Even though it was not illegal for the bank to share

[RonPurewal]

Well, thanks.

But, that isn't just a compliment. In a certain sense, it's also a warning: If you keep progressing further and further into small details, you might lose your focus on major themes (parallelism, agreement, placement of modifiers/descriptions, overall sentence integrity, etc.)
You might not, of course. But you might. So, don't delay taking the test for too long.

[divineacclivity]

Well, thanks.

But, that isn't just a compliment. In a certain sense, it's also a warning: If you keep progressing further and further into small details, you might lose your focus on major themes (parallelism, agreement, placement of modifiers/descriptions, overall sentence integrity, etc.)
You might not, of course. But you might. So, don't delay taking the test for too long.

Thanks for your kind concern, Ron. Some of my topics are still pending for preparation e.g. CR takes me longer than the time allowed on an average on the test for now; RC also becomes a pain area for me if I don't have long enough to read/re-read the passage. So, I really am hurrying up with my preparation on those areas and really want to take the test asap and I just keep praying for a score near yours (big wishes I know) :)
But thank you very much for all your help always. You teaching skills are just amazing.

[RonPurewal]

If critical reasoning is taking you too long, then do two things:

1/
Slow down.
No, you didn't read that incorrectly... If you are taking too long, try reading more slowly and more carefully.
When people read in a way that's "rushed", they tend to miss important aspects of the context of the problem"”in which case they'll have to re-read the problem, sometimes more than once, to re-capture and re-integrate those bits of information.

It's more efficient to absorb a context all at once than to try to force "new" bits of information into a context that's already solidified. (Think of how hard it is to make changes, even small ones, to an already formulated scientific theory, diet plan, business plan, etc.)
So, "rushed" reading not only forces multiple read-throughs"”which already make it slower"”but also lends itself to incomplete understanding and, finally, makes it harder to see where the initially missed bits fit in.

2/
Personalize / Make the argument come alive.
If the argument is "black words on a white screen", it simply won't be possible to read it efficiently.

If you can make the passage truly come to life"”as a real-world situation in which you are personally involved, or, if that's not possible, as a dialogue in which you play a part"”then you'll immediately understand which aspects of the passage are most salient.

For instance, on OG13 CR #111 (#109 in OG 12), if you personally play the role of the prank-caller"”the person whose behavior/decisions ultimately determine the outcome"”then you will IMMEDIATELY understand that "anonymous" is the most important word in the first sentence. Without that first-person perspective, this is much more difficult to ascertain.

[divineacclivity]

If critical reasoning is taking you too long, then do two things:

1/
Slow down.
No, you didn't read that incorrectly... If you are taking too long, try reading more slowly and more carefully.
When people read in a way that's "rushed", they tend to miss important aspects of the context of the problem"”in which case they'll have to re-read the problem, sometimes more than once, to re-capture and re-integrate those bits of information.

It's more efficient to absorb a context all at once than to try to force "new" bits of information into a context that's already solidified. (Think of how hard it is to make changes, even small ones, to an already formulated scientific theory, diet plan, business plan, etc.)
So, "rushed" reading not only forces multiple read-throughs"”which already make it slower"”but also lends itself to incomplete understanding and, finally, makes it harder to see where the initially missed bits fit in.

2/
Personalize / Make the argument come alive.
If the argument is "black words on a white screen", it simply won't be possible to read it efficiently.

If you can make the passage truly come to life"”as a real-world situation in which you are personally involved, or, if that's not possible, as a dialogue in which you play a part"”then you'll immediately understand which aspects of the passage are most salient.

For instance, on OG13 CR #111 (#109 in OG 12), if you personally play the role of the prank-caller"”the person whose behavior/decisions ultimately determine the outcome"”then you will IMMEDIATELY understand that "anonymous" is the most important word in the first sentence. Without that first-person perspective, this is much more difficult to ascertain.

I got it. You so read human mind so easily & advice people so appropriately. I think I really was trying to race against the clock to be able to do well on the exam and doing so, either I'd read the paragraph again and again, or I'd just be taken by surprise with some new/un-read information after marking a wrong answer.
I lot of times, I'd just think to myself why the hell I picked the answer choice I did because the correct answer choice would really sound convincing even without reading the explanation probably because after marking a question, I'd just read the answer choices without the pressure of meeting time.

