Gre Literature In English Practice Test: Fill & Download for Free

I love this question: “Why should we read literature?”It’s the same question a football player asked in an English literature course I took as an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon. The professor ignored his question, and I thought that was really a shame. This should have been the most fundamental thing in the course. Why are we doing this?Many other kinds of books (autobiography, memoir, popular or genre fiction) can be as life changing as literary fiction or great literature.For many of us, reading became a doorway to other worlds very early in life. It could be an escape (when things were difficult or boring), or an adventure (when we wanted to know about other times or places). For us, the value of reading is obvious - it’s fun! It feels good.Reading does not come naturally to everyone. Some people enjoy physical activity more than sedentary. Some people have problems with eyesight or attention that make reading difficult and unpleasant. I don’t condemn people who don’t like to read. It’s ok for people to enjoy different things. But I do think they may be missing something that could be valuable to them.I think many people who haven’t enjoyed reading in the past can learn to enjoy it more in the future. The Harry Potter books brought many people back to reading.There’s research in psychology that suggests reading can improve perspective taking and empathy; Keith Oatley’s research is described in this article: Does reading fiction make you a better person?Reading a book requires sustained attention. The ability to maintain attention and focus over a period of time is a great asset for many kinds of work and creative pastimes. (I’m writing a novel and revising a textbook and believe me, those required sustained attention.)Many things in our culture, such as television and web surfing, yank our attention around. I think we live in an ADHD environment where much of the time we give up control over what we pay attention to. Your life consists mostly of what you pay attention to.If you give up control of your attention, your mind is filled with the thoughts that advertisers, the media, and other people put into it. Those thoughts may cause anxiety; they can distract you from what you really care about. When your mind is full of other people’s thoughts, you never have a chance to figure out what you yourself think.Reading a book is listening to an author’s voice, of course, but it is a voice that you choose. It is practice in controlling your attention. It shuts out, for awhile, the loud voices of advertisers and the media. Sometimes we really need a break from a very noisy world.Sven Birkerts expresses concern that we collectively may be losing our ability to focus: Are There Books in Our Future I think he exaggerates the danger, but I do believe that it’s good mental training to learn to stick with ideas and activities, to maintain focus, and to block out distraction. Activities such as reading (or meditation) help us with that.Reading certainly helps build vocabulary and improve grammar (an asset for people who need to take standardized tests such as the SAT, GRE, or MCAT, as well as people who need to communicate as part of their work).Reading gives us a context. When I was young and infatuated, I could stop and ask: Am I being like Juliet? Emma Bovary? When a reader sees the title “Band of Brothers”, he knows it’s reference to Shakespeare. Words and things in your life take on new associations and new meanings, like the madeleine cookie dipped in lime tea in Remembrance of Things Past. I really enjoy those associations. They make everyday small things more beautiful.Reading literature introduces us to imaginary people who have experiences we will never have. By imagining ourselves into their situations, we can expand our lives and even our emotional repertoires.Reading can raise our hopes and aspirations. We see a character overcome adversity and think: maybe I can do that too. And maybe this character can show me how (like the women who overcame prejudice to become scientists at NASA in Hidden Figures).The ability to think about one’s own life as a narrative or story can be beneficial. The ‘I am a victim’ story is a good one to try on, to better understand painful situations; but the “I can overcome’ story is a much more positive way to think about your own life and plan for the future.There are now some forms of psychotherapy that focus on a narrative approach to understanding life experiences.A narrative or story ties things together and gives them meaning. Having a personal story can help a person find a sense of meaning. Without a story, life is just a series of random events that impact a person. With a story, these become opportunities and obstacles that the person actively manages to reach a desired goal.David Copperfield begins: “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” Reading can help us to become the heroes of our own lives.Human beings have a “hunger for myth” and a need for stories. Storytelling is probably one of the oldest human activities (once language was in place).Literature can satisfy that hunger for stories. Literature that has been designated as “great” is often good, but even popular writing can be a source of meaningful stories for people.Willa Cather said, "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.” I think there are more than two or three human stories. There’s a lot of debate about how many different kinds of life story (or frameworks for novels) there are.Each of us has one life. Through reading, we can experience many more of the various human stories. When we read about a character going through a life story similar to our own, we know that we are not alone. When we read about characters with stories very different and unfamiliar, we can see beyond ourselves.

