Reading Comprehension

“They can because they think they can” - Virgil

Reading for the GMAT is easy once you understand how the passages are constructed. This part of the GMAT primarily tests your ability to understand the main ideas in a short article.

The passages only span four genres (humanities or social science, physical science, biological science, and business) and all follow one of four styles (defining, comparing/contrasting, advocating, and refuting). You’ll be very familiar with these genres and styles after you’ve gone through some practice passages and questions.

Don’t try to understand every little detail in the passages because the goal is not comprehension, but rather finding the right answer choice!

There is a common saying: can’t see the forest for the trees. This applies to evaluating the text in the Reading Comprehension part of the GMAT. When you first read the passage, you need to look at it from afar before analyzing its details. Pay attention to the scope of the passage and try to understand its overall intent; that is, read with the goal of understanding the main idea, the author's tone, and the purpose. If you are able to grasp these basic elements, you have won half the battle as many of the reading comprehension questions on the GMAT will probe your understanding of these fundamentals. After you have a good idea of the scope of the passage, you can start analyzing it in more detail.

Break it Down

Now that you have looked at the entire passage as a whole to understand the scope, begin to break it down into smaller parts. This doesn’t mean that you need to break down each sentence and comprehend every little detail. At this point you are just looking for the major supporting details.

Remember that not every sentence will be critical to answering the questions; there will be only into a few key pieces of text that need to be noticed. You should look primarily for these important sentences, although you may also find that some secondary sentences help you understand the key concepts of the passage. Sadly, you don’t have a lot of time to go over the passages, analyze them, pick out the good points and the bad points, and understand the concepts. After all, the test is timed, so you have to work quickly and efficiently. Not all sentences are equal. Some are important, while others are not. Identifying which is which will help you a lot. Here are a few tips that should help you.

1.     Focus on the topic sentence in each paragraph. Topic sentences can be identify with key words such as: therefore, main, most important, in conclusion

2.     Read the important stuff very carefully to fully understand it. Important sentences are generally those that are set off by transition words such as: yet, so, while, although, despite, in fact, first,

3.     Only glance over the secondary and pointless details of a passage. These sentences tend to be the ones that are bogged down with details and scientific words. They support the topic sentences and main points, but aren’t necessary to read to get the general idea.

Things to Remember…

•       To quickly answer most of the questions, make sure that you understand the key points of the article and ask yourself: Why was the article written? Keep these in mind when you read the passage. Do not get sucked into trying to figure out the details. Grasp the main ideas first. Read the entire passage, as the main idea and key points may not be obvious unless you do so.

•       Always quickly scan the entire passage to get a rough idea of what it is about. Then, create a mental image of how the passage is structured and the key points in each paragraph. Do not try to memorize details, but do try to summarize the key points of each paragraph into one or two sentences. As long as you understand the structure of the passage and know that you can find information, you can always go back to sift through the details if necessary.

Again:

1.     Scan the passage;

2.     Grasp the main ideas, author’s intent, and key points;

3.     Understand the paragraph structure;

4.     Go back to find details only when a question requires details.

•       Spend no more than five minutes reading the passage and roughly one minute per question. Since some passages are long, be sure that you are comfortable with the speed at which you read them.

•       Read the questions carefully and don’t be confused by answer choices that contain the same words or phrases as those in the passage. This is a common trap used in Reading Comprehension questions to trick you into selecting the wrong answer. Pay attention to the meaning of the answer choices and not how the sentence is constructed.

•       If the passage contains a lot of technical terms (for example, scientific language), do not panic! The GMAT does not require you to have any knowledge in specific fields. All of the information you need is in the question. There is no need to panic. Attack these passages with the same tactics as you use for other passages and get a good understanding of the key points and the structure of the paragraphs.

•       Understand that the information needed to answer questions containing references to a line will not be far from that particular line in the passage. This is also why you don’t have to memorize details but can instead refer to the passage to find the information you need.

•       Pay extra attention if you see a question or answer choice that uses information from different parts of the passage, as this is a common trap. Most of the time, the information needed to answer the question will be located close to that part of the passage. So, answer choices using information from different parts of the passage are likely not the correct answers.

