Unlike birds that simply spread viruses from an animal to another animal, pigs are the "----

vessel" where viruses swap genes and become----, deadly germs.

(A)   comprehensive.. small

(B)   complicated.. general
(C)   frustrated.. important
(D)   mixing.. new
(E)   lethal.. big

2. Ancient cities were----destroyed, but archeologists have found sufficient information to

demonstrate an occasionally----but generally complete picture in Tan Era.

(A)   mostly.. fragmentary

(B)   obviously.. necessary
(C)   unwittingly.. whole
(D)   partially.. famous
(E)   fully.. necessary

3. Since the primary criterion to evaluate a company is its current performance, analysts
------ to consider its previous credit.

(A) refused
(B) wished
(C) planned
(D) extended
(E) caused

4. According to Maslow's theory of need hierarchy, material is the ---- demand of human
beings, in that it provides the founding floor from which the other demands are generated.

(A) essential
(B) basic
(C) final
(D) cheap
(E) emotional

5. To be a true leader, a manager must not be too----: any effective leader depends on the
ability of other people to----with each other.

(A)   popular.. agree

(B)   adventurous ..communicate
(C)   independent.. cooperate
(D)   self-confident.. argue
(E)   pragmatic.. disagree

6. It is not surprising that superior service can generate competitive advantage for a
company, but the effort taken to improve service can often be -----------.

(A)    difficult
(B)    expected
(C)    diversified
(D)    unpredictable
(E)    promising

GRE Reading Comprehension

The cutting-edge science is ringing alarm bells. Avian flu virus picked up by pigs can
swap genetic materials with another flu virus already in the pig and become a new, hitherto
unknown flu virus for which no person, no animal has preexisting immunity. The kind of
virus causes a pandemic because it spreads from human to human.

If you took a peek into history, it turns out that previous influenza pandemics have similar
scenarios. The greatest influenza pandemic in 1918 caused more than 20 million deaths of
soldiers stationed in France. The last influenza pandemic was in 1968, known as the Hong
Kong flu (H3N2). Thousands of deaths and millions were infected worldwide.

The other examples are the Nipah virus and Japanese Encephalitis virus, which find pigs to
be good hosts. With JE, the virus circulates in the blood of infected pigs. When infected
pigs are bitten by Culex mosquitoes, the virus replicates in the mosquito's gut. The next
time the mosquito bites a human, the virus is passed on. The pig doesn't get sick as such.
The Nipah virus causes pneumonia symptoms in pigs. In humans, it causes encephalitis,
and humans catch it only with direct contact with infected pigs. Symptoms range from
mild headache to permanent brain damage, and can be fatal.

It's merely a phenomenon of nature that the pig is the "mixing vessel" for the new germ.
But make no mistake, the pig is not the villain, neither is the chicken. It's actually us, and
our horrible farm practices, outdated agricultural policy and, most of all, reckless disregard
of our ecology and environment. "Hygiene and management can control what eventually
happens," says Lam. "Good farming practice will prevent serious outbreaks and infection
to humans." Despite knowing that, animal diseases and the possibility of transmission to
humans are becoming quite alarming. Of the 35 new emerging diseases in the last 20
years, more than 70 per cent involved animals.

In fact, what we may have done is unwittingly create the perfect launch pad for an
influenza pandemic that will likely kill large numbers of people across the globe. Although
scientists say it's impossible to predict the odds that the virus will alter its genetic form
radically enough to start leaping from human to human, the longer H5N1 is out there
killing chickens, the higher the chances are.

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

(A) New emerging diseases causes more deaths of human than animal.
(B) Animals are the villain for most flues.
(C) Hygiene and management can not control the spread of viruses.
(D) The current bird flu epidemic may be a launch pad for the next influenza pandemic.
(E) The influenza pandemic is always a regional phenomenon.

2. Which of the following best describes the topic of the passage?

(A) What causes the Nipah virus and Japanese Encephalitis virus to happen?
(B) Does Hong Kong flu originate from pig?
(C) From fowl to pigs to humans?
(D) Is influenza pandemic horrible?
(E) Shall we eat chicken?

3. All of the following situations are similar to the spread of avian flu virus described in
the first paragraph EXCEPT:

(A) The BT2 spread from a pig to another pig, and thus causes significant disease in pig.
(B) The AIDS viruses transferred from monkeys to man and spread across the world.
(C) The SARS virus originates from some wildlife and is picked up by civet cats from
which humans got it.
(D) Nipah virus circulates in the blood of infected pig, which is bitten by Culex
mosquitoes, the virus replicates in the mosquito's gut. The next time the mosquito bites a
human, the virus is passed on.
(E) H5N1 starts in chickens and leaps from human to human.

4. What does the author mean by describing the pig as "mixing vessel"?

(A) Pig is the place where various viruses reside.

(B) Pig is the pot in which viruses swap genes and become new, deadly germs.
(C) Viruses are mixed inside the body of pig.
(D) New germs come to the body of pig and reside there.
(E) Pig attracts viruses.

