Reading Comprehension (GMAT)

According to the author, the concept of plain chants was

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
The modern entertainment called opera is a child of the Roman Catholic Church. What might be described as operatic tendencies in the music of worship date further back than the foundation of Christianity. The Egyptians were accustomed to sing "jubilations" to their gods, and the Greeks caroled on vowels in honor of their deities. From these practices descended into the musical part of the earliest Christian worship a certain rhapsodic and exalted style of delivery.
That this element should have disappeared for a considerable time from the church music is not at all remarkable, for in the first steps toward regulating the liturgy, simplification was a prime requisite. Thus in the centuries before Gregory, the plain chant gained complete ascendancy in the church and under him it acquired a systematization which had in it the elements of permanency.
Yet it was through the adaptation of this very chant to the delineation of episodes in religious history that the path to the opera was opened. As ceremonials became more and more elaborate, they approached more and more closely the ground on which the ancient dramatic dance rested, and it was not long before they themselves acquired a distinctly dramatic character. It is at this point that the liturgical ancestry of the opera becomes quite manifest. The dance itself, at first an attempt to delineate dramatically by means of measured movement was not without its place in the early church. At one time Christian priests executed solemn dances before their altars just as their Greek predecessors had done. But in the course of time the dance became generally practiced by the congregation and this gave rise to abuses. The authorities of the church abandoned it. But the feeling for it lingered, and in after years issued in the employment of the procession. When the procession left the sanctuary and displayed itself in the open air, something of the nature of the dance returned to it and its development into a dramatic spectacle was not difficult.
Coussemaker finds that lyric drama had in its inception two chief varieties, namely, the secular drama, and the religious or liturgical drama. “Each of these dramas,” he says, "had its own particular subject matter, character, charms and style.
The liturgical drama, which was chronologically the first of the two forms, originated in the ceremonies of the Christian church, in the strong dramatic element which inheres in the mass, the Christmas fêtes, and the Epiphany. These are all scenes in the drama of the sacrifice of the Redeemer, and it required but small progress to develop them into real dramatic performances, designed for the instruction of a people which as yet had no literature.
Out of these ceremonies, then, grew the liturgical drama. It is certain that the educational drama of the church continued in the state of its infancy for several centuries. Several interesting manuscripts in great libraries attest the consideration accorded to it at a period much later than that of which we have been speaking.

What is the tone of the author in this passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
The modern entertainment called opera is a child of the Roman Catholic Church. What might be described as operatic tendencies in the music of worship date further back than the foundation of Christianity. The Egyptians were accustomed to sing "jubilations" to their gods, and the Greeks caroled on vowels in honor of their deities. From these practices descended into the musical part of the earliest Christian worship a certain rhapsodic and exalted style of delivery.
That this element should have disappeared for a considerable time from the church music is not at all remarkable, for in the first steps toward regulating the liturgy, simplification was a prime requisite. Thus in the centuries before Gregory, the plain chant gained complete ascendancy in the church and under him it acquired a systematization which had in it the elements of permanency.
Yet it was through the adaptation of this very chant to the delineation of episodes in religious history that the path to the opera was opened. As ceremonials became more and more elaborate, they approached more and more closely the ground on which the ancient dramatic dance rested, and it was not long before they themselves acquired a distinctly dramatic character. It is at this point that the liturgical ancestry of the opera becomes quite manifest. The dance itself, at first an attempt to delineate dramatically by means of measured movement was not without its place in the early church. At one time Christian priests executed solemn dances before their altars just as their Greek predecessors had done. But in the course of time the dance became generally practiced by the congregation and this gave rise to abuses. The authorities of the church abandoned it. But the feeling for it lingered, and in after years issued in the employment of the procession. When the procession left the sanctuary and displayed itself in the open air, something of the nature of the dance returned to it and its development into a dramatic spectacle was not difficult.
Coussemaker finds that lyric drama had in its inception two chief varieties, namely, the secular drama, and the religious or liturgical drama. “Each of these dramas,” he says, "had its own particular subject matter, character, charms and style.
The liturgical drama, which was chronologically the first of the two forms, originated in the ceremonies of the Christian church, in the strong dramatic element which inheres in the mass, the Christmas fêtes, and the Epiphany. These are all scenes in the drama of the sacrifice of the Redeemer, and it required but small progress to develop them into real dramatic performances, designed for the instruction of a people which as yet had no literature.
Out of these ceremonies, then, grew the liturgical drama. It is certain that the educational drama of the church continued in the state of its infancy for several centuries. Several interesting manuscripts in great libraries attest the consideration accorded to it at a period much later than that of which we have been speaking.

