GRE Text Completion Sample Questions

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1. Writing break up poems is one of the means of (1) __________ one’s heart. Out of all the poets who wrote break up poetry William Shakespeare is the most famous of all. His poems without a doubt express the separation of lovers. You do not need to write a (2) ____________ poem if the matter pertaining to subject of the break up poem is unfortunate. It can be funny as well; where you can discuss the things your ex used to do and was not at all liked by you. All such things should be listed in the poem. Write down two or three lines on the imposing nature of your ex or the possessiveness he or she used to have for you. It can express the way you are now (3) __________ your parting with your ex whom you in fact were not able to cope with.

Blank 1: expressing, lightening, relieving

Blank 2: sad, desolate, poignant

Blank 3: enjoying, celebrating, viewing

Correct Answer: expressing, sad, enjoying

Explanation: In the given paragraph, the topic of discussion is break up poems. Various suggestions are given to a person who intends to write a break up poem. These poems are shown in the paragraph to be a means of expressing one’s feelings. The suggestions include writing about how the ex was imposing and how you now feel. The example given of Shakespeare also mentions that his poems express separation of lovers. It is even suggested that we write funny poems to describe our sentiments. Hence, every break up need not be devastating and we need not require lightening or relieving through break up poems, we merely ‘express’ our feelings through them. For the second blank, we choose ‘sad’ as the answer option because there is mention of funny poems further on. The suggestion is that we need not write ‘sad’ poems and our poems can be ‘funny’ as well. The other options are clearly wrong. Towards the end of the paragraph, there is mention of how you can write about those things that you disliked about your ex. The poem can be a tool to express the way you are getting pleasure from the absence of the person from your life. In other words, how you are ‘enjoying’ the parting. The option ‘viewing’ is incorrect since it does not convey the intended meaning of the sentence and the option ‘celebrating’ is rejected because we have no reason to support it. There is no mention of festivities in the paragraph and hence ‘celebrating’ is not implied.

2. It takes a lot more than just (1) ___________ to fire up an audience. You need to grab them by their eyes and ears as well as their minds. The (2) _________ sense is the first that comes into play. While looking great is a great advantage, dressing great can win the day, too. Clothes really do make a man so the accent should be on elegance, preferably understated. While (3) __________ do tend to subtly influence the audience, good grooming and an immaculate appearance, down to clean hair and nails, could help a speaker make an impression that counts. A public speaker needs to exude vim and vigor and good health sends out a message that’s strong and sure.

Blank 1: matter, confidence, preparation

Blank 2: visual, audio, intellectual

Blank 3: clothes, gestures, prejudices

Correct Answer: matter, visual, prejudices

Explanation: The author is writing about the effect of dressing well for making a presentation in front of an audience. In the opening sentence, he is drawing our attention to the other aspects that influence an audience. These other aspects are in addition to the most important aspect, that of the ‘matter’ that you present. This is the correct choice for the first blank, hence. For the second blank, the clear answer choice is the word ‘visual’. The sense referred to is the sense of the audience. Their visual sense comes into play before any other sense. This follows the second sentence where the author says that you need to grab the audience by their eyes and he follows it up in the succeeding sentence also. In the last sentence, the writer is trying to explain how good grooming and immaculate appearance can balance the effect of ‘prejudices’. We reject ‘clothes’ as the author gives more credit to clothes and they do not ‘subtly influence’. As for ‘gestures’, there is no reference made to it in the text. Besides, the author says that visuals make the first impression. Some prejudices that the audience comes with do play their part, but making a good visual impact by dressing up well and by an immaculate appearance can diminish the influence of prejudices. Hence, the answer choice is obvious.

GRE Text Completion Sample Questions

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