GMAT Reading Comprehension: ¿en qué consiste?

READING COMPREHENSION

En estas preguntas tendrás que leer un pasaje de tamaño variable, y con base en él tendrás que contestar de 2 a 4 preguntas. En promedio, de tus 36 preguntas de verbal, 12 serán de reading comprehension, por lo que es muy importante que te prepares adecuadamente para estas preguntas. Principalmente, ponen a prueba qué tan rápido eres de leyendo y hasta qué punto eres capaz de inferir información del texto. De reading comprehension, se cubren los siguientes temas:

  • Idea principal: Estas preguntas están relacionadas con el propósito principal del texto, lo cual es, en gran medida, poder recuperar la idea principal de este. 
  • Detalle específico: La lectura tendrá ideas secundarias que la apoyan. Estas incluyen datos, aseveraciones, u otro tipo de información que abunda la idea principal. Las preguntas de detalle específico pedirá que comprendas este tipo de ideas y las logres ejemplificar para terminar un enunciado.
  • Inferencia: Estas preguntas te pedirán extraer conclusiones a raíz de la lectura, no solo del tema del que se habla, sino de los propósitos del autor o de alguna aseveración que haya en el texto.

Para ejemplificar las preguntas, lee el siguiente texto, tomado del paper llamado “Contribution of Neuroimaging Studies to Understanding Development of Human Cognitive Brain Functions” (Morita, Asada & Naito, 2016):

Recent advances in non-invasive human neuroimaging have provided researchers in the emerging field of social brain science with insights into the workings of consciousness and social cognition. Of special interest is the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), a region of the brain associated with memory, fear, and, perhaps, prejudice.

Fears create memories, and those memories appear to be stored in the amygdala. This same region also seems to create memories that counter those fears, though these memories are then stored in the MPFC. Neuroimages show that nerves from the MPFC project into the amygdala, providing the mechanism for suppressing the fear response. As one might expect, rodents with MPFC damage have a decreased ability to deal with certain fears.MPFC activity also seems to correlate with self-referential judgments and memory. The dorsal MPFC in particular shows heightened activity during introspective mental activity. Interestingly, there is a reduction in ventral MPFC activity when individuals are involved in tasks that demand attention. This indicates that cognitive activity can decrease certain emotional processing. Other differences between these two areas of the MPFC have been noted. The ventral region becomes more engaged when an individual is shown photographs of strangers whose political beliefs—so the viewer is told—are similar to those of the person viewing the photograph, but the dorsal region becomes more active when the photographs are of individuals with whom the viewer does not share the same political perspective.

 

As long ago as the 19th century, scientists knew that damage to the MPFC interfered with social skills while leaving other mental skills untouched. With our newfound ability to actually observe mental activity in both healthy and impaired individuals without recourse to surgery, we have entered into an area that is sure to provide us with information about ourselves that will prove to be of enormous interest and great usefulness.

Antes de proceder a las preguntas, recuerda que no solo debes leer el texto, sino comprender actitudes, propósitos y objetivos detrás. El autor con sus palabras tiene algo qué dar a conocer más allá del texto. Eso es lo que te preguntarán en varias ocasiones en la sección de reading comprehension. Además, como se hacen varios cuestionamientos relacionados con el texto, intenta interiorizarlo, para no caer en errores comunes al realizar prácticas como el scanning.

  • Pregunta 1 - Idea principal: What is the primary purpose of the passage?
    1. Highlight some of the work being done in a new field
    2. Discuss technological breakthroughs
    3. Illustrate the advantages of non-invasive brain research
    4. Show similarities between apparently differing research methods
    5. Demonstrate the extent to which our knowledge of the brain has increased in recent years
  • Pregunta 2 - Detalles específicos: According to the passage, it is likely that the memories that allay fears are...
    1. Formed in the dorsal and ventral MPFC
    2. Related to memories that form prejudices
    3. Created and stored in different parts of the brain
    4. Able to be manipulated in rats through neuroimaging procedures
    5. Affected by tasks that demand attention
  • Pregunta 3 - Inferencia: Which of the following can be inferred from the passage about ventral MPFC?
    1. It is in direct contact with the amygdala
    2. It is involved in emotional processing
    3. It was first identified in the 19th century
    4. It is not involved in the storing of memories relating to fears
    5. It is smaller than the dorsal MPFC

Ten en cuenta que para muchas personas que presentan el GMAT el inglés es su primer lengua. Sería como si tú presentarás un examen de español. No porque seas nativo, significa que vas a tener un puntaje perfecto en ese examen. De allí resulta que saber inglés no es lo mismo que comprender el inglés. 



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