GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test) · Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences
Interpreting short passages
57 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.
Practise Interpreting short passages now
Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.
All 57 questions
- Read: "The economist argued that rising wages do not always cause inflation; much depends on whether productivity rises at the same pace." Which assumption underlies this argument?
- Read: "Since the new bike lanes opened, accidents involving cyclists have fallen; the council therefore concludes that bike lanes make roads safer." Which factor would most weaken the council's conclu…
- Read: "Critics of the novel say it glorifies violence; its defenders say it shows the consequences of violence in unsparing detail." What is the central disagreement?
- Read: "The village school, once the centre of community life, now stands empty." The word 'once' in this sentence suggests:
- Read: "Historians disagree about the causes of the war; some stress economic rivalry, others point to alliances that dragged nations into conflict." Which statement is best supported?
- Read: "The mayor insists that the stadium will pay for itself within ten years." What is being asserted?
- Read: "Voters in the survey who read a daily newspaper were more likely to vote; the researcher concluded that newspapers increase voting." Which flaw does this reasoning contain?
- Read: "To say that all art is subjective is to say that no one can ever be wrong about a painting." What does the author imply about the claim that all art is subjective?
- Read: "The company's quarterly report highlights record sales but says little about rising costs." What does this suggest about the report?
- Read: "Though the treaty was signed with great ceremony, neither side intended to honour its terms for long." What is the tone of this sentence?
- Read: "Some argue that standardised tests measure a narrow range of skills. Others reply that a narrow measure can still be a useful and fair one." What do the two views have in common?
- Read: "Her argument rests on a single anecdote." What is the likely criticism?
- Read: "If social media use causes loneliness, we would expect heavier users to report greater loneliness; yet studies show mixed results." What does the passage imply?
- Read: "The philosopher defines justice as giving each person what they deserve. But who decides what people deserve?" What is the purpose of the second sentence?
- Read: "The author's tone is wistful as he recalls the farm of his childhood." Which word best describes wistful?
- Read: "In the early twentieth century, many cities introduced zoning laws to separate homes from factories, which reduced pollution near residences but also made cities more car-dependent." Which infe…
- Read: "No theory of history can explain everything; the best ones illuminate some patterns while leaving others in the dark." The writer's attitude to theories of history is:
- Read: "The poet repeats the word 'rain' in every stanza, until it seems to fall on the reader too." What effect does the repetition have?
- Read: "The committee postponed the decision pending further information." What does 'pending' mean here?
- Read: "Where the earlier generation saw machines as liberators, the next saw them as masters." What does this sentence compare?
- Read: "He praised the policy in public, but privately told colleagues it would fail." Which term best describes his behaviour?
- Read: "Rates of volunteering are highest among retirees." Which inference is most reasonable?
- Read: "Because the data were collected in one town, the results cannot be assumed to apply nationally." What limitation does this identify?
- Read: "A just society is not one in which nobody suffers, but one in which suffering is not caused by avoidable neglect." Which view of justice does this reflect?
- Read: "While the city grew rapidly, its public transport lagged behind." What is implied?
- Read: "The film's ending was ambiguous." What does this mean?
- Read: "Reform, said the minister, would come 'in due course'." What is the likely effect of the phrase 'in due course'?
- Read: "The study's authors caution that their findings are preliminary." How should readers treat the results?
- Read: "There is a difference between knowing the law and understanding justice." What is the writer suggesting?
- Read: "Public support for the policy has waned." What does 'waned' mean?
- Read: "Whether or not a city is walkable affects not only health but also who has access to jobs and shops." What does this statement emphasise?
- Read: "The explorer's diary describes the people he met as 'primitive', a word that tells us more about him than about them." What point is the writer making?
- Read: "Her essay is persuasive not because its facts are new but because its structure is clear." What does the writer value in the essay?
- Read: "The new law applies to everyone equally." Which principle does this express?
- Read: "Though the two novels were written decades apart, they share a preoccupation with exile." What does the word 'preoccupation' mean?
- Read: "Some commentators greeted the announcement as a breakthrough; others noted that it simply restated existing policy." What is the difference between these views?
- Read: "A theory that explains every possible observation explains none." What does the writer suggest is a requirement of a good theory?
- Read: "He was a reluctant leader, who seemed to wish the crown would pass to someone else." What does 'reluctant' suggest?
- Read: "The data show a correlation between ice-cream sales and drowning deaths." What is the most plausible explanation for this correlation?
- Read: "In a democracy, minorities must be protected from the tyranny of the majority." What principle does this reflect?
- Read: "The two senators clashed over the budget, though both said they wanted to protect jobs." What can be inferred?
- Read: "By the time the policy was implemented, the problem it aimed to solve had already changed." What does this imply about the policy?
- Read: "The ethicist distinguishes between what is legal and what is right, noting that the two do not always coincide." Which statement is consistent with this view?
- Read: "While some see the museum's collection as heritage, others regard it as plunder." What is the dispute about?
- Read: "She spoke with measured confidence." What does 'measured' suggest?
- Read: "If every citizen waited for others to act, no one would act." Which idea does this express?
- Read: "Although researchers could not say why, children raised near parks reported higher levels of wellbeing." What can be concluded?
- Read: "Critics call the plan unrealistic; supporters call it visionary." What does this show about the plan?
- Read: "The historian relied on letters written at the time." What kind of source are these?
- Read: "A textbook written a century later describes the same event." What kind of source is the textbook?
- Read: "He claimed to be neutral, yet his questions all pointed to the same conclusion." What is the effect on how we judge his claim?
- Read: "The festival has become so commercial that its original meaning is hard to find." What is the writer's concern?
- Read: "The policy was criticised as short-sighted." What does 'short-sighted' mean here?
- Read: "While technology promises convenience, it may also quietly change what we expect from one another." What is the writer cautioning?
- Read: "Most economists distinguish between a recession, in which output falls, and a depression, which is deeper and longer." What is the key difference?
- Read: "Some historians treat oral tradition as unreliable; others value it as evidence unavailable elsewhere." What do the two groups disagree about?
- Read: "To praise a policy for its intentions is not to say that it has worked." What distinction does the sentence draw?
Keep practising
More GAMSAT (Graduate Medical School Admissions Test) topics
- Argument, Structure and Style83 questions
- Reading and Reasoning in Humanities and Social Sciences40 questions
- Biology, chemistry and physics reasoning40 questions
- Quantitative science problems39 questions
- Biological and Physical Science Reasoning36 questions
- Chemistry calculations33 questions