1. Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
(A) Market repositioning by a travel agency can foster growth and increase revenues. [This option pickes the example and expands on that. Cannot be the main point of the passage]
(B) A strong business plan, while helpful, is not essential to managing business growth.
(C) Ignoring a business plan can be detrimental to the economic well-being of a business.[Detrimental is too strong a word. Passage states that even if business plan is ignored, business may flourish because of visionary leadership]
(D) Improperly managed small businesses can run out of cash reserves. [This is too specific to a particular part of the passage and hence cannot be the main point.]
(E) A strong executive is necessary for business success.[Strong is the wrong adjective here. A strong executive here may mean a physically strong one
. Ambigous meaning]Answer should be
B, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
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2. According to the passage, which of the following statements about business growth is likely to be true?
(A) The size of the business can affect the importance of growth management.
(B) Experts agree on the importance of a strong business plan to business growth.
(C) A leader with strong business vision will make a business succeed.
(D) Improper management of business growth will kill the business.
(E) Regional travel agencies provide a model for general business growth.Answer should be
B, IMO.
This can be directly inferred from the below mentioned lines of the passage -
A number of experts have suggested that a strong (10) guiding business plan is the key to handling small business growth. A potent and well-formulated plan can lay the foundation for years of rising profitability, and can help a small business prepare for changes in the market.The contenders for this quest, IMO, were (B) and (C) but (C) is using a strong word 'will', which means definitely. Now the passage has inferred this on the basis of many case studies, but mide you not all case studies. It could be that they have still not found the exception they need to make this a little less than a 100%.
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3. Which of the following best describes the way the last paragraph functions in the context of the passage?
(A) An example is presented to undermine the assertion that a leader with vision can succeed without a business plan.[It is an example but not to undermine but support a point made in the previous para]
(B) The elements of a company’s success are outlined to prove a point about changing market conditions.[If the answer would have said 'An element', it could be a contender but here it states all the elements, but we don't know from the passage whether this para includes all the elements]
(C) A chain of reasoning is discussed in order to identify assumptions.[No assumptions identified. An example is stated to support a point made in the previous para]
(D) A specific example is presented to illustrate a point made in the previous paragraph.
(E) The main conclusion of the passage is stated.[Nope, only an example is stated to support a point made in the previous para]Answer should be
D, IMO. Elimination points marked against each option.
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4. The author’s attitude toward the view that business plans are essential is best described as
(A) unequivocal agreement
(B) tentative acceptance
(C) mild skepticism
(D) grudging acceptance
(E) studious criticismAnswer should be
B, IMO.
The options, from their broad meaning, look as if they represent a scale of [1 - 5] for the authors attitude towards the view that business plans are essential. The scale represents 5 as the highest and 5 represents option A, then 4 becomes B and so on till 1 becomes E (attitude is completely against the view).
Now from the tone of the author, we know that he is not a big fan of the mentioned view but again he has never shown negative attitude towards the view. Hence I would give a 4 on a scale of [1 - 5]

, which means a little above neutral and a little inclinded towards the view.
As 4 corresponds to B, IMO answer should be B
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