Please help me this passage

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Please help me this passage

by prac » Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:21 am
As the economic role of multinational, global corporations expands, the international economic environment will be shaped increasingly not by governments or international institutions, but by the interaction between governments and global corporations, especially in the United States, Europe, and Japan. A significant factor in this shifting world economy is the trend toward regional trading blocs of nations, which has a potentially large effect on the evolution of the world trading system. Two examples of this trend are the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Europe 1992, the move by the European Community (EC) to dismantle impediments to the free flow of goods, services, capital, and labor among member states by the end of 1992. However, although numerous political and economic factors were operative in launching the move to integrate the EC's markets, concern about protectionism within the EC does not appear to have been a major consideration. This is in sharp contrast to the FTA; the overwhelming reason for that bilateral initiative was fear of increasing United States protectionism. Nonetheless, although markedly different in origin and nature, both regional developments are highly significant in that they will foster integration in the two largest and richest markets of the world, as well as provoke questions about the future direction of the world trading system.


1. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
(A) describe an initiative and propose its continuance
(B) chronicle a development and illustrate its inconsistencies
(C) identify a trend and suggest its importance
(D) summarize a process and question its significance
(E) report a phenomenon and outline its probable future
2. According to the passage, all of the following are elements of the shifting world economy EXCEPT
(A) an alteration in the role played by governments
(B) an increase in interaction between national governments and international regulatory institutions
(C) an increase in the formation of multinational trading alliances
(D) an increase in integration in the two richest markets of the world
(E) a fear of increasing United States protectionism
3. The passage suggests which of the following about global corporations?
(A) Their continued growth depends on the existence of a fully integrated international market.
(B) Their potential effect on the world market is a matter of ongoing concern to international institutions.
(C) They will have to assume quasi-governmental functions if current economic trends continue.
(D) They have provided a model of economic success for regional trading blocs.
(E) Their influence on world economics will continue to increase.
4. According to the passage, one similarity between the FTA and Europe 1992 is that they both
(A) overcame concerns about the role of politics in the shifting world economy

(B) originated out of concern over unfair trade practices by other nations
(C) exemplify a trend toward regionalization of commercial markets
(D) place the economic needs of the trading bloc ahead of those of the member nations
(E) help to ensure the continued economic viability of the world community
5. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the European Community prior to the adoption of the Europe 1992 program?
(A) There were restrictions on commerce between the member nations.
(B) The economic policies of the member nations focused on global trading issues.
(C) There were few impediments to trade between the member nations and the United States.
(D) The flow of goods between the member nations and Canada was insignificant.
(E) Relations between multinational corporations and the governments of the member nations were strained.
6. The author discusses the FTA and Europe 1992 most likely in order to
(A) point out the similarities between two seemingly disparate trading alliances
(B) illustrate how different economic motivations produce different types of trading blocs
(C) provide contrasting examples of a trend that is influencing the world economy
(D) identify the most important characteristics of successful economic integration
(E) trace the history of regional trading blocs
7. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

(A) An argument is put forth and evidence for and against it given.
(B) An assertion is made and opposing evidence presented.
(C) Two hypotheses are described and shown to inconsistent with one another.
(D) A phenomenon is identified and illustrations of this phenomenon offered.
(E) A specific case of a phenomenon is discussed a generalization drawn

[spoiler]OA : CBECACD[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]
my answers: EBDECCE

Please exaplin me why my answers are wrong. I think I did understand the passage but even though i got only 2 correct.

Please explain me how to tackle this kind of RCs.

Experts please help

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by hja379 » Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:31 am
I got 4 answers right. 1, 5 & 7 are wrong. I am waiting for the experts to crack this.

By the way, what is the source of this passage?