The passage suggests the following about the Japanese way of ensuring business competitiveness:
I. Egalitarian work culture which emphasizes conformity.
II. Having people from the clan at the helm of affairs.
III. Conjoined business interests promoting synergy of operations.

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
Although it would not be evident till nearly a century late, the reforms initiated during the Meiji era heralded the advent of Japan’s management practices that contributed to making it one of the largest economies in the world. In an effort to maintain a low trade deficit, the Japanese initiated trade practices which recompensed innovation rather than rely on trade for fulfilling the nation’s needs.
Many long-practiced management practices of Nippon set it apart from the rest of the world, especially in context of production practices. Unlike the west, workers on the production line are active participants in the process of decision making and according to industry estimates, production line workers, with their invaluable suggestions; whether on cutting costs or improving efficiency, save Japan billions of dollars each year. With the focus on production, and by being the quality production stronghold of the world, Japanese have ensured that their exports always outperform their imports. Of course, the fact that laws on imports are very restrictive also aids in maintaining the status quo.
A typically Japanese business practice called ‘keiritsu’ is the practice of having large and complex interdependent companies centered on banks owned by the same conglomerate. What that means is that the companies will buy raw material and components from one another, outsource jobs and production of key components among themselves, borrow money from the pool of common capital that is held in the form of public bank which conducts normal day-to-day operations of retail banking like any other bank, but also acts as the in house financier to the acquisitions and capital requirements of the companies within the cabal.
Another traditional feature of the Japanese business culture is the relatively lower stock in stock. While their western counterparts rely more on the stock market to raise capital, the conservative Japanese managers go to the bank to borrow capital. Decreased public holding, coupled with a culture that promotes aggressiveness amongst younger managers, allows the companies to focus on long term goals like market share and productivity without bothering too much about reporting quarterly losses and profits to the investors and share holders.
Many companies tend to be family held and even in the case of a public company, the majority or the controlling stake is held within a family or an extended family. While the phenomenon of directors from outside the family is very common in the United States, and many companies in fact pride themselves on the diversity within their board of directors, the Japanese companies are much more closely held and a non-family director would indeed be a curiosity. Unlike the west, both middle and senior management forms the board of directors in Japan. Indeed, it is very common to see directors who retain non administrative job responsibilities also.

