BY RICHARD J. ROME
HIGHER SCORES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION FOR A LIFETIME
Copyright © 1996 by Richard J. Rome
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author. All inquiries should be addressed to:
Library of Congress Registration Number: TXu 916-124 Effective Date of Registration: 09/01/99
GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council.
For Emily, and…
for your GMAT prep, I promise to leave no stone unturned; provided you pay by the stone. 8^)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Forewords: Dr. Joseph Cooper, Professor of Political Science; (former) Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Johns Hopkins University...........VI
Dr. William E. Fitzgibbon III, Chairman & Professor of Mathematics, University of Houston......................................................VII Acknowledgments......................................................................VIII INTRODUCTION: THE INNER GAME OF TESTING...............................................XI A topology of cups and doughnuts during your GMAT/CBF.............................XII the f’s, high-test fuel for your mind and random guessing...................XIII, XVI the possibilities worth considering...............................................XIV Manage, to have a good time on your test........................................XVIII
SECTION I: -: GMAT ASA EXTEMPORANEOUSLY by I. M. Promptu.............................1-18
SECTION II: GMAT QUANTITATIVE PREP MATH 1: fractions, ratios, percentages, averages..................................19 - 58 • a high-score illusion......................................................58 A • reinforcement test Math-I (answers, scoring, solutions)..................59 -75 MATH 2: the real number system.........................................................76 • integers (are integral), odds, evens.........................................76 • algebraic operations.........................................................79 • identities...................................................................81 • factors, multiples...........................................................82 • prime numbers, composite numbers.............................................82 • The powers of exponents......................................................83 • perfect squares that are not bourgeois.......................................85 • Radicals are a good riddance.................................................91 • Please excuse my dear aunt Sally for leaving the room........................94 • variables in terms of other variables........................................95 • equalities vs inequalities...............................................99,100 • Does symbolism give you an embolism?........................................103 • reinforcement test Math-II (answers and solutions)....................107 – 124 EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY: MATH 3 – MATH 6
MATH 3: Geometry (the first dimension)................................................125 • angles, lines...............................................................125 • triangles...................................................................126 • the right triangle..........................................................127 • quadrilaterals..............................................................130 • polygons....................................................................132 • face diagonals..............................................................133 • circles.....................................................................135 • Re-recount twenty-two f's...................................................143 • reinforcement test Math 3 (answers and solutions)......................143 -167 MATH 4: Geometry of Areas (the second dimension)......................................168 MATH 5: Cartesian coordinates.....................................................178-182 • reinforcement test Math 4 & 5 (answers and solutions)...................183-201 MATH 6: Geometry of Volumes (the third dimension).....................................182 • space diagonal..........................................................202-213 • reinforcement test Math 6 (answers and solutions).......................214-232
MATH 7: WORD PROBLEMS • variation...............................................................233-247 • Does motion make you throw up?..............................................238 • work problems...............................................................242 • assigned-value problems.....................................................245
MATH 8: GORDIAN COUNTING, COMBINATIONS............................................248-255 • the fundamental principle of counting.......................................248 • finite probability, odds, independent trials, more guessing.................254 • reinforcement test Math 7 & 8 (answers and solutions)...................256-274 • exhaustion as a means, rather than an end...................................269
MATH 9: DATA SUFFICIENCY (DS).....................................................275-301 • reinforcement test Math 9 (answers and solutions).......................302-314
GMAT DATA INTERPRETATION (graphs and tables)......................................315-336 SECTION III: THE GMAT/CBF VERBAL PREP
1. CRITICAL READING...............................................................337-391
2. GMAT LOGIC PREP................................................................392-455 VENN DIAGRAMS.........................................................................392 CRITICAL REASONING.................................................................400 • the conditional mood by Rudyard Kipling.....................................400 • reading and reasoning acuity................................................402 • anatomy of arguments / assumptions link evidence to conclusions.............410 • limited samplings, parallel reasoning, paradox..............................421 • Are you "antisymmetric?"....................................................422 • fallacious, inconsistent and discrepant disputations........................439 • how to dynamite an English argument by the IRA..............................445 • how to buttress an English argument by Oscar Wild...........................445
• deductive vs. inductive arguments by Sherlock Holmes........................447 • stratificational grammar nodes vs. Venn diagrams............................453
3. GMAT TEST OF STANDARD WRITTEN ENGLISH: SENTENCE CORRECTION • question types / directions / how to approach the questions.................456 • diction errors: homophones are a haven for malapropisms.....................458 • mixed metaphors, "Apology does not mend the offense.".......................459 • substandard usage (sic) ain't no way to communicate.........................460 • Idiom is habit-forming......................................................461 • verbosity by Calvin Coolidge................................................461 • grammar, the rules most commonly violated...................................464 • subject-verb agreement....................................................464 • pronouns and their antecedents............................................470 • tense and verb forms......................................................476 • God bless the subjunctive!................................................478 • fragments.................................................................483 • parallelism...............................................................483 • modifiers.................................................................493 • She looks as a horse, and other comparisons...............................496 • logical connections.........................................................499 • ten-interrogative checklist.................................................500 PERORATION IN THE LOCKER ROOM BEFORE THE TEST.........................................501 GLOSSARY..............................................................................504
GMAT/CBF CONTENTS / TIMES / SCORES:
GMAT/CBF (Computer Based Format) Section I: 2, 30-minute, impromptu essays, each, 0-6 raw-score points Section II: 37 quantitative questions in 75 minutes, 9 random not scored Section III: 41 verbal questions in 75 minutes, 13 random not scored Total Time: 3.5 hours (excludes 2 optional 10-minute breaks) Total GMAT Score: 200-800 You may opt to receive your GMAT score either online or via snail mail. If online, an email link is transmitted within 20 days after your GMAT. If snail mail, your score will be mailed in ± 20 days after your GMAT.