For English:In general, GRE’s English section is tougher than CAT’s so if you are preparing for GRE, your CAT’s English section is mostly sorted.Newspapers/magazines (for both their English and content)The Economist - It covers business, economics, politics, science and language is also a good representation of paragraphs that you encounter in competitive exams.The New York Times - It’s less heavily focused on business than the Economist, but makes has solid contemporary articles.Project Syndicate - An opinion site of world politics, contributed by eminent leaders of the world.Open - An Indian magazine focusing mainly on politics. The articles written by the Chief Editor are a class apart in their language and articulation.The Hindu (Op-ed) - Opinion articles of Hindu also fit the bill for Reading Comprehensions in competitive exams.Aldaily - The language and articles of this site have been the toughest I have read. They cover some heavy philosophy, psychology and literature, typically seen in Reading Comprehensions in these exams.India (CAT-focused - more helpful for the interviews)Livemint, Business Standard and Indian Express give a good sense of the major happenings in the business world of India.Tip: When you read these articles, don’t just skim through them. After you have read them, try to make a note of the central idea/argument, underlying assumptions and key challenges to those assumptions. Would prove to be very useful in exams.For Quant:I haven’t used books for quant in CAT so my recommendations fall short in that regard. However, IMO, material of popular Indian coaching institutes like TIME, Career Launcher is pretty exhaustive. You can get this second-hand even if you don’t enrol with these. (However, I would recommend enrolling for the test series at least.)Barron’s and Kaplan’s GRE test prep books are very exhaustive in their coverage for both the sections, along with practice tests.

What are some good books for improving written English?It depends on the purpose of writing.1. I am a beginner.A dictionary like Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary can perfectly meet the beginner's need.I bought one about 13 years ago.Of course it has the 9th edition now with its iwriter. I am going to get a new one. :-)2. Write for exams like TOEFl, IELTS and GRE.The Official Guide is the best handbook for this purpose.The people who make the test have clearly listed all the key points of a score 6 response.All we need to do is keep practicing in the way test designers require.Book recommendation:Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice QuestionsCoverInside3. Academic writing.In fact, it's difficult to recommend any academic writing handbook since every subject has its own requirements.I've got a book called Writing Essays about Literature from my uncle. But I have never really written any analytical essay about literature. But I have tried some of its methods and consider it as a good guidebook.4. Write for one's own interests.1). The Elements of StyleThis book has been published for almost a century. It is said that every American college student has a copy of this book. (Really?)The author, William Strunk, clearly introduced the elementary rules of usage and composition in this little book. He also talked about an approach to style.As a Chinese ESL student, I consider it as a grammar book which shows me how to write essays or passages in the manner of native writer.I've got a beautiful Penguin edition.2). On Writing WellI think the key point of this book is succinctness.This key point is totally different from what I have been taught by English teachers in high school.Chinese high school students need to write a five-sentence article and a short essay with 120 words in an English exam.Many English teachers don't actually care what points students demonstrate but how many long sentences they use. They are so crazy about clauses. In their opinion, the more clauses you use, the better you write.I couldn't agree with them any more.3.) Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary builder (MW) & Word Power Made Easy(WP)I will learn a unit before bedtime and check how many words I still remember on next day's morning.MW is based on roots and WP is based on topics.I think WP is more interesting and useful.4). The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsI can't remember many big words with my poor memory. This Synonyms and Antonyms Dictionary can help me decide which word I should use.Thesaurus can help me find a big word synonymous to the small word I remember.5). Keep reading good books and learn from them.Reading can show us how published writers actually organized their words.Some good books on my desks.Carver Collected StoriesThe History of Western PhilosophyGreek Myth and Western Art6). Keep writing.My writing still sucks but I won't quit. My words are not succinct enough but I won't stop.Get yourself a nice notebook and a pen or pencil. Write down every thought on your mind.Mark down any good sentence or word you read and try to make your sentence similar to it.Just keep writing and remember every masterpiece was once a shit draft.