What would be an appropriate title for the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
Although it would not be evident till nearly a century late, the reforms initiated during the Meiji era heralded the advent of Japan’s management practices that contributed to making it one of the largest economies in the world. In an effort to maintain a low trade deficit, the Japanese initiated trade practices which recompensed innovation rather than rely on trade for fulfilling the nation’s needs.
Many long-practiced management practices of Nippon set it apart from the rest of the world, especially in context of production practices. Unlike the west, workers on the production line are active participants in the process of decision making and according to industry estimates, production line workers, with their invaluable suggestions; whether on cutting costs or improving efficiency, save Japan billions of dollars each year. With the focus on production, and by being the quality production stronghold of the world, Japanese have ensured that their exports always outperform their imports. Of course, the fact that laws on imports are very restrictive also aids in maintaining the status quo.
A typically Japanese business practice called ‘keiritsu’ is the practice of having large and complex interdependent companies centered on banks owned by the same conglomerate. What that means is that the companies will buy raw material and components from one another, outsource jobs and production of key components among themselves, borrow money from the pool of common capital that is held in the form of public bank which conducts normal day-to-day operations of retail banking like any other bank, but also acts as the in house financier to the acquisitions and capital requirements of the companies within the cabal.
Another traditional feature of the Japanese business culture is the relatively lower stock in stock. While their western counterparts rely more on the stock market to raise capital, the conservative Japanese managers go to the bank to borrow capital. Decreased public holding, coupled with a culture that promotes aggressiveness amongst younger managers, allows the companies to focus on long term goals like market share and productivity without bothering too much about reporting quarterly losses and profits to the investors and share holders.
Many companies tend to be family held and even in the case of a public company, the majority or the controlling stake is held within a family or an extended family. While the phenomenon of directors from outside the family is very common in the United States, and many companies in fact pride themselves on the diversity within their board of directors, the Japanese companies are much more closely held and a non-family director would indeed be a curiosity. Unlike the west, both middle and senior management forms the board of directors in Japan. Indeed, it is very common to see directors who retain non administrative job responsibilities also.

All of the following are ascribed by economists as reasons behind the Great Depression except:

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
While historians focus mainly on the macro events that cause perceptible changes, the economists are more concerned with the minute details. It is a well known fact that many a time in history, the act of a single person has been responsible for a paradigm shift in the way the story is told. The economists go into the most exiguous detail possible to reach a conclusion. Also, the history is written by the victor, but economics thrives on various theories put forth by a multitude of experts. It therefore comes as no surprise that, even on an event of the magnitude of the Great Depression, the experts in the two subjects have conflicting views.
While the historians ascribe the meltdown to a host of macro factors like the cataclysmic crash of the stock market, the failure of the banks, and unemployment, the economists are more intent on finding the nuances and the recondite riff surrounding the turn of events. According to them, the rot in the system started much before and the Great Depression was actually a culmination of causative events rather than the starting point itself. They point towards the deflationary actions of the Federal Reserve, including regulating the currency in circulation in accordance to the Gold Standard and increasing the interest rates as some of the principal causes behind the fiasco. Also, the fact that Great Britain went back to pre World War Gold Standard also set in motion a set of protectionist policies that killed off trade between nations and added fuel to the fire. Although government spending, or rather the lack of it, is blamed for the crisis, a casual perusal of government spending in 1930 clearly points out that the governmental spending actually increased year on year in an effort to revive the economy. However, in a case of too little, too late, the actions failed to yield the desired results.
The historians cite bank failures and the reluctance of banks to lend money as a key factor. Blaming the lack of foresight by the financial regulators and the government, the economists contend that the stock market crash so frightened the common citizens that the they stopped spending. The decreased spending triggered off a chain of events that had far reaching repercussions. Businesses struggling to keep their heads above the water laid off employees to cut costs. This in turn, resulted in further reduction in consumer spending.
It is in our best interest if reconciliation between these two fields of study can be effected. It will allow us to sum up the findings with a degree of consensus that appeals not only to the scholars of economics but also to the historians who look for patterns in history.

