Admission Test GRE-Verbal - Section One : Verbal

SPARK : CONFLAGRATION ::

• A. drizzle : downpour
• B. volcano : eruption
• C. match : light
• D. yeast : fermentation
• E. sugar : sweetness

The victory of the small Greek democracy of Athens over the mighty Persian empire in 490 B. C. is one of
the most famous events in history. Darius, king of the Persian empire, was furious because Athens had
interceded for the other Greek city-states in revolt against Persian domination. In anger the king sent an
enormous army to defeat Athens.
He thought it would take drastic steps to pacify the rebellious part of the empire. Persia was ruled by one
man. In Athens, however, all citizens helped to rule. Ennobled by this participation, Athenians were
prepared to die for their city-state. Perhaps this was the secret of the remarkable victory at Marathon,
which freed them from Persian rule. On their way to Marathon, the Persians tried to fool some Greek
city-states by claiming to have come in peace. The frightened citizens of Delos refused to believe this. Not
wanting to abet the conquest of Greece, they fled from their city and did not return until the Persians had
left. They were wise, for the Persians next conquered the city of Etria and captured its people. Tiny
Athens stood alone against PersiA. The Athenian people went to their sanctuaries. There they prayed for
deliverance. They asked their gods to expedite their victory. The Athenians refurbished their weapons and
moved to the plain of Marathon, where their little band would meet the Persians. At the last moment,
soldiers from Plataea reinforced the Athenian troops. The Athenian army attacked, and Greek citizens
fought bravely. The power of the mighty Persians was offset by the love that the
Athenians had for their city. Athenians defeated the Persians in archery and hand combat.
Greek soldiers seized Persian ships and burned them, and the Persians fled in terror.
Herodotus, a famous historian, reports that 6400 Persians died, compared with only 192 Athenians.
The Athenians were ___by some soldiers who arrived from Plataea.

• A. answer not available
• B. welcomed
• C. strengthened
• D. held
• E. captured

TREMBLE : FEAR ::

• A. demand : anger
• B. scream : envy
• C. weep : grief
• D. follow : adoration
• E. smile : rage

The recent birth of septuplets has spawned many newspaper articles presenting _______ accounts of
medical problems associated with multiple births, _______ the initial heartwarming stories about the
septuplets that dominated the press.

• A. sobering . . counterbalancing
• B. depressing . . minimizing
• C. detailed . . substantiating
• D. various . . contradicting
• E. dispassionate . . obscuring

The origin of the attempt to distinguish early from modern music and to establish the canons of
performance practice for each lies in the eighteenth century. In the first half of that century, when
Telemann and Bach ran the collegium musicum in Leipzig, Germany, they performed their own and other
modern music. In the German universities of the early twentieth century, however, the reconstituted
collegium musicum devoted itself to performing music from the centuries before the beginning of the
"standard repertory," by which was understood music from before the time of Bach and Handel. Alongside
this modern collegium musicum, German musicologists developed the historical sub-discipline known as
"performance practice," which included the deciphering of obsolete musical notation and its transcription
into modern notation, the study of obsolete instruments, and the re-establishment of lost oral traditions
associated with those forgotten repertories. The cutoff date for this study was understood to be around
1 750, the year of Bach's death, since the music of Bach, Handel, Telemann and their contemporaries did
call for obsolete instruments and voices and unannotated performing traditions-for instance, the
spontaneous realization of vocal and instrumental melodic ornamentation. Furthermore, with a few
exceptions, late baroque music had ceased to be performed for nearly a century, and the orally
transmitted performing traditions associated with it were forgotten as a result. In contrast, the notation in
the music of Haydn and Mozart from the second half of the eighteenth century was more complete than in
the earlier styles, and the instruments seemed familiar, so no "special" knowledge appeared necessary.
Also, the music of Haydn and Mozart, having never ceased to be performed, had maintained some kind of
oral tradition of performance practice. Beginning around 1960, however, early-music performers began to
encroach upon the music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Why? Scholars studying performance
practice had discovered that the living oral traditions associated with the Viennese classics frequently
could not be traced to the eighteenth century and that there were nearly as many performance mysteries
to solve for music after 1750 as for earlier repertories. Furthermore, more and more young singers and
instrumentalists became attracted to early music, and as many of them graduated from student- amateur
to professional status, the technical level of early-music performances took a giant leap forward. As
professional early-music groups, building on these developments, expanded their repertories to include
later music, the mainstream protested vehemently. The differences between the two camps extended
beyond the question of which instruments to use to the more critical matter of style and delivery. At the
heart of their disagreement is whether historical knowledge about performing traditions is a prerequisite
for proper interpretation of music or whether it merely creates an obstacle to inspired musical tradition.
Which of the following statements, if true, would best support the author's explanation for the
encroachment by the early-musicians upon the music of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven?

• A. The music of these composers is notated more completely than is the music of Bach and Handel.
• B. The mainstream approved of the manner in which the early-musicians treated the music of Bach and
  Handel.
• C. Unannotated performing traditions associated with these composers were distinct from those
  associated with pre-1750 works.
• D. The early-musicians and the mainstream both prefer the same style and delivery of music.
• E. Most instrumentalists are attracted to early music because of the opportunities to play obsolete
  instruments.