FOREW0RD
Richard Rome has many qualifications for writing a book on how to prepare for college admission tests. However, the one that is most important is that he is a superb teacher. This is true for reasons that extend beyond his sincere interest in helping students improve their scores or his dedication to learning. These are integral to his character, and I know from personal experience what great delight he takes when a student solves a math problem or masters a reading passage that was previously beyond his or her capabilities. Regard for learning and for helping students are, of course, critical to good teaching. However, a deep understanding of the subjects to be taught and a developed sense of how they can be communicated in meaningful and intelligible ways are equally critical. And these too are qualities that Richard Rome possesses in abundance. What Richard Rome has to offer in this book is, thus, neither magic nor tricks. Rather, what he provides are intelligent analysis and good common sense. He can and does offer sound advice on test taking and he well understands what all should understand — that hard work can make a difference. Still, his most important contribution lies in his insightful treatments of fundamental aspects of mathematical and verbal knowledge. In these discussions his mastery of these subjects shines through and committed attention to them will profit all those who choose to make the effort.
FOREWORD
For several years it has been my good fortune to be a friend of Richard Rome. Through countless discussions, I have monitored the development of "I Have An Admission To Make" from its intellectual inception. I believe the student will find the text both unusual and invaluable. Indeed, Richard Rome is an unusual man. The breadth of his intellect is manifested by successes in highly diverse fields. He has successfully completed advanced studies in both the hard sciences and in language/linguistics. He has been successful in a wide variety of occupations, which include U. S. Marine Corps officer, exploration geologist/geophysicist and retail executive/proprietor. The student will catch glimpses of all of Richard's former selves, be exposed to his personal quest for excellence and occasionally be ambushed by his off-the-wall sense of humor. For the past decade Richard has been developing and offering highly respected courses and tutorials for the standardized examinations which students encounter on the road to higher education. This volume represents an attempt by Richard to make his proven test-taking techniques and philosophy available to a wider audience. Richard views standardized examinations not as impending obstacles but as worthy challenges readily surmounted by proper preparation and tactics. "I Have An Admission To Make" decries the quick fix and test-specific cramming. Rather, it provides a comprehensive rationale for examination preparation and test-taking strategies. Teaching basic skills is not Richard's purpose. His emphasis is housing basic skills and developing effective strategies and techniques. In my opinion this emphasis distinguishes this text from other current test-preparation manuals. "I Have An Admission To Make" is addressed to the highly motivated, academically sound student. It is a challenging text. However, I believe that by assiduously working through the text the student will reap the benefits of higher scores for higher education that so many students have enjoyed by enrolling in Richard's preparatory courses.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Emily Lispenard Rome who on that memorable sunny day in May in Wallingford, Connecticut cajoled, "Dad, you should write a book on how to get higher scores for higher education." Kindled by "Em's" powers of persuasion, and ever true to the applicable law of physics, these lucubrations never burned in a vacuum. Ever true to material Jungemetaphysik (boy and girl metaphysics), the daylight oil burned ever so brightly in tutorial sessions, and, thereby, thanks are due so many gifted students (far too numerous to mention) who often unwittingly sparked substantive suggestions in various sections prior to "Em's" fiery vetting of the manuscript. “Gagging” on academic grounds, while he demurred with bilious annotations that he begot because of several stirs of stomach queasiness, one indispensable reviewer doggedly disembarrassed this panjandrum of test preparation from the brink. With frissons of furtiveness, the writer resists expunging a few favorite portmanteau neologisms and scatological mnemonics (guaranteed to engender a gaggle of gagging math mavens) — ‘though your malmath be as scarlet, shall your text be as studied.’ As for Dr. William E. Fitzgibbon III and Leigh Hollier, gifted University of Houston mathematicians, a googolplex of gratitude is insufficient for their guidance and friendship. |
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