How to Pass the GMAT: Unbeatable Preparation for Success in the Graduate Management Admission Test

289 Pages·2007·3.18 MB·English

by  Mike Bryon

HOW TO PASS THE
GMAT
®
Unbeatable preparation for success in the
Graduate Management Admission Test®
Over 600 brand new practice questions
with answers and detailed explanations
6 full-length realistic timed tests
20 mini-tests for the busy
candidate who wants to fast track
Mike Bryon
i
HOW TO PASS THE
GMAT
®
ii
GMAT® questions are difficult to answer and they are even more difficult to
write! If you do find an error then the author should be grateful if you would
notify him so that they can be removed at a future reprint. During your
program of revision and review, if you hit a problem not covered here or if you
would like suggestions of further sources of practice material then do please
contact the author care of Kogan Page.
I dedicate this book to Anne Waters
iii
HOW TO PASS THE
GMAT
®
Unbeatable preparation for success in the
®
Graduate Management Admission Test
Mike Bryon
London and Philadelphia
iv
Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at
the time of going to press, and the publishers and author cannot accept responsibility for any errors or
omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or
refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the
publisher or the author.
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2007 by Kogan Page Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced,
stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the
publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued
by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at
the undermentioned addresses:
120 Pentonville Road 525 South 4th Street, #241
London N1 9JN Philadelphia PA19147
United Kingdom USA
www.kogan-page.co.uk
© Mike Bryon, 2007
The right of Mike Bryon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accor-
dance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
GMAC®, GMAT®, GMAT CAT®, and Graduate Management Admission Test®are registered trademarks
of the Graduate Management Admission Council®(GMAC®). This publication does not contain any real
GMAT®test material. The Graduate Management Admission Council®does not endorse this product.
ISBN-10 0 7494 4459 2
ISBN-13 978 0 7494 4459 4
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
ACIPrecord for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bryon, Mike.
How to pass the GMAT: unbeatable preparation for success in the Graduate Management Admission
Test / Mike Bryon.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978–0–7494–4459–4
ISBN-10: 0–7494–4459–2
1. Graduate Management Admission Test--Study guides. 2. Management--Examinations, questions, etc.
I. Title.
HF1118.B79 2007
658.0076--dc22
2007001100
Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cambridge University Press
v
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
1 What is the GMAT CAT®? 1
2 Practice makes a big difference in GMAT®scores 7
3 Warm up questions for the quantitative and verbal sub-tests 14
Warm up questions for the quantitative sub-test 16
Problem-solving questions 16
Data sufficiency questions 35
Warm up questions for the verbal sub-test 51
Sentence correction questions 51
Reading comprehension and critical reasoning questions 65
4 Twenty mini-tests to help you get off to a flying start 86
5 Six timed practice sub-tests 132
Sub-test 1: quantitative 135
Sub-test 2: verbal 147
Sub-test 3: quantitative 161
Sub-test 4: verbal 173
Sub-test 5: quantitative 187
Sub-test 6: verbal 197
6 Answers and explanations 212
Chapter 3 212
Chapter 4 241
Chapter 5 253
vi
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vii
Preface
Choose this book for GMAT® success
This volume deserves a place among your GMAT® preparation material for the
following reasons:
(cid:2) It is value for money when compared with many other GMAT® practice titles
some of which cost more than $30.
(cid:2) There are 20, 10-minute practice mini-tests so that you can practice little and
often and get off to a flying start in the real GMAT®sub-tests.
(cid:2) Over 600 realistic practice questions, answers and explanations will allow you
to get down to some serious score-improving practice, especially if you find the
algebra, geometry, English grammar and critical reasoning the most challenging
parts of the GMAT®.
This book is intended for people who need to realize a well-balanced, above-
average GMAT®score. It will be of greatest value to the GMAT®candidate who may
not have experienced in their academic career to date, all the verbal and quantitative
skills tested in the GMAT®. It will also help the candidate facing the GMAT® after
some years since leaving university, the mathematically challenged or the candidate
who does not speak English as a first language.
If you are such a candidate then you have most to gain. Become familiar with the
test’s demands, and practice, and review, lots of relevant questions. You are then
most likely to see a significant and worthwhile improvement in your score. This
revision or review may help secure you a place in the business school of your choice,
an outcome that you may not otherwise have achieved. To succeed, be prepared to
undertake an extensive program of revision over many weeks and, ideally, months.
No single book or author should be relied on to provide all the material needed to
prepare for the GMAT®. Most candidates, to demonstrate their full potential, need to
undertake a major program of revision that will require the use of quite a number of
viii Preface
publications. In Chapter 2, I refer to sources of free material, and what I consider is
published material that is worth purchasing.
Please note that this volume does not provide advice on the Analytical Writing
Assessment (AWA). Such advice is available from some of the other publications
listed in Chapter 2, and I feel I can add little to what others have already said on this
subject. I have also not provided reviews of grammar and mathematics, as there are
other books that cover these subjects perfectly well.
Also note that the explanations offered in Chapter 6 are only intended as an aide-
memoire and to help readers realize where they may have gone wrong. Afull expla-
nation of all the operations and rules covered is beyond the scope of this book and if
required are obtainable from academic and educational titles.
You may find this book a challenge but it is intended first and foremost as a source
of help. May I wish you every success with your application to business school and
especially with the GMAT®!
ix
Acknowledgments
I owe thanks to Dr Jim Clayden for contributing the algebraic questions and many of
the data sufficiency questions. His contribution makes this a far better book than it
otherwise would be.
I am grateful to Steven Redman, who, for a number of years, directed a Spanish
GMAT®prep school and provided useful insights into the challenge of the GMAT®,
particularly to the non-US-educated candidate.
I am also indebted to Moz Gamble who undertook a careful reading of the verbal
sub-test questions, and suggested a series of improvements and corrected a number
of errors and ambiguities. Any remaining errors or omissions are entirely mine.