9 min... 2/4 correct
I got question 1 and 4 incorrect. Thanks for the passage.

gracie90, emmafoster... My analysis for the questions is below. I hope it helps

Passage structure
1st Some reasons why Basketball is popular.
2nd Some other contrasting reasons (note word "However" at the beginning)
3rd Description of contrasting scenario: why a basketball career attracts college athletes. (Note "nevertheless")
4th Reasons that attract college athletes are compared with those of music career (differences and 1 main similarity)
5th Author final conclusion about reasons that make Basketball popular.

Pre-thinking
Overall, the author lists possible reasons why basketball is appealing for audience and athletes and provides a final conclusion-suggestion.

Answer choice analysis

1. Assuming that the information in the passage above is correct, which of the following can be most reasonably inferred about freshman college basketball players?

(A) Some of them are viewed as stars. Correct!
Question is asking for inference (paraphrase of an statement or a conclusion about freshman college basketball players). Some could be 1 to 100 % of player. 2nd paragraph states: "the stories of star freshmen driving school owned BMW's for example,...", so we know that some of them are consider stars and some of these star players drive fancy cars.

(B) Most can expect lucrative professional contracts. Incorrect.
Most (>50%) is never stated. "Despite numerous recruiting scandals, the stories of star freshmen driving school owned BMW's for example,..."

(C) They play only for the love of the game. Incorrect.
Love of the game is not the only reasons why they play; there are many other reasons.

(D) They are extensively and aggressively recruited out of high-school. Incorrect. Extreme action is not stated.

(E) They drive fancy cars. Incorrect .Be careful!. It is a general statement about all freshman college basketball players. The author doesn't make this generalization.

3. The author's attitude towards college athletics could best be summarized in which of the following ways:

(A) A valuable source of income to schools. Incorrect. Not stated.
(B) A breeding ground of inequity and greed. Incorrect. Never stated.
(C) An engaging and compelling source of entertainment. Correct! According to pre-thinking, in the whole passages, the author talks about the reasons why basketball is appealing to audience and college athletes, so one can say this option is a summary of the author's attitude.
(D) A distraction from academics. Incorrect. Not stated.
(E) A place for athletes to display their skills and receive appropriate compensation. Incorrect. It is true that author mention the fact that athletes display their skills because this action "holds potential for fame, fortune, and heroism".. But appropriate compensation in not stated. Moreover, this is not the overall author's view about college atlethics. Colleges athletics is related to the popularity it triggers.

4. The author suggests that all of the following might contribute to the popularity of college basketball EXCEPT:

(A) The purity of competition. Correct
(B) The nostalgic appeal of remembering college. Correct
(C) The "fascination with watching overgrown man-children". Correct
(D) The hope of seeing a future NBA superstar play. Incorrect. Never stated. Some college players are compared with NBA players in 2nd paragraph just to compare the compensation and reveal a wide gap.... SO this is our answer!
(E) The economic costs of attending professional games as compared to college games. Correct. Tickets are cheaper.

3. The author's attitude towards college athletics could best be summarized in which of the following ways:

(A) A valuable source of income to schools.
(B) A breeding ground of inequity and greed.
(C) An engaging and compelling source of entertainment.
(D) A distraction from academics.
(E) A place for athletes to display their skills and receive appropriate compensation.

I received this question in veritas prep. can anyone explain why the answer cannot be E here???
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Hello,

As far as my understanding with CR and RC questions on GMAT, its better to avoid extreme answer choices (especially in case of inference question).

(C) They play only for the love of the game.-----Only makes this answer choice too polar! this is not the most reasonable inference.


"comparing the compensation of an NBA superstar with that of even the most promising college player reveals a wide gulf." this sentence in second para may give an inference that Some of them are viewed as stars. Most reasonable and sensible answer option from given lot!

Kindly, put your understanding.
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While I did get D correct for the "author suggests that all the following might contribute to the popularity except"

The author does make 2 example that implies that people go to watch it for fame and tangentially indicates it. While he doesn't explicitly say it, it's heavily implied.

1) He talks about the thrill of fame for the college player. this is intentional to misread the reader into thinking we go for future fame.
2) The talking about the band. First of all if the sound is crap from this band why does the author write undiscovered? That would be implied. BY writing undiscovered it implies they will be discovered at some point. RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So this is misleading. No one would ever call a piece of crap undiscovered. It's bad wording .

For these reasons, I don't think actual GMAT would write this crappy a question.

