GRE VERBAL REASONING |ACTUAL QUESTIONS
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS|BRAND NEW 2026-2027
UPDATE|GRADED A+
Question 1
He cockpit recording from the downed airliner was initially ____________, but after
careful analysis, experts were able to determine much of what the pilots had been
shouting.
Disturbing, streamlined, coherent, unintelligible, or esoteric
CORRECT ANSWER
Unintelligible
"but" signals a contrast from what came before it. The experts had to analyze the recording
carefully to know what was being said, so at first the recording mush have been "unclear"
or "hard to make out".
Question 2
In spite of its popularity, The Merchant of Venice remains a _____________ play, with
many critics _________________the extent of Shakespeare's anti-Semitism.
1. Controversial, celebrated, histrionic
2. Assuaging, augmenting, debating
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Controversial
2. Debating
1
@THE STUDY VAULT
, Begin by taking note of the phrase "in spite of", which suggest that there will be an
opposing idea in the sentence. The sentence describes the play as popular, so you can rule
out choices celebrated and histrionic for the first blank because you are looking for a
contrasting word with popularity.
Based on the remaining option, controversial, you are looking for a solution to the second
blank that connotes uncertainty. Debating makes the most sense.
Question 3
Considered one of his most ________________ works, Mozart's Requiem in D Minor has a
certain_____________ in Western culture because of its incomplete status at the time of
his death, and many ____________ stories have arisen surrounding it; unfortunately, the
truth is lost to us.
1. Ignominious, inconspicuous, famous
2. Obscurity, indifference, mystique
3. Fraudulent, apocryphal, verified
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Famous
2. Mystique
3. Apocryphal
Whenever there are so many missing parts, it is often best to begin with whatever
complete clause you can find; in this case, the final one. You are told that we do not know
the truth, so you can eliminate fraudulent and verified.
Further answers on Page 144
2
@THE STUDY VAULT
, Question 4
Although Thomas Paine was most ________________ his political pamphlets, he was in
fact______________writer on many different subjects.
1. Inimical to, condemned for, famous for
2. An abstruse, a prolific, a terrible
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Famous for
2. A prolific
"Although" is a detour sign, starts off the sentence, indicating that the ideas of the first and
second clause will be opposite.
Further description Page 145
Question 5
Because Rachel's success had convinced her of her own _____________, she
never________ her errors.
1. Ineptitude, impeccability, resilience
2. Publicized, overlooked, discerned
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Impeccability
2. Discerned
Full answers on page 145
3
@THE STUDY VAULT
AND VERIFIED ANSWERS|BRAND NEW 2026-2027
UPDATE|GRADED A+
Question 1
He cockpit recording from the downed airliner was initially ____________, but after
careful analysis, experts were able to determine much of what the pilots had been
shouting.
Disturbing, streamlined, coherent, unintelligible, or esoteric
CORRECT ANSWER
Unintelligible
"but" signals a contrast from what came before it. The experts had to analyze the recording
carefully to know what was being said, so at first the recording mush have been "unclear"
or "hard to make out".
Question 2
In spite of its popularity, The Merchant of Venice remains a _____________ play, with
many critics _________________the extent of Shakespeare's anti-Semitism.
1. Controversial, celebrated, histrionic
2. Assuaging, augmenting, debating
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Controversial
2. Debating
1
@THE STUDY VAULT
, Begin by taking note of the phrase "in spite of", which suggest that there will be an
opposing idea in the sentence. The sentence describes the play as popular, so you can rule
out choices celebrated and histrionic for the first blank because you are looking for a
contrasting word with popularity.
Based on the remaining option, controversial, you are looking for a solution to the second
blank that connotes uncertainty. Debating makes the most sense.
Question 3
Considered one of his most ________________ works, Mozart's Requiem in D Minor has a
certain_____________ in Western culture because of its incomplete status at the time of
his death, and many ____________ stories have arisen surrounding it; unfortunately, the
truth is lost to us.
1. Ignominious, inconspicuous, famous
2. Obscurity, indifference, mystique
3. Fraudulent, apocryphal, verified
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Famous
2. Mystique
3. Apocryphal
Whenever there are so many missing parts, it is often best to begin with whatever
complete clause you can find; in this case, the final one. You are told that we do not know
the truth, so you can eliminate fraudulent and verified.
Further answers on Page 144
2
@THE STUDY VAULT
, Question 4
Although Thomas Paine was most ________________ his political pamphlets, he was in
fact______________writer on many different subjects.
1. Inimical to, condemned for, famous for
2. An abstruse, a prolific, a terrible
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Famous for
2. A prolific
"Although" is a detour sign, starts off the sentence, indicating that the ideas of the first and
second clause will be opposite.
Further description Page 145
Question 5
Because Rachel's success had convinced her of her own _____________, she
never________ her errors.
1. Ineptitude, impeccability, resilience
2. Publicized, overlooked, discerned
CORRECT ANSWER
1. Impeccability
2. Discerned
Full answers on page 145
3
@THE STUDY VAULT
