Last visit was: 16 Jul 2025, 01:37 It is currently 16 Jul 2025, 01:37
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
AVRonaldo
Joined: 24 Jan 2015
Last visit: 22 Mar 2022
Posts: 56
Own Kudos:
638
 [29]
Given Kudos: 9
GPA: 4
WE:Consulting (Pharmaceuticals and Biotech)
Products:
Posts: 56
Kudos: 638
 [29]
6
Kudos
Add Kudos
22
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
AVRonaldo
Joined: 24 Jan 2015
Last visit: 22 Mar 2022
Posts: 56
Own Kudos:
638
 [5]
Given Kudos: 9
GPA: 4
WE:Consulting (Pharmaceuticals and Biotech)
Products:
Posts: 56
Kudos: 638
 [5]
5
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
General Discussion
avatar
Shree9975
Joined: 06 Mar 2014
Last visit: 16 Feb 2016
Posts: 65
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 3
Posts: 65
Kudos: 61
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
avatar
KGump
Joined: 11 Jun 2016
Last visit: 16 Apr 2020
Posts: 55
Own Kudos:
26
 [1]
Given Kudos: 103
Location: India
GMAT 1: 680 Q49 V35
GMAT 2: 690 Q49 V34
GPA: 3.4
GMAT 2: 690 Q49 V34
Posts: 55
Kudos: 26
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi @gmatninja, @gmatninja2, @mikemcgarry, Experts,

Please help me understand the following line inorder to answer the 1st Question.

Often called mnemonic ciphers, they distinguished themselves *by requiring little, if any, in the way of material* that would arouse suspicion

I was unable to comprehend the meaning of the sentence. Is it a normal to use such a construction as "in the way of material".

My doubt is a bit specific but i just want to know if this sentence is a bit convoluted or my understanding is lacking.
User avatar
auradediligodo
Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Last visit: 18 Nov 2021
Posts: 364
Own Kudos:
817
 [1]
Given Kudos: 67
Location: Switzerland
Concentration: General Management
GPA: 3.9
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi,
I have troubles marking option A in Q1 as the correct answer. I see that this "Often called mnemonic ciphers, they distinguished themselves by requiring little, if any, in the way of material that would arouse suspicion" is a relevant part of the passage for evaluating option A BUT it says if any and the answer choice uses MUST. To me answer choice A is too extreme given that there is a scenario in which suspicious tools are not needed...
Any feedback on this?
User avatar
arvind910619
Joined: 20 Dec 2015
Last visit: 18 Oct 2024
Posts: 850
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 755
Status:Learning
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
GMAT 1: 670 Q48 V36
GRE 1: Q157 V157
GPA: 3.4
WE:Engineering (Manufacturing)
Products:
GMAT 1: 670 Q48 V36
GRE 1: Q157 V157
Posts: 850
Kudos: 601
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KGump
Hi @gmatninja, @gmatninja2, @mikemcgarry, Experts,

Please help me understand the following line inorder to answer the 1st Question.

Often called mnemonic ciphers, they distinguished themselves *by requiring little, if any, in the way of material* that would arouse suspicion

I was unable to comprehend the meaning of the sentence. Is it a normal to use such a construction as "in the way of material".

My doubt is a bit specific but i just want to know if this sentence is a bit convoluted or my understanding is lacking.

Hi,

I can help.
The particular lines you have mentioned are written in a complex manner. If we are not paying attention to the meaning then we might not understand those lines.
It essentially means that few such materials are to be used in mnemonic ciphers that arouse little suspicion. In that way mnemonic is secured and the agent is free :)
avatar
DavidDinh
Joined: 19 Sep 2019
Last visit: 07 Feb 2022
Posts: 6
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 277
Posts: 6
Kudos: 2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Q1:
The question ask about "Effective ...", but the passage mentioned a feature of "mnemonic ciphers", it doesn't mentioned effective or not?
User avatar
Aravindrk1111
Joined: 06 Jun 2019
Last visit: 10 Apr 2020
Posts: 13
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 67
Status:enjoying
Location: India
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship
GMAT 1: 620 Q50 V23
GPA: 3.9
WE:Engineering (Consumer Packaged Goods)
GMAT 1: 620 Q50 V23
Posts: 13
Kudos: 20
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
can any one explain why A is the right answer for question 1?
And i was not able to infer the meaning of the sentence to which option A points.
User avatar
CrackverbalGMAT
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Oct 2013
Last visit: 15 Jul 2025
Posts: 4,847
Own Kudos:
8,642
 [1]
Given Kudos: 225
Affiliations: CrackVerbal
Location: India
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,847
Kudos: 8,642
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Aravindrk1111
can any one explain why A is the right answer for question 1?
And i was not able to infer the meaning of the sentence to which option A points.

Hi Aravind

I draw your attention to the last sentence of the first paragraph:

"...they distinguished themselves by requiring little, if any, in the way of material that would arouse suspicion, and offered extremely high levels of security..."

This tells us that the requirement of very little or no material which arouses suspicion is a distinguishing feature of mnemonic ciphers. Admittedly, the question asks us about the ciphers being "effective" and not "distinguished". However, both are positive connotation descriptions of mnemonic ciphers in this context, and all the other choices presented in the question are directly contradicted by various parts of the passage (as explained in an earlier post).

Therefore, in this specific question, it is not a stretch to take "distinguished" to indicate a "good" or an "effective" cipher.