Sample Passages

Passage 1: Compare and Contrast Humanities Passage

In Eastern medicine, the body is looked at as a system of cooperating parts working together towards a common goal: optimal health. Western medicine, on the other hand, tends to focus on specific parts of the body rather than the body as a whole. For example, when one has a stomach ache, a visit to the Eastern doctor would result in a diagnosis that might contain some imbalance of chi, or life energy, that presents itself in stomach pain. The treatment would be to restore the balance of chi in the body through accupressure, herbs, diet, and exercise. The Eastern doctor might also check the energy flow to other parts of the body to ensure that good health is achieved quickly.

In the West, the approach is vastly different. The patient might go to the doctor, have some tests done, receive a diagnosis, and get a pill to take to suppress the symptoms. If the pain goes away, the patient is free to go on about his or her life. If not, more pills are given until the pain stops. The goal of Western medicine is to attack the problem (which is seen as the symptom itself) and to make it go away. The goal of Eastern medicine is to determine why the symptom is happening, to correct the problem that caused it, and to strengthen that part of the body to prevent the problem from happening again.

Many Western doctors have criticized Eastern medicine for delaying necessary treatment by focusing time on restoring balance instead of attacking the problem. However, Eastern medicine is also about preventing problems from ever happening by keeping the body in balance. Eastern doctors criticize Western medicine for failing to address the underlying problems that are leading to health problems and for exacerbating the problem by only treating symptoms. They believe that disease can be prevented and minimized by maintaining a healthy body and mind.

The two philosophies represent very different ways of looking at the body and treating disease. As more immigrants from the East have begun to arrive in the West, Eastern medicine is becoming more familiar and is forcing Western medical practitioners to question their approach. This will no doubt affect the way people around the world treat their bodies for generations to come.

Questions:

1. The author is primarily concerned with

A. attacking Western medicine

B. promoting Eastern medicine

C. analyzing the role of symptom suppression in the medical field

D. the difference between Eastern and Western medical philosophies

E. showing how cultural differences can affect views of medicine

For questions that relate to the main idea, go to the last paragraph of the passage, where you will find a clue to the answer. The last sentence says: "This will no doubt affect the way people around the world treat their bodies for generations to come." This tells you that something has changed. What has changed? "As more immigrants from the East have begun to arrive in the West, Eastern medicine is becoming more familiar and is forcing Western medical practitioners to question their approach." Now, what is the passage about? How Western medicine is changing due to Eastern medicine? Not quite. Let's go back to the first paragraph of the passage and the first line: "In Eastern medicine, the body is looked at as a system of cooperating parts working together towards a common goal: optimal health. Western medicine, on the other hand, tends to focus on specific parts of the body rather than the body as a whole." So we know that the passage is focused on the difference between Eastern and Western medical practices. Let's see if one of our answer choices fits.

D. the difference between Eastern and Western medical philosophies

Yes, this works! Because this is a main idea question, we know that choices A, B, and C are far too specific. They all relate to topics that are covered in the passage, but are too narrow to be the main idea. Choice E is a bit too broad. It is true that cultural differences can affect views of medicine (people from the East like Eastern medicine and people from the West like Western medicine) but this isn't talked about in depth.

2. Why does the author use the example of a patient who visits an Eastern doctor for stomach pain?

A. To illustrate the difference between Eastern and Western medical treatment

B. To prove that Eastern medicine is better than Western medicine

C. To provide concrete medical facts to back up his or her opinions

D. To give an example that can be easily visualized

E. To attack Western medicine's method of symptom suppression

Choices B and E should be eliminated right away. The author is more or less neutral and not attacking either Eastern or Western medicine or saying which is better. Choice C can also be eliminated as the author is not backing up an opinion but simply explaining how the Eastern and Western approaches are different. Choice D might be true, but there is no good reason to believe that this is the best answer based on the passage. Choice A is the best and only answer, and shows that the author is using an example (a man with a stomach ache) to demonstrate his main idea.