What will be a suitable title for the passage?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
The modern entertainment called opera is a child of the Roman Catholic Church. What might be described as operatic tendencies in the music of worship date further back than the foundation of Christianity. The Egyptians were accustomed to sing "jubilations" to their gods, and the Greeks caroled on vowels in honor of their deities. From these practices descended into the musical part of the earliest Christian worship a certain rhapsodic and exalted style of delivery.
That this element should have disappeared for a considerable time from the church music is not at all remarkable, for in the first steps toward regulating the liturgy, simplification was a prime requisite. Thus in the centuries before Gregory, the plain chant gained complete ascendancy in the church and under him it acquired a systematization which had in it the elements of permanency.
Yet it was through the adaptation of this very chant to the delineation of episodes in religious history that the path to the opera was opened. As ceremonials became more and more elaborate, they approached more and more closely the ground on which the ancient dramatic dance rested, and it was not long before they themselves acquired a distinctly dramatic character. It is at this point that the liturgical ancestry of the opera becomes quite manifest. The dance itself, at first an attempt to delineate dramatically by means of measured movement was not without its place in the early church. At one time Christian priests executed solemn dances before their altars just as their Greek predecessors had done. But in the course of time the dance became generally practiced by the congregation and this gave rise to abuses. The authorities of the church abandoned it. But the feeling for it lingered, and in after years issued in the employment of the procession. When the procession left the sanctuary and displayed itself in the open air, something of the nature of the dance returned to it and its development into a dramatic spectacle was not difficult.
Coussemaker finds that lyric drama had in its inception two chief varieties, namely, the secular drama, and the religious or liturgical drama. “Each of these dramas,” he says, "had its own particular subject matter, character, charms and style.
The liturgical drama, which was chronologically the first of the two forms, originated in the ceremonies of the Christian church, in the strong dramatic element which inheres in the mass, the Christmas fêtes, and the Epiphany. These are all scenes in the drama of the sacrifice of the Redeemer, and it required but small progress to develop them into real dramatic performances, designed for the instruction of a people which as yet had no literature.
Out of these ceremonies, then, grew the liturgical drama. It is certain that the educational drama of the church continued in the state of its infancy for several centuries. Several interesting manuscripts in great libraries attest the consideration accorded to it at a period much later than that of which we have been speaking.

The passage answers all of the following questions, except

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
Although it would not be evident till nearly a century late, the reforms initiated during the Meiji era heralded the advent of Japan’s management practices that contributed to making it one of the largest economies in the world. In an effort to maintain a low trade deficit, the Japanese initiated trade practices which recompensed innovation rather than rely on trade for fulfilling the nation’s needs.
Many long-practiced management practices of Nippon set it apart from the rest of the world, especially in context of production practices. Unlike the west, workers on the production line are active participants in the process of decision making and according to industry estimates, production line workers, with their invaluable suggestions; whether on cutting costs or improving efficiency, save Japan billions of dollars each year. With the focus on production, and by being the quality production stronghold of the world, Japanese have ensured that their exports always outperform their imports. Of course, the fact that laws on imports are very restrictive also aids in maintaining the status quo.
A typically Japanese business practice called ‘keiritsu’ is the practice of having large and complex interdependent companies centered on banks owned by the same conglomerate. What that means is that the companies will buy raw material and components from one another, outsource jobs and production of key components among themselves, borrow money from the pool of common capital that is held in the form of public bank which conducts normal day-to-day operations of retail banking like any other bank, but also acts as the in house financier to the acquisitions and capital requirements of the companies within the cabal.
Another traditional feature of the Japanese business culture is the relatively lower stock in stock. While their western counterparts rely more on the stock market to raise capital, the conservative Japanese managers go to the bank to borrow capital. Decreased public holding, coupled with a culture that promotes aggressiveness amongst younger managers, allows the companies to focus on long term goals like market share and productivity without bothering too much about reporting quarterly losses and profits to the investors and share holders.
Many companies tend to be family held and even in the case of a public company, the majority or the controlling stake is held within a family or an extended family. While the phenomenon of directors from outside the family is very common in the United States, and many companies in fact pride themselves on the diversity within their board of directors, the Japanese companies are much more closely held and a non-family director would indeed be a curiosity. Unlike the west, both middle and senior management forms the board of directors in Japan. Indeed, it is very common to see directors who retain non administrative job responsibilities also.

