MBA Crystal Ball

Greetings!

This thread is dedicated to the discussions related with the Verbal Section of the GMAT test.

Let's start with the practice!

Here are 2 questions, try to solve them and post your answer and thoughts.

Critical Reasoning Question:

FCT container terminal at Mearsk Seaport was once a leader of container handling among the terminals of the Northern Sea, but most major shipping lines in the Northern Sea recently have started using a newly opened JCT container terminal instead. Unlike FCT terminal, the new JCT terminal has access to railroad, which is a major means of on-land container transportation. To return FCT occupancy rate to previous levels, FCT managers plan to build a railway line that will link the terminal with railway network and to offer discounted rates to all customers.
Which of the following, if true, most threatens the plan’s likelihood of success?

A) Access to railroad will increase FCT’s throughput capacity by 20,000 TEU.
B) Many shippers that continue using FCT terminal are bound by long-term contracts restricting them from switching to JCT terminal.
C) Due to higher operational costs, FCT will not be able to offer its customers rates lower than those offered by JCT.
D) Some large shipping lines that use JCT terminal sometimes use FCT terminal when JCT cannot handle all their shipments.
E) Current throughput capacity of JCT terminal significantly exceeds that of FCT container terminal.

Sentence Correction Question:

Visible minorities and groups that are not immediately identifiable have radically different experiences, not only because the former has no means of escaping racial marginalization and because their very appearance might trigger assumptions about their inferiority.

A. Visible minorities and groups that are not immediately identifiable have radically different experiences, not only because the former has

B. Visible minorities and groups that are not immediately identifiable and have radically different experiences have, because of the former,

C. Visible minorities and groups that are not immediately identifiable have radically different experiences, because both the former have

D. Radically different experiences of visible minorities and groups are not immediately identifiable, not only because the former have

E. Visible minorities and groups that are not immediately identifiable have radically different experiences, both because the former have

for the CR
A strengthens
B is irrelevant, had it been the reverse, it could have helped
C seems good, lets keep it
D not helping
E weakens but since C talks more about customers, I'l go with C

for the SC
it should be E
A not only but also pair missing
B seems incomplete
C both the former is illogical, should have been both the groups or both the former and the latter
D again pair missing
E correctly includes the pair both and :)

CR

answer : E) Current throughput capacity of JCT terminal significantly exceeds that of FCT container terminal.

As if this the case, than putting a railway line, fct may not be able to compete with the terminal capacity of the JCT.

SC,

ANSWER: E, As both because the.... and because .... are parallel

Greetings from GoGMAT!

Here is our feedback on your posts:

Choice E is the only one that keeps the parallel structure both because… and because… without ruining the whole sentence structure.

In CR the opinions split between choices C and E, and both are rather tempting. However, choice E deals with current situation, and does not really point out any disadvantages in the plan itself that would render it ineffective. Choice C, directly states that even with railroad and discounted rates FCT will still be a costlier option and there will be little reason for clients to return.

Does anybody have any other thoughts about these questions?

What problems do you face while solving SC, RC and CR questions?

hi friends,
my take on this problem would be like:

A not only but also pair missing
B seems incomplete
C both the former is illogical, should have been both the groups or both the former and the latter
D again pair missing
E correctly includes the pair both
so the answer should be E.

thanks for this very gud post.

hi lemini,

you are totally right too!
We are happy that you find our posts interesting. Let's keep moving and studying :)

Hi everyone!

Here are 2 new GMAT Verbal Part questions fro you to practice!
We are waiting for your answers and thoughts!

Critical Reasoning
The FCT container terminal at Mearsk Seaport was once a leading container handler among the terminals on the Northern Sea, but most major shipping lines on the Northern Sea recently started using a newly opened JCT container terminal instead. Unlike the FCT terminal, the new JCT terminal has access to a railroad, a major means of on-land container transportation. To return FCT’s occupancy rate to its previous levels, FCT managers plan to build a railway spur that will link the terminal with the railway network and to offer discounted rates to all FCT customers.
Which of the following, if true, most threatens the plan’s likelihood of success?

A) Access to the railroad will increase FCT’s throughput capacity by 20,000 TEU.
B) Many shippers that continue using the FCT terminal are bound by long-term contracts that prevent them from switching to the JCT terminal.
C) Due to higher operational costs, FCT will not be able to offer rates lower than those offered by JCT.
D) Some large shipping lines that use the JCT terminal sometimes use the FCT terminal when JCT cannot handle all their shipments.
E) Current throughput capacity for the JCT terminal significantly exceeds that at FCT.

Sentence Correction
During Romney's term as governor, the number of state employees grew twice as fast as the private sector, reaching 115,000 four years after he had taken office.

A. as the private sector, reaching 115,000 four years after he had taken office.
B. as the private sector, having reached 115,000 four years after he took office.
C. as that of the private sector, increasing by 115,000 four years after him taking office.
D. as that of workers in the private sector, reaching 115,000 four years after he had taken office.
E. as the workers in private sector, an increase to 115,000 four years after he had taken office.

1. Critical Reasoning

We have to find the answer than weakens the planned expansion at seaport FCT.

A, B and D do not in any way weaken the success of the plan.

Boils down to C and E. E is really tempting but I went for C since even if FCT expand if they cannot offer lesser rates than JCT then discounted rates will be effectively a loss.

Hope my reasoning is correct. Took me 1:24 mins.

2. Sentence Correction

The mistake in the original statement is that it should compare the number of employees in public sector to the number of employees in the private sector. Instead option A ends up comparing the no. of employees in public sector to the entity private sector.

A,B and E can be eliminated.

For me, it boiled down to choosing between C and D. The last part in C does not sound grammatically correct which is why I went for D. I am still not sure if my reasoning for D is correct. This question took me 1:34 mins. I now feel I should have taken by the 15 more seconds. :)

avrgmat,

Thank you once again for your answers and thoughts!

We will wait for several answers more and then publish the correct answers. Let's wait for at least 1 day more:)

avrgmat,

Your answers are totally correct!

to everone,
Are you ready for the next round of questions?:)