Question

The giant squid’s massive body, adapted for deep-sea life, breaks apart in the reduced pressures of shallower ocean depths, making the search for an intact specimen one of the most _____________ quests in all of marine biology. a. meaningful b. elusive c. popular d. expensive e. profitable

Short answer

b. elusive

Step-by-step solution

Understand the Sentence

Read the sentence carefully to understand the context. The sentence describes how the giant squid’s body breaks apart in shallower waters, making it difficult to find an intact specimen.

Identify Keywords

Identify the keywords in the sentence that help understand the situation. The keywords are 'massive body', 'adapted for deep-sea life', 'breaks apart', 'shallower ocean depths', and 'intact specimen'.

Contextual Clues

Determine the context from these keywords: The squid’s body breaks apart when it moves to shallower waters, making it difficult to find a whole specimen, which implies that finding such a specimen is a challenging task.

Choose the Best Fit

Look at each option to see which word best fits the context of the sentence:a. meaningful – This means having a significant meaning or purpose, which doesn’t align with the context.b. elusive – This means difficult to find or catch, which fits perfectly because the squid breaks apart making it hard to find intact.c. popular – This means generally liked or admired, which does not fit the context of difficulty.d. expensive – This is related to cost, not the difficulty of finding the squid.e. profitable – This means yielding profit, which also doesn’t match the context.

Conclusion

The word that best fits the context of a quest being difficult due to the squid breaking apart is 'elusive'.

Key concepts

Contextual Understanding

Understanding the context of a sentence is crucial when practicing for the GRE vocabulary section. In our example, the sentence discusses an issue related to marine biology and the difficulty of finding an intact giant squid specimen. Recognizing this context tells us that the focus is on a challenging situation. Key phrases like 'adapted for deep-sea life' and 'breaks apart in the reduced pressures' give us clues about the environment and the problem being faced. Learning to pick out such keywords helps us grasp the overall scenario the sentence is describing. This is the foundation for choosing the correct vocabulary word.

When approaching any GRE sentence, always:

• Read the entire sentence carefully.
• Identify phrases or words that convey important information about the context.
• Note any contrasts or causes that explain the situation.

By following these steps, you build a strong understanding of the sentence, which makes picking the right word much more intuitive.

Vocabulary Comprehension

Vocabulary comprehension is about picking the word that best fits the context of the sentence. In the given exercise, after understanding that the quest for an intact squid specimen is difficult, our job is to find a word that describes this difficulty accurately.

Let's look back at the keyword 'elusive'. This word means 'difficult to find, catch, or achieve'. It perfectly describes something that is hard to obtain, which aligns with the challenge described in our sentence.

Here's a simple strategy for building vocabulary comprehension:

• Look for synonyms and definitions that match the keywords in the context.
• Regularly practice with GRE word lists to familiarize yourself with commonly used terms.
• Incorporate new words into your daily conversation and writing to better understand their usage.

Understanding the nuance of words is key to mastering GRE vocabulary. The more you practice, the more intuitive it will become to pick the right word for any context.

Sentence Completion

Sentence completion exercises test your ability to find the most appropriate word to fill a blank spot in a sentence. This requires both contextual understanding and strong vocabulary skills. Let's walk through the process using our exercise:

1. **Read the Sentence Carefully** - Understand what the sentence is about, focusing on the overall meaning.
2. **Identify the Blank's Role** - Determine what kind of word is needed (e.g., adjective, noun) to complete the sentence meaningfully.
3. **Filter Options** - Look at the given choices and eliminate the ones that obviously don't fit.

For instance, in our example, the sentence involves a difficult search for an intact giant squid. Words like 'meaningful', 'popular', 'expensive', and 'profitable' don't convey the challenge adequately. The word 'elusive' matches the idea of difficulty perfectly.

To improve your sentence completion skills:

• Work on understanding the sentence as a whole before focusing on the blank.
• Develop the habit of eliminating options that don’t fit the context, even slightly.
• Keep expanding your vocabulary to increase the pool of words you can choose from.

With consistent practice, you’ll become more adept at quickly and accurately completing sentences on the GRE.