3. What does the author mean when he suggests that Eastern doctors take a more holistic approach to medicine?

A. They are treating the mind, body, and spirit simultaneously

B. They take into account a variety of different sources when making a diagnosis and prescribing treatment

C. They combine Eastern and Western medicinal approaches

D. They tend to prescribe herbs and homeopathic remedies

E. They work only with a patient's energy field to diagnose and treat health problems

Based on the context of the entire passage, we know that Eastern medicine seeks to keep the body in balance by understanding the body as a whole. Let's look at a few answer choices and see if any of these are supported by evidence in the passage.

A mentions treating "mind, body, and spirit." The author never talks about the "spirit" in the passage, and this choice sounds a bit too "new age" to be a credible answer.

C is simply wrong since the author never mentions combining the philosophies.

D is indeed something Eastern medicine does but this is not what holistic means.

E might be true, but the author mentions that Eastern medicine also uses accupressure, herbs, diet, and exercise, not simply energy fields.

B is the correct answer. It says that the Eastern doctors use multiple information sources (such as chi, symptoms, patient's history, body as a whole) when making a diagnosis. This is very much aligned with the passage as a whole and reflects a more holistic approach.

More Practice from the GMAT® Review 13th Edition: Questions 4, 6, 22, 50, 71, 101

Passage 2: Advocacy Social Science Passage

Jean Ayres, a prominent American psychologist and occupational therapist, developed the sensory integration theory during the 1960s. She believed that many children who have learning and behavioral difficulties are suffering from a neurological disorder called Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). In SPD, the nervous system disrupts the organization and processing of information received through the five primary senses of hearing, touching, smelling, tasting and seeing. Two additional senses, the vestibular and proprioceptive senses which control balance and sensory input from the muscles and joints, respectively, are also affected. Because of this disruption, children with SPD often have difficulty performing age-appropriate activities related to movement and coordination. They may also suffer from an inability to properly modulate sensory input, resulting in withdrawal from normal activities because they find the sensory experiences associated with those activities overwhelming or, conversely, they may actively seek extra stimulation because they crave more sensory input.

Occupational therapy that focuses on "re-teaching" the brain and body to appropriately work with sensory input can be a highly effective treatment for the disorder. Therapeutic activities are tailored to the needs of the individual child, for instance, a weighted vest might be used on a child who craves sensory pressure, while a child who becomes distracted easily might be given a specialized "sensory diet" focused on improving attention. Often, parents and family members are trained by the occupational therapist (OT) to provide supplementary treatment and opportunities to support their child's development in the home and in normal life situations.

SPD is not yet an accepted diagnosis in medical manuals such as the DSM-IV-TR but awareness of the disorder is growing, particularly among parents, teachers, and childcare providers who are often on the front lines of helping these children find ways to cope with their disorder. Because diagnosis is difficult and therapeutic treatment is not covered by insurance, many children who suffer from the disorder remain untreated, a reality that costs them opportunities for development at home and in their schools. More proactive measures should be taken by communities to educate parents and teachers about the disorder so that children with SPD receive the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment they need to thrive.

Questions:

1. The author seems to be focused mostly on

A. the biological aspects of sensory integration

B. the benefits of occupational therapy for children with disorders

C. the steps that should be taken to enable SPD sufferers to succeed at home and at school

D. persuading the medical community to include SPD in the DSM-IV-TR

E. Jean Ayres' legacy

This passage advocates a particular position on SPD, emphasizing that more must be done to help children with the disorder. Passages that advocate typically have a strong last paragraph that emphasizes the writer's viewpoint and encourages the reader to adopt that view. Based on the third paragraph, we see that the author believes that "More proactive measures should be taken by communities to educate parents and teachers about the disorder so that children with SPD receive the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment they need to thrive." Which answer choice best matches this point?

A and B are too specific. C captures the general essence of the paragraph. D is more general but there is no specific mention of this being the primary message. E is off topic.

The answer is C, which does emphasize the author's focus.

2. According to the passage, why might children with SPD have trouble performing age-appropriate tasks related to movement?

A. Because children with SPD cannot control their hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, and seeing

B. Because parents and teachers do not understand the tasks appropriate for each age

C. Because the children get too distracted to complete the tasks

D. Because SPD affects children's vestibular and proprioceptive senses which affect movement and balance

E. Because they are suffering from a learning disability

Here, we're asked about movement. We need to find a relevant part of the passage that might contain the answer. Look for the word "movement" in the passage and you will find that it is in the first paragraph: "Two additional senses, the vestibular and proprioceptive senses which control balance and sensory input from the muscles and joints, respectively, are also affected. Because of this disruption, children with SPD often have difficulty performing age-appropriate activities related to movement and coordination."