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by prac » Wed Jan 19, 2011 7:14 am
I picked it from different forum

Please let me the exaplantions of those you got correct

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by Adam@Knewton » Wed Jan 19, 2011 3:20 pm
Okay! A fun passage, and very very GMAT-like, especially in terms of its length and its denseness of language, although GMAT passages will only have 3-4 questions each. The first thing when reading this is to be prepared to answer questions on its Big Ideas. Properly done, this will answer questions 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7. How can it answer that many questions, you ask? Here's how:

When I read this passage, I found the beginning VERY dense, but as soon as it settled into examples, there was something to sink my teeth into. The passage gives two examples, Europe 1992 and the FTA. I asked myself, examples of WHAT? Looking back over what I had just read, I saw they were examples of "regional trading blocs" which were formed because of a new trend in the global economy: the increase in "interaction between governments and global corporations." Whatever that means, I now had a main idea. The following sentences explain how the two are different (first) and similar (second). If they ask me about that, I know where to look. I then wrote down a main idea:

"To explore two examples of a major trend towards the future global economy, their similarities and differences."

It seems wordy but, again, this is enough to answer 5 of the 7 questions. Let's see how:

1. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
My prediction: What I wrote above. None of the choices match exactly, but the fact that it was about the "future" and this new "trend" led me to the right answer.
(A) continuance -- no, this is about a new trend toward the future. Also, there is no "initiative."
(B) inconsistences -- no, even though differences are discussed, the similarities are stressed.
(C) trend -- yes! importance -- yes!
(D) question its significance -- opposite! author thinks it's VERY significant.
(E) outline its future -- tempting, but we don't really outline its future, just suggest that it has a big one.
Answer: C

(skipping #2 for later; see below)

3. The passage suggests which of the following about global corporations?
This seems like a detailed Inference question ... but I already noted how corporations fit into the Main Idea: they will have to interact more and more with governments in the new economy. Maybe there's some harder Inference -- I can never be sure what they really want -- but I'm only going to look for it IF this first, obvious thing has no match among the choices
(A) "full integrated international market" and "depends" are a little strong for my first prediction.
(B) "international institutions" aren't really talked about, much less their "concerns" -- this is misusing language from the "concerns over protectionism" part later on, and is a Misused Detail.
(C) This is a classic distortion -- they will interact with governments, not replace them, despite the implication of the new NBC show "The Cape." :D
(D) Another distortion, mixing them up with trading blocs, which are in the following sentence.
(E) Aha! Look, this is just part of the main idea! They're important and they're getting more important into the future. Why bother rereading all the answer choices or thinking too hard? We're done here.
Answer: E

4. According to the passage, one similarity between the FTA and Europe 1992 is that they both
No, this isn't a Main Idea question, but it tells me EXACTLY where to look if I remember my first reading: the final sentence of the passage. Even before I look there, though, does my Main Idea show up in any of the answers?
(A) Politics aren't directly mentioned, much less concerns.
(B) This comes from the previous sentence, about their differences. Misused Detail.
(C) Aha! The main idea of the passage again! Probably the right answer...
(D) This is the classic "very-likely-but-not-in-the-passage" answer choice. It's just not what this author says, even if it's true. Out of scope.
(E) The "world community" is totally not mentioned in the latter half of this passage. Out of scope.
Answer: C

(skipping #5 for later; see below)

6. The author discusses the FTA and Europe 1992 most likely in order to
Hmm... "in order to" means think about the primary purpose. Why are these details here? They are examples of trading blocs that are a result of the new trend in global economies. Like we've already said. Does any choice match that?
(A) similarities is only part of it -- also not the main idea
(B) motivations never discussed -- also not main idea
(C) "contrasting" has me worried, since they don't completely contrast -- but "a trend that is influencing world economy" is so perfect I could faint!
(D) no comparison to other "characteristics" -- also not main idea
(E) there is no "history," just two examples.
Answer: C

7. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
I already have my prediction in hand: New trend-->Resultant new entities-->Two examples discussed
(A) no "argument"
(B) no "assertion" and no "opposing evidence"
(C) no "hypotheses" and no "inconsistencies"
(D) phenomenon=new trend/new entities; illustrations=examples; offered=appropriately neutral. Yes!
(E) more than one "specific case" and no generalization at the end.
Answer: D

Not too bad, eh? Admittedly, sometimes that Main Idea prediction doesn't match anything, so you have to go back into the passage to research, eliminate what you can, and all that. But it's really true here that getting a good idea of the author's main point and structure and using that to predict the right answer gets a majority of the questions right. Notice that I predicted an answer and found it -- my explanations of the wrong answers were meant to help explain their wrongness, but when doing this passage on Test Day I wouldn't overthink them so much -- the first question I ask is always ONLY "Does this match my prediction?" If I get a "yes," it's the answer, move on. If I get a "no" to all 5, THEN I have to make a better prediction. This technique really works, if you can force yourself to do it.

As to the questions that require a little rereading:

2. According to the passage, all of the following are elements of the shifting world economy EXCEPT
Let's go back and see what is part of the new economy:
i) bigger role for corporations;
ii) more interaction between governments and corporations;
iii) regional trading blocs
Let's see where that gets us:

A) Eliminated by (ii) above
B) Not eliminated by anything. Keep it.
C) Eliminated by (iii) above
D) Would be eliminated by (iii), but only if they say something about the two richest markets. Do they? Hmm.. let's look.. yes they do, at the end, so, it's okay to eliminate.
E) Not eliminated by anything.

If you remember the passage, you'll see that (B) is a Distortion of the part where they say that the future will NOT be shaped by governments/international institutions. Because I did remember this, I picked (B) right away before eliminating the rest. However, it's easy to re-read for the words "international regulatory institutions" at this stage and see what you get. Similarly, with (E), if you remember you can eliminate it, and if not you re-read for the word "protectionism" and see that yes, this is mentioned as part of the FTA, so it's in the passage. Eliminate.
Answer: B

5. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the European Community prior to the adoption of the Europe 1992 program?
What do they tell us about Europe 1992? The first thing is that it was there to "dismantle impediments." This means we can infer that, prior to this, there WERE "impediments to the free flow of goods etc." Let's scan for that before reading any further.
(A) Bingo. The answer. On test day, I'm done. Next question!
(B) Distortion, combining this detail with the "global trading issues" above.
(C) "few impediments" is the opposite of what we want; the US is a misused detail here.
(D) Canada is a misused detail here.
(E) This is misusing and distorting details from the wrong part of the passage.
Answer: A

So, what have we learned?

* Get a solid idea of the main idea of the passage and the "why" behind the author's examples. That's all you need to answer most questions.
* Make a prediction before doing anything with the answer choices. Look to find the right answer, not to eliminate the wrong ones. Elimination, on Verbal as well as Math, is only when you can't do the question the right way.
* Assume the Main Idea will play a role in many questions, even Detail/Inference/Function questions (especially Function questions!).
* Only when answers don't match what you predicted should you go back and read more (or more carefully). But always do reread when you have to -- don't pick an answer that's "close." Remember, on the GMAT, "close" just means "wrong"!
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by prac » Thu Jan 20, 2011 4:50 am
Thank you so much for such a great explanation.


AdamKnewton wrote:Okay! A fun passage, and very very GMAT-like, especially in terms of its length and its denseness of language, although GMAT passages will only have 3-4 questions each. The first thing when reading this is to be prepared to answer questions on its Big Ideas. Properly done, this will answer questions 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7. How can it answer that many questions, you ask? Here's how:

When I read this passage, I found the beginning VERY dense, but as soon as it settled into examples, there was something to sink my teeth into. The passage gives two examples, Europe 1992 and the FTA. I asked myself, examples of WHAT? Looking back over what I had just read, I saw they were examples of "regional trading blocs" which were formed because of a new trend in the global economy: the increase in "interaction between governments and global corporations." Whatever that means, I now had a main idea. The following sentences explain how the two are different (first) and similar (second). If they ask me about that, I know where to look. I then wrote down a main idea:

"To explore two examples of a major trend towards the future global economy, their similarities and differences."