According to the passage, all of the following are the characteristics of Japanese management style, except:

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
Although it would not be evident till nearly a century late, the reforms initiated during the Meiji era heralded the advent of Japan’s management practices that contributed to making it one of the largest economies in the world. In an effort to maintain a low trade deficit, the Japanese initiated trade practices which recompensed innovation rather than rely on trade for fulfilling the nation’s needs.
Many long-practiced management practices of Nippon set it apart from the rest of the world, especially in context of production practices. Unlike the west, workers on the production line are active participants in the process of decision making and according to industry estimates, production line workers, with their invaluable suggestions; whether on cutting costs or improving efficiency, save Japan billions of dollars each year. With the focus on production, and by being the quality production stronghold of the world, Japanese have ensured that their exports always outperform their imports. Of course, the fact that laws on imports are very restrictive also aids in maintaining the status quo.
A typically Japanese business practice called ‘keiritsu’ is the practice of having large and complex interdependent companies centered on banks owned by the same conglomerate. What that means is that the companies will buy raw material and components from one another, outsource jobs and production of key components among themselves, borrow money from the pool of common capital that is held in the form of public bank which conducts normal day-to-day operations of retail banking like any other bank, but also acts as the in house financier to the acquisitions and capital requirements of the companies within the cabal.
Another traditional feature of the Japanese business culture is the relatively lower stock in stock. While their western counterparts rely more on the stock market to raise capital, the conservative Japanese managers go to the bank to borrow capital. Decreased public holding, coupled with a culture that promotes aggressiveness amongst younger managers, allows the companies to focus on long term goals like market share and productivity without bothering too much about reporting quarterly losses and profits to the investors and share holders.
Many companies tend to be family held and even in the case of a public company, the majority or the controlling stake is held within a family or an extended family. While the phenomenon of directors from outside the family is very common in the United States, and many companies in fact pride themselves on the diversity within their board of directors, the Japanese companies are much more closely held and a non-family director would indeed be a curiosity. Unlike the west, both middle and senior management forms the board of directors in Japan. Indeed, it is very common to see directors who retain non administrative job responsibilities also.

Read the following options and select all that apply.
I. The account of conqueror takes on a degree of verisimilitude.
II. Cataclysms are stimulated by a dominoes effect.
III. Poor governance set forth the chain of events that led to the depression.

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
While historians focus mainly on the macro events that cause perceptible changes, the economists are more concerned with the minute details. It is a well known fact that many a time in history, the act of a single person has been responsible for a paradigm shift in the way the story is told. The economists go into the most exiguous detail possible to reach a conclusion. Also, the history is written by the victor, but economics thrives on various theories put forth by a multitude of experts. It therefore comes as no surprise that, even on an event of the magnitude of the Great Depression, the experts in the two subjects have conflicting views.
While the historians ascribe the meltdown to a host of macro factors like the cataclysmic crash of the stock market, the failure of the banks, and unemployment, the economists are more intent on finding the nuances and the recondite riff surrounding the turn of events. According to them, the rot in the system started much before and the Great Depression was actually a culmination of causative events rather than the starting point itself. They point towards the deflationary actions of the Federal Reserve, including regulating the currency in circulation in accordance to the Gold Standard and increasing the interest rates as some of the principal causes behind the fiasco. Also, the fact that Great Britain went back to pre World War Gold Standard also set in motion a set of protectionist policies that killed off trade between nations and added fuel to the fire. Although government spending, or rather the lack of it, is blamed for the crisis, a casual perusal of government spending in 1930 clearly points out that the governmental spending actually increased year on year in an effort to revive the economy. However, in a case of too little, too late, the actions failed to yield the desired results.
The historians cite bank failures and the reluctance of banks to lend money as a key factor. Blaming the lack of foresight by the financial regulators and the government, the economists contend that the stock market crash so frightened the common citizens that the they stopped spending. The decreased spending triggered off a chain of events that had far reaching repercussions. Businesses struggling to keep their heads above the water laid off employees to cut costs. This in turn, resulted in further reduction in consumer spending.
It is in our best interest if reconciliation between these two fields of study can be effected. It will allow us to sum up the findings with a degree of consensus that appeals not only to the scholars of economics but also to the historians who look for patterns in history.

