Craft and structure

Question 1

In recent years, economic sanctions—penalties designed to alter another government’s political and/or military behavior when the behavior does not comply with international norms—have become a frequently employed tool in international policy. While effective in some cases, these measures can also have unintended consequences, such as harming civilian populations or disrupting global markets. Some critics argue that economic sanctions tend to _____ the very issues they aim to resolve: by creating economic instability and deepening animosities between nations, sanctions can actually lead to an increase in domestic support for the targeted regime, thereby emboldening them to persist with the objectionable conduct.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A. Redress
B. Exarcebate
C. Reimburse
D. Commemorate

Answer 1

Choice B is correct.
This is the best choice. “Exacerbate” means to make something that’s already bad even worse, which matches the context clues here.

Question 2

Close analysis of the painting Girl with a Flute, long attributed to the seventeenth-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, has revealed subtle deviations from the artist’s signature techniques. These variations suggest that the work may be that of a student under Vermeer’s tutelage—potentially ______ our understanding of Vermeer as a solitary artist.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. Negating
B. Entrenching
C. Substantiating
D. Prefiguring

Answer 2

Choice A is correct. This is the best choice. “Negating” means “reversing” or “making invalid”. Proving that Vermeer worked with students would reverse the view of him as a solitary artist.

Question 3

Works of moral philosophy, such as Plato’s Republic or Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, are partly concerned with how to live a morally good life. But philosopher Jonathan Barnes argues that works that present a method of living such a life without also supplying a motive are inherently useful only to those already wishing to be morally good—those with no desire for moral goodness will not choose to follow their rules. However, some works of moral philosophy attempt to describe what constitutes a morally good life while also proposing reasons for living one.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It mentions two renowned works and then claims that despite their popularity it is impossible for these works to serve the purpose their authors intended.

B. It summarizes the history of a field of thought by discussing two works and then proposes a topic of further research for specialists in that field.

C. It describes two influential works and then explains why one is more widely read than the other.

D. It provides a characterization about a field of thought by noting two works in it and then details a way in which some works in that field are more comprehensive than others.

Answer 3

D. It provides a characterization about a field of thought by noting two works in it and then details a way in which some works in that field are more comprehensive than others.
Correct
It provides a characterization about a field of thought by noting two works in it and then details a way in which some works in that field are more comprehensive than others.
This is the best choice. The text starts by stating what moral philosophy is concerned with and naming two examples of works in the field. Then it describes a shortcoming of some works in that field (they say how but not why), and finally it states that other works try to avoid that shortcoming (by including both how and why to live a morally good life).

Question 4

Economist Marco Castillo and colleagues showed that nuisance costs—the time and effort people must spend to make donations—reduce charitable giving. Charities can mitigate this effect by compensating donors for nuisance costs, but those costs, though variable, are largely ______ donation size, so charities that compensate donors will likely favor attracting a few large donors over many small donors.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Choose 1 answer:

A. predictive of
B. subsumed in
C. independent of
D. supplemental to

Answer 4

C. independent of
Correct (selected)
independent of
This is the best choice. We’re told that charities that pay donors back for nuisance costs will attract a few large donors instead of many small donors. This suggests that nuisance costs are not linked to donation size.