It seems wordy but, again, this is enough to answer 5 of the 7 questions. Let's see how:

1. The primary purpose of the passage as a whole is to
My prediction: What I wrote above. None of the choices match exactly, but the fact that it was about the "future" and this new "trend" led me to the right answer.
(A) continuance -- no, this is about a new trend toward the future. Also, there is no "initiative."
(B) inconsistences -- no, even though differences are discussed, the similarities are stressed.
(C) trend -- yes! importance -- yes!
(D) question its significance -- opposite! author thinks it's VERY significant.
(E) outline its future -- tempting, but we don't really outline its future, just suggest that it has a big one.
Answer: C

(skipping #2 for later; see below)

3. The passage suggests which of the following about global corporations?
This seems like a detailed Inference question ... but I already noted how corporations fit into the Main Idea: they will have to interact more and more with governments in the new economy. Maybe there's some harder Inference -- I can never be sure what they really want -- but I'm only going to look for it IF this first, obvious thing has no match among the choices
(A) "full integrated international market" and "depends" are a little strong for my first prediction.
(B) "international institutions" aren't really talked about, much less their "concerns" -- this is misusing language from the "concerns over protectionism" part later on, and is a Misused Detail.
(C) This is a classic distortion -- they will interact with governments, not replace them, despite the implication of the new NBC show "The Cape." :D
(D) Another distortion, mixing them up with trading blocs, which are in the following sentence.
(E) Aha! Look, this is just part of the main idea! They're important and they're getting more important into the future. Why bother rereading all the answer choices or thinking too hard? We're done here.
Answer: E

4. According to the passage, one similarity between the FTA and Europe 1992 is that they both
No, this isn't a Main Idea question, but it tells me EXACTLY where to look if I remember my first reading: the final sentence of the passage. Even before I look there, though, does my Main Idea show up in any of the answers?
(A) Politics aren't directly mentioned, much less concerns.
(B) This comes from the previous sentence, about their differences. Misused Detail.
(C) Aha! The main idea of the passage again! Probably the right answer...
(D) This is the classic "very-likely-but-not-in-the-passage" answer choice. It's just not what this author says, even if it's true. Out of scope.
(E) The "world community" is totally not mentioned in the latter half of this passage. Out of scope.
Answer: C

(skipping #5 for later; see below)

6. The author discusses the FTA and Europe 1992 most likely in order to
Hmm... "in order to" means think about the primary purpose. Why are these details here? They are examples of trading blocs that are a result of the new trend in global economies. Like we've already said. Does any choice match that?
(A) similarities is only part of it -- also not the main idea
(B) motivations never discussed -- also not main idea
(C) "contrasting" has me worried, since they don't completely contrast -- but "a trend that is influencing world economy" is so perfect I could faint!
(D) no comparison to other "characteristics" -- also not main idea
(E) there is no "history," just two examples.
Answer: C

7. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
I already have my prediction in hand: New trend-->Resultant new entities-->Two examples discussed
(A) no "argument"
(B) no "assertion" and no "opposing evidence"
(C) no "hypotheses" and no "inconsistencies"
(D) phenomenon=new trend/new entities; illustrations=examples; offered=appropriately neutral. Yes!
(E) more than one "specific case" and no generalization at the end.
Answer: D

Not too bad, eh? Admittedly, sometimes that Main Idea prediction doesn't match anything, so you have to go back into the passage to research, eliminate what you can, and all that. But it's really true here that getting a good idea of the author's main point and structure and using that to predict the right answer gets a majority of the questions right. Notice that I predicted an answer and found it -- my explanations of the wrong answers were meant to help explain their wrongness, but when doing this passage on Test Day I wouldn't overthink them so much -- the first question I ask is always ONLY "Does this match my prediction?" If I get a "yes," it's the answer, move on. If I get a "no" to all 5, THEN I have to make a better prediction. This technique really works, if you can force yourself to do it.