Question answer pair 1 and 4 partially conflicting with each other :

1. Assuming that the information in the passage above is correct, which of the following can be most reasonably inferred about freshman college basketball players?

(A) Some of them are viewed as stars

4. The author suggests that all of the following might contribute to the popularity of college basketball EXCEPT:

(D) The hope of seeing a future NBA superstar play

Am I the only one who got the title of the book question wrong?

Can someone explain why answer E would be right here? I chose A because rest of the other titles seemed out of scope of way far fetched or were just referring to a part of the passage and not the entire passage.

Thanks

GMATNinja GMATNinjaTwo

Hi GMATNinja,
I was wondering could you please explain Q4? I was able to get down to option D and E relatively quickly but ended up picking the wrong option (E) instead. Towards the end of the passage, it states "....all of the reasons described above along with others such as lower ticket prices play a role in the growing popularity surrounding college basketball". Even though this talks about the lower ticket prices, can we really assume solely based on this that the tickets are cheaper than the "professional games" as stated by option E? Couldn't the "lower ticket prices" only account for within other college based sports such as football, baseball, softball, and other sports? Perhaps, out of these all these college based sports, only college basketball tickets are cheaper? Could you please explain where my reasoning is incorrect? Would greatly appreciate it!

Had it been a single sentence your logic might have been correct but The context of the passage mostly compares, Professional Basketball vs College basketball. Going by that, the cost of the ticket also compares professional with college.
Also, remember that option D is nowhere discussed in the passage.
Hope this helps.

for question 2

Correct Answer: E

The correct answer is E. Based on the tone of the article, B and C are incorrect. The passage also goes well beyond the stories of a single freshman player, so A is incorrect. The passage does not address professional basketball except in passing, so D is incorrect.
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P1 - why clg football is famous? speculations.
P2 - some more speculations.
P3 - so why athletes put their best?
P4 - compared the passion with this.
P5 - other obscure reasons are also thr.

1. Assuming that the information in the passage above is correct, which of the following can be most reasonably inferred about freshman college basketball players?

the stories of star freshmen driving school owned BMW's for example,

(A) Some of them are viewed as stars - correct
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2. This passage was most likely written as part of which of the following works:

(A) "Grown Man Playing," the autobiography of a star college freshman - no
(B) "Whither the Talent?" an editorial in a sports magazine about the decline of play in the NBA - no
(C) "BMW's on the Boards," an indictment of corrupt recruiting policies at several major colleges - no
(D) "Shotmakers," a biographical dictionary of the best 200 professional basketball players - no
(E) "Why We Cheer," a collection of essays on the appeal of sports since World War I - why we cheer helps

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3. The author's attitude towards college athletics could best be summarized in which of the following ways"

The correct answer is C. This answer choice is in line with the overall tone of the passage. Answers A and D are out of scope, and B and E generally oppose of the author's thesis.

(A) A valuable source of income to schools.
(B) A breeding ground of inequity and greed.
(C) An engaging and compelling source of entertainment
(D) A distraction from academics.
(E) A place for athletes to display their skills and receive appropriate compensation.

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4. The author suggests that all of the following might contribute to the popularity of college basketball EXCEPT:

(A) The purity of competition
(B) The nostalgic appeal of remembering college
(C) The "fascination with watching overgrown man-children"
(D) The hope of seeing a future NBA superstar play --- has to be the answer. other options are mentioned.
(E) The economic costs of attending professional games as compared to college games
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Would you explain why option C is not correct for Q4.

This is author's view that "Unlikely, nor can it strictly be the "fascination with watching overgrown man-children," as one pundit once described the NCAA finals."

What exactly I am missing here!

Hmm,

"My Opinion"
I didn't like the wording of options.
Have never seen such problems with Official passage
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for Q4. it clearly says "Unlikely, nor can it strictly be the "fascination with watching overgrown man-children" in the passage.
Shouldn't the answer be C in this case ?

Hi piyushluniya,



Option C cannot be the answer and this can be inferred from the lines:
"Unlikely, nor can it strictly be the "fascination with watching overgrown man-children," as one pundit once described the NCAA finals."

The author mentions that the fascination of watching overgrown man-children cannot be a strict factor contributing to the popularity of college basketball, but it still could be one, as the author doesn't deny or mention that its not a reason at all, whereas option D is not mentioned at all as a factor contributing to the popularity of basketball.


Hope This Helps.
Thanks.