Hope this helps.
User avatar
Harsh2111s
Joined: 08 May 2019
Last visit: 10 Feb 2021
Posts: 317
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 54
Location: India
Concentration: Operations, Marketing
GPA: 4
WE:Manufacturing and Production (Manufacturing)
Products:
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:
1. According to the passage, which of the following was a requirement of an effective mnemonic cipher?

(A) It must require few tools or files that could give away a spy's secret operations
(B) It should include written records to ensure no data is lost
(C) It must require an extensive and complex process for the agent to follow
(D) It should disguise the secret nature of the message as commonplace communications
(E) It need not offer extremely high levels of security

I am unable to eliminate option C and D.
Refer below lines
"The ingeniously complex keying system with its chain addition and advanced arithmetic fed a complex pair of transposition tables that provided the real security of the cipher".
It clearly direct the answer towards option C.

MentorTutoring svasan05
Can you explain ?

SajjadAhmad, Can you share official explanation of Q1 and Q3.
avatar
AndrewN
avatar
Volunteer Expert
Joined: 16 May 2019
Last visit: 29 Mar 2025
Posts: 3,502
Own Kudos:
7,379
 [1]
Given Kudos: 500
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 3,502
Kudos: 7,379
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Harsh2111s
Quote:
1. According to the passage, which of the following was a requirement of an effective mnemonic cipher?

(A) It must require few tools or files that could give away a spy's secret operations
(B) It should include written records to ensure no data is lost
(C) It must require an extensive and complex process for the agent to follow
(D) It should disguise the secret nature of the message as commonplace communications
(E) It need not offer extremely high levels of security

I am unable to eliminate option C and D.
Refer below lines
"The ingeniously complex keying system with its chain addition and advanced arithmetic fed a complex pair of transposition tables that provided the real security of the cipher".
It clearly direct the answer towards option C.

MentorTutoring svasan05
Can you explain ?

SajjadAhmad, Can you share official explanation of Q1 and Q3.
Hello, Harsh2111s. I think the analysis offered above by AVRonaldo best explains how the other answers, including (C), are incorrect. All that I will draw your attention to is that this is an according to the passage question, a detail question whose answer can be found directly in the passage (leaving little to no room for interpretation). Notice the keyword requirement in the question stem. This perfectly echoes requiring in the last line of the first paragraph. I find keyword matching to be an extremely useful approach for RC in general, but no more so than in this type of question.

Thank you for tagging me, and good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
User avatar
CrackverbalGMAT
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Oct 2013
Last visit: 15 Jul 2025
Posts: 4,847
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 225
Affiliations: CrackVerbal
Location: India
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,847
Kudos: 8,642
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Harsh2111s
Quote:
1. According to the passage, which of the following was a requirement of an effective mnemonic cipher?

(A) It must require few tools or files that could give away a spy's secret operations
(B) It should include written records to ensure no data is lost
(C) It must require an extensive and complex process for the agent to follow
(D) It should disguise the secret nature of the message as commonplace communications
(E) It need not offer extremely high levels of security

I am unable to eliminate option C and D.
Refer below lines
"The ingeniously complex keying system with its chain addition and advanced arithmetic fed a complex pair of transposition tables that provided the real security of the cipher".
It clearly direct the answer towards option C.

MentorTutoring svasan05

Can you explain ?

SajjadAhmad, Can you share official explanation of Q1 and Q3.

Hi Harsh

Hope the above clarification by AVRonaldo and MentorTutoring helped you rule out other options. Thanks for tagging me and do let me know if you have any further queries.
User avatar
Rahul123456789
Joined: 04 Sep 2019
Last visit: 18 Dec 2022
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 6
Posts: 17
Kudos: 4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
In Question 1 I agree with the quoted line but it says" little or any while" the answer choice in question 1 says " It must require few " and the passage clearly says it might so how is answer A correct for question 1. Kindly clarify CrackverbalGMAT VeritasKarishma GMATNinja
User avatar
KarishmaB
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 16 Jul 2025
Posts: 16,111
Own Kudos:
74,348
 [2]
Given Kudos: 475
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,111
Kudos: 74,348
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Rahul123456789
In Question 1 I agree with the quoted line but it says" little or any while" the answer choice in question 1 says " It must require few " and the passage clearly says it might so how is answer A correct for question 1. Kindly clarify CrackverbalGMAT VeritasKarishma GMATNinja

few = little or none

Check: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/2017/0 ... uite-gmat/
User avatar
Rahul123456789
Joined: 04 Sep 2019
Last visit: 18 Dec 2022
Posts: 17
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 6
Posts: 17
Kudos: 4
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
few = little or none




Thank u for ur prompt reply VeritasKarishma. Checked in the dictionary and online too but nowhere it is mentioned few= none so is this specific rule for GMAT. I mean a strategy kind of thing to remember.
User avatar
KarishmaB
Joined: 16 Oct 2010
Last visit: 16 Jul 2025
Posts: 16,111
Own Kudos:
74,348
 [1]
Given Kudos: 475
Location: Pune, India
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 16,111
Kudos: 74,348
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Rahul123456789
few = little or none




Thank u for ur prompt reply VeritasKarishma. Checked in the dictionary and online too but nowhere it is mentioned few= none so is this specific rule for GMAT. I mean a strategy kind of thing to remember.

No, nothing GMAT specific about it. It is how the word "few" without "a" is used in English language.

"There are few people who like him" means there aren't many people who like him. How many exactly you can't say. It is used to show that there may be very few or may be not even that. It gives the degree of how little.
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 18,449
Own Kudos:
Posts: 18,449
Kudos: 953
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7357 posts
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
235 posts
GRE Forum Moderator
15843 posts