Reading Passage Question
Step outside on a clear night and look at the sky. If you’re a city dweller or live in a cramped suburb, you see dozens, maybe hundreds, of twinkling stars. Depending on the time of the month, you may also see a full Moon and up to five of the eight planets that revolve around the Sun. A shooting star or “meteor” may appear overhead. What you actually see is the flash of light from a tiny piece of comet dust streaking through the upper atmosphere. Another pinpoint of light moves slowly and steadily across the sky. Is it a space satellite, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, or just a high-altitude airliner? If you have a pair of binoculars, you may be able to see the difference. Most airliners have running lights, and their shapes may be perceptible. If you live in the country — on the seashore away from resorts and developments, on the plains, or in the mountains far from any floodlit ski slope — you can see thousands of stars. The Milky Way appears as a beautiful pearly swath across the heavens. What you’re seeing is the cumulative glow from millions of faint stars, individually indistinguishable with the naked eye. At a great observation place, such as Cerro Tololo in the Chilean Andes, you can see even more stars. They hang like brilliant lamps in a coal black sky, often not even twinkling, like in van Gogh’s “Starry Night” painting.
“Step outside on a clear night and look at the sky”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage. The candidates need to possess an idea and concrete knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension. This passage of GMAT Reading Comprehension is followed by six sets of questions and a series of answers. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions ask for answer choices that test the candidates' skills to satisfy the content of the passage. The candidates need to apply knowledge or concepts to summarize the passage. The candidates can improve their learning process by practising these GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solutions and Explanation
- According to the passage, which of the following places would be the best for an astronomer to live?
(A) Cerro Tololo in the Chilean Andes
(B) A seashore far from resorts and developments
(C) The mountains, away from any floodlit ski slopes
(D) The suburbs of any medium-sized American city
(E) A large city
Answer: (A)
Explanation: As per the discussion of the passage. The astronomer needs to live in a great place of observation where more stars can be visible. The best place for an astronomer to live is Cerro Tololo in the Chilean Andes. Therefore, option A is the correct answer as it holds accurate information regarding the passage discussion.
- Which of the following statements most accurately captures the main point of the passage?
(A) Light pollution is ruining stargazing for many Americans.
(B) Satellites and airliners can be differentiated with the use of good binoculars.
(C) The sky is a busy place, and no matter where you watch it from, you can see interesting things.
(D) The Andes Mountains provide unparalleled star-gazing opportunities.
(E) Astrology and astronomy are not the same thing.
Answer: (C)
Explanation: The main point of the passage deals with the busy nature of the sky. It is such a place where anyone could perceive interesting things from any place on earth. Therefore, option C is the correct answer as it satisfies the content of the passage. The rest of the options are incorrect as they do not match the passage criteria.
- According the passage, what might be mistaken for an airliner traveling across the night sky?
(A) A shooting star
(B) The Hubble Space Telescope
(C) One of the planets
(D) A comet
(E) The moon
Answer: (B)
Explanation: The passage suggests that airliners traveling across the night sky might get mistaken by the Hubble Space Telescope. Therefore, option B is the correct answer as it holds the relevant facts described in the passage. The rest of the options are incorrect as it defines the wrong information cited in the passage.
- What role does the sentence [Highlighted] play in the rest of the passage?
(A) It is the introduction to the passage.
(B) It is one of a list of examples in the passage.
(C) It explains the phenomenon mentioned in the sentence before it.
(D) It is the main idea of the passage.
(E) It is evidence that supports the argument of the passage.
Answer: (C)
Explanation: The highlighted portion of the passage mainly depicts the phenomenon illustrated in the sentence exclaimed before it. It mainly describes the milky way as an attractive pearly swath across the heavens. Therefore, option C is the correct answer as it represents the valid information cited in the passage. The rest of the options are incorrect and thus get eliminated.
- What can you infer about van Gogh’s “Starry Night” from the passage?
(A) “Starry Night” was painted before the arrival of airliners.
(B) “Starry Night” is a painting of comets and meteors.
(C) “Starry Night” may have been painted in an area that the author would deem a “great observation place” like Cerro Tololo.
(D) Van Gogh must have been an amateur astronomer.
(E) “Starry Night” is a realistic painting.
Answer: (C)
Explanation: The passage mentions the “Starry Night” painting of Van Gogh in order to depict a great place of observation. Van Gogh painted the picture in an area where stars hang like brilliant lamps in a coal-black sky. This similar observation can be perceived from Cerro Tololo. Therefore, option C is the correct answer as it satisfies the passage argument. The remaining options are thereby irrelevant to the passage discussion.
- Which of the following most accurately describes the likely intended audience for this passage?
(A) A group of astronomers, interested in sharing their findings from studying the night sky
(B) Amateur astrologers
(C) Students in an intermediate astronomy class at a local college
(D) A group of preschoolers learning the names of the planet
(E) Average adults interested in learning more about the night sky
Answer: (E)
Explanation: The discussion of the passage is concerned with the people who have no idea about the night sky. Therefore, option E is the correct answer since it indicates the average adult who is interested in learning new things about the sky. The rest of the options thus get out of scope as they do not hold the correct information.
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