraft navigation systems are being put at risk by the electronic devices that passengers carry on board, such as cassette players and laptop computers.

The two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(A) The first is a principle that the argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that can be drawn from the first.

(B) The first is a fact that argument relies on and the second is a conclusion that must be drawn from this argument.

(D) The first is an evidence that supports the conclusion, the second is that conclusion.

(E) The first is a principle that is necessary for this argument, the second is a conclusion that could be drawn from this argument.

Solutions: Critical Reasoning Sample Set

1. On the basis of the information that the new Alternative Energy Party, which had won 2 seats out of 7 in the town council in 1988, had lost both of them in 1992, the author argues that the decline in the party’s fortunes clearly demonstrates that alternative energy concerns faded in significance in the town during this period.

We have been asked to locate that choice which most seriously weakens this argument.

(A) merely says that both the number of voters and the number who voted increased between 1988 and 1992, but does not give a reason which strengthens or weakens the author’s theory why the Alternative Energy Action Party lost its seats.

(B) says that the town’s leading political party (which had won the majority of the other 5 seats in 1988) had revised its platform adopting a strong alternative energy stance. If this is true, voters who are in favor of alternative energy might have voted for the leading political party itself this time instead of for the Alternative Energy Action party. So, the defeat of the members of the Alternative Energy party would not mean that the environmental concerns had faded in significance in the minds of the voters. On the contrary; the reason why the dominant party adopted a strong alternative energy stance may itself be because the public concern for alternative energy had become more intense, and the dominant party wanted to go along with that popular sentiment. So, it is (B) which seriously weakens the argument of the author, and is the answer.

(D) strengthens the argument of the author, and does not weaken it.

(E) would give a reason why the voters could have been disillusioned with the Alternative Energy Action party, because of which environmental concerns could have faded in significance. So, (E) strengthens the argument of the author, and does not weaken it.

2. The program described is in the nature of insurance against future increases in boarding school tuition fees.

It suggests that the parents participating in the program should pay an amount equal to the present day tuition fee now itself, and the administrators of the program will then meet the actual enhanced tuition fees when the child grows older and enrolls in any boarding school in the state.

We have been asked to identify the choice which is the most appropriate reason for parents not to participate in the program.

Obviously, attraction of any such program would lie in the probability that the rate of enhancement in tuition fees will be greater than the rate of interest that a person can earn by depositing an amount equal to the present day tuition fees in appropriate savings bonds. If the rate of interest that can be earned is likely to be more than the rate of enhancement of the tuition fees, it will be more prudent for a parent not to participate in the program, but to invest the money in such interest-bearing bonds. (B) says this, and is the answer.

(A) need not deter a parent from participating in the program, because the program will cover the fees in any of the boarding schools in the state.

(D) is also an argument in favor of joining the scheme.

The scheme covers only the tuition fee in any boarding school. So, if the student is to stay in a hostel, the parent has to bear the cost of room and board, irrespective of whether he joins the scheme or not. So, (E) is a consideration neither in favor nor against joining the scheme.

3. The conclusion drawn by the author is that, since it is the insurance companies which reimburse the expenditure incurred by dental-care providers, such providers are under the control of the insurance companies, and insurance companies can therefore decide who shall take to the profession of providing dental-care. This is the meaning of the last sentence which says, “it is the insurers who decide who is a dental healer in modern society’.

(A) implies that all expensive dental services are covered by dental insurance. This will strengthen and not weaken the argument of the author that it is the insurance companies which decide who is the healer in modern society. So, (A) is not the answer.

(B) points out that it is the state agencies in charge of regulation of dental-care who license dental providers, and dental insurance companies are bound to reimburse such providers for the services rendered by them to the insured persons. This means that it is the state agencies, and not the insurance companies, who decide who are the dental healers in modern society. So, it is (B) which weakens the argument of the author, and is the answer.

(C) talks of a situation in which the insurance companies are not bound to reimburse a dental-care expenditure, and is therefore not relevant to the author’s argument. So, (C) is not the answer.

(D) and (E) are also not relevant to the author’s argument, and can be discarded.

4. The passage says that, though tea does not itself contain cholesterol, middle-aged women who drink more than two cups of tea a day have been found to be more prone to cholesterol-related heart disease than are other middle-aged women.

We have been asked to identify the choice which will weaken the drawing of the logical conclusion from the above finding that tea is responsible for heart attack in sedentary middle-aged women.

(A) does not mention the drinking of tea at all, and neither weakens nor strengthens the given conclusion.

(B) strengthens and does not weaken, the conclusion that tea increases the risk of heart attack, and is not the answer.

(D) neither strengthens nor weakens the given conclusion, and is not the answer.

The last sentence of the passage says that tea by itself does not contain cholesterol. If, as stated in (E), the middle-aged women who drank more than two cups of tea a day also ate more foods which are high in cholesterol, then the high level of cholesterol in their blood would have been caused by these foods and not by tea. If true, it is (E) that weakens the conclusion that tea increases the risk of heart disease, and is the answer.

5. The only reason advanced by the author to support his statement that the deregulation of the railroad industry has harmed the economy of the United States is that it has resulted in a cut by major train companies of 1000 of their employees.

We have been asked to identify the choice which will weaken this conclusion.

We should therefore look for that choice which implies that the same deregulation of the railroad system has contributed to the creation of more than 1000 jobs in some other sector in the United States.