How can the layout of the passage be described?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
While historians focus mainly on the macro events that cause perceptible changes, the economists are more concerned with the minute details. It is a well known fact that many a time in history, the act of a single person has been responsible for a paradigm shift in the way the story is told. The economists go into the most exiguous detail possible to reach a conclusion. Also, the history is written by the victor, but economics thrives on various theories put forth by a multitude of experts. It therefore comes as no surprise that, even on an event of the magnitude of the Great Depression, the experts in the two subjects have conflicting views.
While the historians ascribe the meltdown to a host of macro factors like the cataclysmic crash of the stock market, the failure of the banks, and unemployment, the economists are more intent on finding the nuances and the recondite riff surrounding the turn of events. According to them, the rot in the system started much before and the Great Depression was actually a culmination of causative events rather than the starting point itself. They point towards the deflationary actions of the Federal Reserve, including regulating the currency in circulation in accordance to the Gold Standard and increasing the interest rates as some of the principal causes behind the fiasco. Also, the fact that Great Britain went back to pre World War Gold Standard also set in motion a set of protectionist policies that killed off trade between nations and added fuel to the fire. Although government spending, or rather the lack of it, is blamed for the crisis, a casual perusal of government spending in 1930 clearly points out that the governmental spending actually increased year on year in an effort to revive the economy. However, in a case of too little, too late, the actions failed to yield the desired results.
The historians cite bank failures and the reluctance of banks to lend money as a key factor. Blaming the lack of foresight by the financial regulators and the government, the economists contend that the stock market crash so frightened the common citizens that the they stopped spending. The decreased spending triggered off a chain of events that had far reaching repercussions. Businesses struggling to keep their heads above the water laid off employees to cut costs. This in turn, resulted in further reduction in consumer spending.
It is in our best interest if reconciliation between these two fields of study can be effected. It will allow us to sum up the findings with a degree of consensus that appeals not only to the scholars of economics but also to the historians who look for patterns in history.

What according to the passage is the main cause of bickering about the Great Depression between the two fields of study?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
While historians focus mainly on the macro events that cause perceptible changes, the economists are more concerned with the minute details. It is a well known fact that many a time in history, the act of a single person has been responsible for a paradigm shift in the way the story is told. The economists go into the most exiguous detail possible to reach a conclusion. Also, the history is written by the victor, but economics thrives on various theories put forth by a multitude of experts. It therefore comes as no surprise that, even on an event of the magnitude of the Great Depression, the experts in the two subjects have conflicting views.
While the historians ascribe the meltdown to a host of macro factors like the cataclysmic crash of the stock market, the failure of the banks, and unemployment, the economists are more intent on finding the nuances and the recondite riff surrounding the turn of events. According to them, the rot in the system started much before and the Great Depression was actually a culmination of causative events rather than the starting point itself. They point towards the deflationary actions of the Federal Reserve, including regulating the currency in circulation in accordance to the Gold Standard and increasing the interest rates as some of the principal causes behind the fiasco. Also, the fact that Great Britain went back to pre World War Gold Standard also set in motion a set of protectionist policies that killed off trade between nations and added fuel to the fire. Although government spending, or rather the lack of it, is blamed for the crisis, a casual perusal of government spending in 1930 clearly points out that the governmental spending actually increased year on year in an effort to revive the economy. However, in a case of too little, too late, the actions failed to yield the desired results.
The historians cite bank failures and the reluctance of banks to lend money as a key factor. Blaming the lack of foresight by the financial regulators and the government, the economists contend that the stock market crash so frightened the common citizens that the they stopped spending. The decreased spending triggered off a chain of events that had far reaching repercussions. Businesses struggling to keep their heads above the water laid off employees to cut costs. This in turn, resulted in further reduction in consumer spending.
It is in our best interest if reconciliation between these two fields of study can be effected. It will allow us to sum up the findings with a degree of consensus that appeals not only to the scholars of economics but also to the historians who look for patterns in history.