The only choice that directly relates to information in the passage is choice D, which mentions the proprioceptive and vestibular senses.

3. The author implies that the role of the parents and family members of the child with SPD is to

A. love the child unconditionally despite their disability

B. raise awareness about the disorder in the community

C. put political pressure on the medical community to recognize the disorder

D. ensure that the child's school has adequately trained teachers

E. play an active role in the therapeutic interventions prescribed by the OT

This question is a bit tougher because the author does not come out and state exactly what he or she believes the role of parents is in regard to their children with SPD. However, we can narrow down the choices by process of elimination. Choices A and B are both outside of the scope of the passage. C is too extreme and the author never mentions political pressure. D is mentioned, but not specifically for parents, rather for communities. Choice E is mentioned in the second paragraph where the author says: "Often, parents and family members are trained by the occupational therapist (OT) to provide supplementary treatment and opportunities to support their child's development in the home and in normal life situations."

More Practice from the GMAT® Review 13th Edition: Questions 17, 25, 60, 99

Passage 3: Technical Science Definition Passage

In 1916, Albert Einstein published his theory of general relativity which, among other postulates, supposed that the universe was static—that it neither expands nor contracts but remains a constant size. For over a decade, this belief was shared by most physicists and went unquestioned. But in 1929, Edwin Hubble discovered that, in fact, other galaxies were moving away from our own and that the universe was actually in a state of expansion.

Einstein's theory was then modified and the cosmological constant, a mathematical representation of the energy density of space was changed to reflect the universe's expansion. Scientists believed that the expansion of the universe would be slowing due to the force of gravity and began to measure the rate of deceleration. In 1998, however, they were astounded to discover that the rate of cosmic expansion was accelerating, a shock finding that caused scientists to once again reevaluate the accepted theories of physics. To account for the increased rate of expansion, scientists have posited the existence of a force they term "dark energy."

Dark energy is reputed to comprise approximately 73% of the universe. Unlike gravity, which pulls together, dark energy pushes apart. This constant battle between dark energy and gravity is what scientists now believe accounts for both the shape and the rate of expansion of the universe. Whereas it was previously assumed that gravity would eventually win this battle and lead to contraction (and the eventual collapse of the universe), the existence of dark energy may mean that the universe will expand infinitely.

NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy are currently supporting research into the nature of dark energy and its effect on the rate of cosmic expansion. Both agencies are funding missions that will allow for an unprecedented number of galaxies to be surveyed and, combined with new experiments that detect cosmic microwave background (a form of light that comes from the period shortly after the Big Bang when the universe first became transparent to light), will provide the data needed to trace the evolution and structure of the universe. The existence of dark energy had been posited prior to these recent missions, but the data needed to confirm its existence, and therefore its role in the expansion of the universe, had not existed. The data collected has helped scientists deduce the density of dark energy throughout the universe, which has given support to the cosmological event theory.

Questions:

1. Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?

A. It is uncertain whether the expansion of the universe is accelerating or decelerating

B. It took Edwin Hubble thirteen years to discover that the universe is expanding

C. The increased rate of cosmic expansion has scientists rethinking Einstein's theory of relativity

D. Despite the discovery of new evidence, the cosmological constant has not changed since Hubble's discovery

E. Dark energy comprises approximately one quarter of the universe

This is a main idea question. It's asking us to infer the main message of the passage, which means we'll have to check our answer in the first and last paragraph to see what the thesis is.

Let's look at the answer choices first. Choice A is simply wrong because the passage says that the universe is accelerating. Choice B is also wrong because Hubble did not take 13 years to make the discovery; there was a 13-year period between Einstein's theory and Hubble's discovery. Choice D is wrong because the cosmological constant has changed. Choice E is the opposite of what is stated in the passage, which says that dark energy comprises 73% of the universe, or close to three quarters, not one quarter.