As to the questions that require a little rereading:

2. According to the passage, all of the following are elements of the shifting world economy EXCEPT
Let's go back and see what is part of the new economy:
i) bigger role for corporations;
ii) more interaction between governments and corporations;
iii) regional trading blocs
Let's see where that gets us:

A) Eliminated by (ii) above
B) Not eliminated by anything. Keep it.
C) Eliminated by (iii) above
D) Would be eliminated by (iii), but only if they say something about the two richest markets. Do they? Hmm.. let's look.. yes they do, at the end, so, it's okay to eliminate.
E) Not eliminated by anything.

If you remember the passage, you'll see that (B) is a Distortion of the part where they say that the future will NOT be shaped by governments/international institutions. Because I did remember this, I picked (B) right away before eliminating the rest. However, it's easy to re-read for the words "international regulatory institutions" at this stage and see what you get. Similarly, with (E), if you remember you can eliminate it, and if not you re-read for the word "protectionism" and see that yes, this is mentioned as part of the FTA, so it's in the passage. Eliminate.
Answer: B

5. Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about the European Community prior to the adoption of the Europe 1992 program?
What do they tell us about Europe 1992? The first thing is that it was there to "dismantle impediments." This means we can infer that, prior to this, there WERE "impediments to the free flow of goods etc." Let's scan for that before reading any further.
(A) Bingo. The answer. On test day, I'm done. Next question!
(B) Distortion, combining this detail with the "global trading issues" above.
(C) "few impediments" is the opposite of what we want; the US is a misused detail here.
(D) Canada is a misused detail here.
(E) This is misusing and distorting details from the wrong part of the passage.
Answer: A

So, what have we learned?

* Get a solid idea of the main idea of the passage and the "why" behind the author's examples. That's all you need to answer most questions.
* Make a prediction before doing anything with the answer choices. Look to find the right answer, not to eliminate the wrong ones. Elimination, on Verbal as well as Math, is only when you can't do the question the right way.
* Assume the Main Idea will play a role in many questions, even Detail/Inference/Function questions (especially Function questions!).
* Only when answers don't match what you predicted should you go back and read more (or more carefully). But always do reread when you have to -- don't pick an answer that's "close." Remember, on the GMAT, "close" just means "wrong"!

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by masoom j negi » Sat Dec 22, 2018 2:49 am
The author's main objective in writing the passage is to explore a major trend which he feels reflects the future course that might shape the global economy by citing the examples of two regional trading blocs. This is what option (C) states. Hence, it is the correct answer.
The passage does not talk of an 'initiative' or 'continuance'. Hence incorrect.
The passage does mention difference, but stresses more on similarities, so 'inconsistencies' in option (B) makes it incorrect.
Option (D) states what is contrary to the author's views, because the author does not question its significance. So, this is incorrect too.
A reading of the last line of the passage shows that the author is speculating about the future of the world trading system, not outlining its probable future. Hence, option (E) can be ruled out.

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by masoom j negi » Sat Dec 22, 2018 2:50 am
2. To answer this question, we need to look for an option that is not contributing as an element of the shifting world economy. The elements of the new economy, as mentioned by the author are bigger role for corporations, more interaction between government and corporations and regional trading blocs. None of these is mentioned in option (B) and the first line states just the opposite, "the international economic environment will be shaped increasingly not by governments or international institutions". Hence, it is the correct answer.
Option (A) mentions a change in the role played by the government. So, it can be eliminated.
Option (C) refers to trading blocs, hence it can be ruled out too.
Option (D) again refers to regional trading blocs, so can be eliminated.
Option (E) is mentioned as a part of the FTA, which is a regional trading bloc, so this can be eliminated too.