(E) says that smaller carriers of passengers have thrived as a result of deregulation, and they now provide more new jobs than the major train companies have eliminated since 1976. This, if true, weakens the argument of the author that the deregulation of the railroad industry has harmed the economy of the country. So, (E) is the answer.

(B) looks like a possible answer, but is wrong, because the fact that fewer numbers of passengers now travel on commercial trains may itself be a direct consequence of the deregulation of the railroad system, and this will strengthen, and not weaken, the given argument.

(B) is wrong because, it only says that several of the major train companies in the US have higher levels of employment today than they had before the deregulation, but it does not refute the statement that, when all major train companies are considered together, there has been a net elimination of 1000 jobs.

6. (Metabolism is the process by which chemical reactions in plants and animals create the energy needed by them to live. Palate is the roof of the mouth.) The author’s assertion is that breathing while eating is necessary to maintain the high rate of metabolism of primates, and that this facility is provided by the hard palate.

We have been asked to identify the choice which will most weaken this assertion.

The author’s assertion relates to primates with high rates of metabolism. So, (B), (C) and (E), all of which relate to animals with a low rate of metabolism, can straightaway be ruled out.

(A) will only conform to the general property of primates referred to by the author, and will strengthen, and not weaken his assertion.

(D) would prove that the lack of a secondary palate and the consequential incapability to breathe while eating are not necessary for a high rate of metabolism in all primates, and will therefore weaken the author’s assertion. So, (D) is the answer.

7. From a study of the average ages of university presidents in ‘a large sample of universities’ a general conclusion has been arrived at, which is then presumed to be applicable to all universities.

We have been asked to identify that choice which would cast the most doubt on this conclusion. Since the question asks for the answer that casts the most doubt, one of the answers must be chosen and answer (E) none of the above is incorrect.

We should therefore look for that statement which implies that the sample universities studied did not represent the majority of universities in some important respect, and that it is therefore unscientific to arrive at a general conclusion based on this unrepresentative sample. (A ‘large sample’ may still constitute a minority of the total number of companies.)

The phrase ‘in those same universities 20 years ago’ in the third line of the passage implies that the companies taken up for the sample study were limited to those which have been operating for more than 20 years. If a many of the existing universities (including online universities) are, in fact, less than 20 years old, the phenomenon prevailing in the older universities cannot be inferred as being applicable generally to all universities. It is quite likely that the average age of the university presidents of newer universities is much less than 57.

It is (C) which implies this, and is the answer.

8. With a view to offset the budgetary cut that it had faced, the government agency plans to earn an interest of $180 million a year through a deliberate delay in the reimbursement of daycare expenses to its clients by forty days.

It claims that, by implementing this plan, it would neither cut reimbursements nor otherwise harm its clients financially.

We have been asked to identify that choice which can be described as the best criticism of the agency’s plan.

Since the agency’s claim is that its plan will neither result in cutting reimbursements nor otherwise harming its clients financially, we should look for that choice which implies either that the reimbursement is in fact reduced, or that the clients are otherwise financially harmed by this plan.

The first sentence of the passage specifically states that the schemes of reimbursement means that the clients have to first pay the bills to the daycares, and only later can claim reimbursement from the government agency. So, (A) states the obvious, and is not relevant in evaluating the effect of the delay in reimbursement by 40 days. So, (A) is not the answer.

(B) means that the agency is not in a position to save on its administrative costs. This, if true, will justify, and weaken, the agency’s plan to make savings through other means such as a deliberate delay in making reimbursements and earning interest thereby. So, (B) is not the answer.

(C)means that these clients will be financially harmed by the planned delay by the government agency in reimbursing their claims, thereby contradicting its claim that the plan would not harm its clients financially. So, (C) would be the best criticism of the agency’s plan, and is the answer.

(D) only means that, in respect of such delayed claims, the agency has already been benefiting by interest-earning.

Therefore (D), by itself, does not constitute a criticism of the agency’s present plan to delay reimbursement of claims by another forty days.

The given passage does not claim that the interest of $180 million earned by the deliberate delay in the reimbursement of claims was intended to cover the budget cut fully. So, (E) even if it is true, is not a valid criticism of the agency’s plan.

9. The question states that today’s computers are web enabled and clearly that is the reason that computers are at risk of developing viruses. The second sentence is the conclusion drawn from the first sentence. Since all of the answers acknowledge that, we must consider the purpose of the first underlined sentence in the passage. (C) describes the first sentence as a consideration that is important to the stated conclusion. This is the best explanation of the sentence and is the answer. The fact that most modern day computers are web-enabled is not a principle or an argument so answers (A) (B) and (E) are wrong. The author did not state enough evidence to make that first underlined sentence “evidence”; therefore answer (D) is incorrect.

10. The question states that today’s helicopters have modern navigation systems that are susceptible to interference from electronic devices and clearly that is the reason that a helicopter veered off course after a passenger turned on a laptop computer. The second sentence is the conclusion drawn from the first sentence.

Since all of the answers acknowledge that, we must consider the purpose of the first underlined sentence in the passage. (C) describes the first sentence as a consideration that is important to the stated conclusion.

This is the best explanation of the sentence and is the answer. The fact that most modern day helicopters have modern navigation systems is not a principle or an argument so answers (A) (B) and (E) are wrong. The author did not state enough evidence to make that first underlined sentence “evidence”; therefore answer (D) is incorrect.

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