Choice C is our best answer choice. If we look at the last paragraph, we can see that "the data collected has helped scientists deduce the density of dark energy throughout the universe, which has given support to the cosmological event theory." Because dark energy is responsible for the increase in cosmic expansion, and this discovery has caused scientists to reevaluate the accepted theories of physics (as stated in the 2nd paragraph), Choice C is the best answer.

2. The passage suggests that dark energy will affect the rate of cosmic expansion by

A. supporting cosmic background radiation

B. pulling galaxies together

C. pushing the galaxies apart

D. causing the universe to collapse

E. counteracting the force of gravity

This is a detail question. We have to look for "dark energy" in the passage to see what it says. Scanning the passage, we can see that the third paragraph seems to describe it the most. Let's look at the relevant sentences: "Unlike gravity, which pulls together, dark energy pushes apart. This constant battle between dark energy and gravity is what scientists now believe accounts for both the shape and the rate of expansion of the universe."

So we know that dark energy pushes apart. Is there a choice that states that? Yes, choice C is our answer. All other choices are either wrong (B and D) or are not precise enough (A and E are both mentioned in the passage but neither directly addresses how dark energy affects the rate of cosmic expansion).

3. According to the passage, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy are funding research ultimately intended to

A. explore dark energy

B. measure cosmic microwave background

C. understand gravity

D. determine the rate of cosmic expansion

E. support Einstein's revised theory of relativity

This question is asking about the research being done by NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy. Let's look at the relevant paragraph: "NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy are currently supporting research into the nature of dark energy and its effect on the rate of cosmic expansion. Both agencies are funding missions that will allow for an unprecedented number of galaxies to be surveyed and, combined with new experiments that detect cosmic microwave background..."

Based on the passage, the first part of the sentence tells us that NASA and the DOE are researching dark energy and its effect on the rate of cosmic expansion. So is it A or D? Let's look carefully. Choice A is simply researching dark energy, while D is about determining the rate of cosmic expansion. The problem with A is that this seems like an intermediate step. Dark energy is important only to the extent that it affects the rate of cosmic expansion, so D seems like the better answer.

4. The author mentions the cosmic microwave background because

A. he wants to incorporate information about the Big Bang into the passage

B. it represents the most important discovery made by recent missions

C. it helps support the case for dark energy by exposing it as the missing link between the CMB and the heretofore unexplained lack of space density

D. It does not relate to the topic at hand and should not have been mentioned

E. NASA and the Department of Energy are supporting experiments on it

When the author mentions the cosmic microwave background (CMB), he explains in a parenthetical that it is "a form of light that comes from the period shortly after the Big Bang when the universe first became transparent to light." This is a definition that helps the reader understand what this scientific term means. However, it does not help us answer the question. Let's read on and see what he says after this definition. We see that the new experiments detecting CMB "will provide the data needed to trace the evolution and structure of the universe." We then get to the critical part: "The existence of dark energy had been posited prior to these recent missions, but the data needed to confirm its existence, and therefore its role in the expansion of the universe, had not existed. The data collected has helped scientists deduce the density of dark energy throughout the universe, which has given support to the cosmological event theory."

So, what is the CMB good for? It provides data that has helped scientists deduce the density of dark energy. Let's see if there is an answer choice that fits. Choice A only looks at the definition and not at the relevance of CMB. Choice B is unsupported by the passage. Choice D is clearly wrong because it is related to the topic. Choice E is true but doesn't tell us why the author mentioned it.

Choice C is our answer and the mention of the "missing link" relates to the fact that the data needed to confirm the existence of dark energy had not existed previously.

More Practice from the GMAT® Review 13th Edition: Questions 21, 42, 84

Practice Reference Guide

Here's a helpful matrix for finding additional Reading Comprehension passages in the Official GMAT Guide 13th Edition:

Type	Humanities/Social Science	Physical Science
Define	Questions 37, 45, 56, 79, 96, 106	Questions 30, 66, 94
Compare/Contrast	Questions 9, 13, 87, 90, 113	Question 111
Advocate	Questions 54, 63, 75, 104, 109	Questions 40, 48
Refute	Questions 27, 35, 52, 120	Questions 69, 82, 116, 118