Indian firms have achieved the highest levels of efficiency in the world software
outsourcing industry. Some researchers have assumed that Indian firms use the same
programming languages and techniques as Chinese firms but have benefited from their
familiarity with English, the language used to write software code. However, if this were
true, then one would expect software vendors in Hong Kong, where most people speak
English, to perform not worse than do Indian vendors. However, this is obviously not the
case.

Other researchers link high Indian productivity to higher levels of human resource
investment per engineer. But a historical perspective leads to a different conclusion. When
the two top Indian vendors matched and then doubled Chinese productivity levels in the
mid-eighties, human resource investment per employee was comparable to that of Chinese
vendors. Furthermore, by the late eighties, the amount of fixed assets required to develop
one software package was roughly equivalent in India and in the China. Since human
resource investment was not higher in India, it had to be other factors that led to higher
productivity.

A more fruitful explanation may lie with Indian strategic approach in outsourcing. Indian
software vendors did not simply seek outsourced contract more effectively: they made
aggressive strategic in outsourcing. For instance, most software firms of India were
initially set up to outsource the contract in western countries, such as United States. By
contrary, most Chinese firms seem to position their business in China, a promising yet
under-developed market. However, rampant piracy in China took almost 90 percents of
potential market, making it impossible for most Chinese firms to obtain sufficient
compensation for the investment on development and research, let alone thrive in
competitive environment.

5. Which of the following statements concerning the productivity levels of engineers can
be inferred from the passage?

(A) Prior to the 1980's, the productivity levels of the top Indian software firms were
exceeded by those of Chinese software firms.
(B) The official language of a country has a large effect on the productivity levels of its
software developers.
(C) During the late 1980's and early 1990's, productivity levels were comparable in China
and India.
(D) The greater the number of engineers that a software firm has, the higher a firm's
productivity level.
(E) The amount of human resource investment made by software developers in their firms
determines the level of productivity.

6. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) contrast possible outcomes of a type of business strategy

(B) suggest more careful evaluation of a type of business strategy
(C) illustrate various ways in which a type of business strategy could fail to enhance
revenues
(D) trace the general problems of a company to a certain type of business strategy
(E) criticize the way in which managers tend to analyze the costs and benefits of business
strategies

7. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?

(A) A thesis is presented and supporting examples are provided.

(B) Opposing views are presented, classified, and then reconciled.
(C) A fact is stated, and an explanation is advanced and then refuted.
(D) A theory is proposed, considered, and then amended.
(E) An opinion is presented, qualified, and then reaffirmed.

8. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of Indian software
developers?

(A) Their productivity levels did not equal those of Chinese software engineers until the
late eighties.
(B) Their high efficiency levels are a direct result of English language familiarity.
(C) They develop component-specific software.
(D) They are built to outsource the western orders.
(E) They develop more packages of software than do those in Chinese developers.

GRE Analogy
1. TELESCOPE : ASTRONOMER ::

(A)      picture : artist

(B)      environment : ecologist
(C)      element : chemist
(D)      brush : painter
(E)      movie : director

2. MATRIX : NUMBER ::

(A)      gas : molecule

(B)      snow : precipitation
(C)      act : opera
(D)      school : fish
(E)      crystal : atom
3. HORSE : MARE ::

(A) cat : kitten

(B) human : woman
(C) bull : cow
(D) child : adult
(E) animal : pig

4. MARTIAL : MILITARY ::

(A)   mysterious : runic

(B)   tortuous : straightforward
(C)   objective : subjective
(D)   clear : complicated
(E)   imprudent : damaged

5. HEADSTRONG : WILLFULNESS ::

(A)   engrossing : obliviousness

(B)   fawning : subservience
(C)   venerable : renown
(D)   bold : tip
(E)   critical : confidence

6. SIMULTANEOUS : COINCIDE ::

(A)   gracious : significance

(B)   fast : acceleration
(C)   lavish : squander
(D)   intriguing : project
(E)   provocative : tradition

7. INVINCIBLE : SUBDUED ::

(A)   impervious : damaged

(B)   persuasive : convinced
(C)   impossible : taken
(D)   invisible : overlooked
(E)   despicable : contented
 

GRE Antonym
1. PROFOUND
(A)    superficial
(B)    precipitous
(C)    deep
(D)    tarnished
(E)    innocuous

2. ARBITRARY

A. democratic
B. tyrannous
C. overbearing
D. halcyon
E. responsive

3. ABSTRUSE

A. sagacious
B. superficial
C. contented
D. rational
E. subjective

4. TRANQUIL

A. diminished
B. calm
C. edgy
D. unobstructed
E. astonishing

5. IMPUDENCE

A. insolence
B. preposterous
C. imaginative
D. decorum
E. gratuitous

6. INVIGORATE

A. inveigle
B. incapacitate
C. activate
D. exonerate
E. enervate
 7. COMPENDIOUS

A. lengthy
B. laconic
C. hypocritical
D. pliant
E. fruitful

8. COMPLIMENT

A. praise
B. affront
C. agitate
D. approbate
E. masticate

9. INCONSTANCY

A. changefulness
B. compression
C. integrity
D. variation
E. parallelism
 

Go to the answers with complete explanations

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