Study with GRE-Verbal Actual Test Questions

COG : WATCH ::

• A. manager : bureaucracy
• B. screen : television
• C. fish : school
• D. seasoning : recipe
• E. lawyer : jury

WEAPON : INTIMIDATE ::

• A. memory : recall
• B. meal : serve
• C. icebox : preserve
• D. donor : give
• E. sun : shine

The Galapagos Islands are in the Pacific Ocean, off the western coast of South America.
They are a rocky, lonely spot, but they are also one of the most unusual places in the world. One reason is
that they are the home of some of the last giant tortoises left on earth. Weighing hundreds of pounds,
these tortoises, or land turtles, wander slowly around the rocks and sand of the islands. Strangely, each of
these islands has its own particular kinds of tortoises. There are seven different kinds of tortoises on the
eight islands, each kind being slightly different from the other. Hundreds of years ago, thousands of
tortoises wandered around these islands. However, all that changed when people started landing there.
When people first arrived in 1535, their ships had no refrigerators. This meant that fresh food was always
a problem for the sailors on board.
The giant tortoises provided a solution to this problem. Ships would anchor off the islands, and crews
would row ashore and seize as many tortoises as they could. Once the animals were aboard the ship, the
sailors would roll the tortoises onto their backs. The tortoises were completely helpless once on their
backs, so they could only lie there until used for soups and stews. Almost 100,000 tortoises were carried
off in this way. The tortoises faced other problems, too. Soon after the first ships, settlers arrived bringing
pigs, goats, donkeys, dogs and cats. All of these animals ruined life for the tortoises.
Donkey and goats ate all the plants that the tortoises usually fed on, while the pigs. Dogs and cats
consumed thousands of baby tortoises each year. Within a few years, it was hard to find any tortoise
eggs-or even any baby tortoises. By the early 1900s, people began to worry that the last of the tortoises
would soon die out. No one, however, seemed to care enough to do anything about the problem. More
and more tortoises disappeared, even though sailors no longer needed them for food. For another fifty
years, this situation continued. Finally, in the 1950s, scientist decided that something must be done. The
first part of their plan was to get rid of as many cats, dogs and other animals as they could.
Next, they tried to make sure that more baby tortoises would be born. To do this, they started looking for
wild tortoise eggs. They gathered the eggs and put them in safe containers. When the eggs hatched, the
scientists raised the tortoises in special pens. Both the eggs and tortoises were numbered so that the
scientists knew exactly which kinds of tortoises they had-and which island they came from. Once the
tortoises were old enough and big enough to take care of themselves, the scientists took them back to
their islands and set them loose. This slow, hard work continues today, and, thanks to it, the number of
tortoises is now increasing every year.
What happened soon after people brought animals to the islands?

• A. The tortoises fought with the other animals.
• B. Scientists took away as many animals as they could.
• C. Tortoise eggs were kept in safe containers.
• D. The tortoises continued to wander freely.
• E. The animals ate the tortoises' food and eggs.

SKI : SNOW

• A. skate: ice
• B. ride: horse
• C. drive: car
• D. dance: step
• E. gold: putt

GIGANTIC : SIZE

• A. marginal: volume
• B. despondent: cheerfulness
• C. bankrupt: money
• D. substantial: mass
• E. heartrending:humor