Thank you very much for your valuable advice. I'd not rush through the information unnecessarily. Maybe, it takes longer in the beginning but gradually I'd be able to pick up the pace. I think I really needed your kind suggestion. My God, I really was reading in fear of loosing time & that was taking a toll on me/my efficiency; I've been a very quick learner all my life with God's grace.
Thank you very much. I'm really gonna practice it well.

[RonPurewal]

My God, I really was reading in fear of loosing time

Well, you certainly aren't the only one facing this problem.

What you should do, of course, is try it both ways. In other words, do a "controlled experiment""”"”read some of the passages in a rush (as you've been doing), but read others WITHOUT rushing. Then compare the results. You may be surprised.

Really, this is the same way you test the effectiveness of just about anything else in the world.
E.g., if you want to see whether some drug kills pain, you don't just take the drug; you sometimes take it and sometimes don't. Then you compare.

[divineacclivity]

My God, I really was reading in fear of loosing time

Well, you certainly aren't the only one facing this problem.

What you should do, of course, is try it both ways. In other words, do a "controlled experiment""”"”read some of the passages in a rush (as you've been doing), but read others WITHOUT rushing. Then compare the results. You may be surprised.

Really, this is the same way you test the effectiveness of just about anything else in the world.
E.g., if you want to see whether some drug kills pain, you don't just take the drug; you sometimes take it and sometimes don't. Then you compare.

I'm very grateful to you Ron for your wonderful advice always. I'd do just that & let you know what I find. I'm sure the results would be positive because you know it all :)

[RonPurewal]

I'm sure the results would be positive because you know it all :)

Hardly.

For every 1 thing you learn, you'll discover 5 that you haven't learned yet.

[RonPurewal]

But, thanks for the kind words.

[divineacclivity]

But, thanks for the kind words.

I'm working on it as you suggested & I do see it getting better gradually. I can't thank you enough for your guidance & for sharing your wisdom.

DA

[tim]

Glad to hear things are improving for you! Keep up the good work.

[eggpain24]

HI, instructors：

can you help me brief on the mistake in C？

is it mainly due to “failing” inferior to “failure” （choice B）

AND

“in its failing” is not as direct as “by failing（choice A)" and has some indirect meaning？

[RonPurewal]

"Its failure" would be better than "its failing", if that were the issue. As is apparent from the correct answer, though, that's not the issue.

[RonPurewal]

“in its failing” is not as direct as “by failing（choice A)" and has some indirect meaning？

1/
"In ___ing" means, essentially, "something happens during the process of ___ing".
E.g.,
If you make a mistake in administering an insulin injection, your life may be at risk.
—> If you make a mistake during the process of administering insulin, you could die.
Note that the action of "administering an insulin injection" is NOT a mistake. (If you have type 1 diabetes and don't inject insulin, you'll die!) The point is that mistakes in executing that task—NOT the task itself—are especially dangerous.

2/
"By ___ing" means "___ing = HOW/WHY something happens".
E.g.,
You could accidentally kill yourself by injecting too much insulin.
—> "Injecting too much insulin" is HOW you could kill yourself.

(You could also write "You could accidentally kill yourself in injecting insulin"—with essentially the same meaning as the sentence in #1 above. Note that, unlike the example in #2, this one fails to specify HOW you could accidentally kill yourself. Example #1 doesn't specify this either.)


--


This isn't some random idiom, by the way; it's a difference that fundamentally changes the meaning of the entire sentence.

[RonPurewal]

Also, "promise to ___" is idiomatic, while "promise of ___ing" isn't.

This is a random idiom, though, and as such is much less important than the considerations above.

[eggpain24]

“in its failing” is not as direct as “by failing（choice A)" and has some indirect meaning？

1/
"In ___ing" means, essentially, "something happens during the process of ___ing".
E.g.,
If you make a mistake in administering an insulin injection, your life may be at risk.
—> If you make a mistake during the process of administering insulin, you could die.
Note that the action of "administering an insulin injection" is NOT a mistake. (If you have type 1 diabetes and don't inject insulin, you'll die!) The point is that mistakes in executing that task—NOT the task itself—are especially dangerous.

2/
"By ___ing" means "___ing = HOW/WHY something happens".
E.g.,
You could accidentally kill yourself by injecting too much insulin.
—> "Injecting too much insulin" is HOW you could kill yourself.

(You could also write "You could accidentally kill yourself in injecting insulin"—with essentially the same meaning as the sentence in #1 above. Note that, unlike the example in #2, this one fails to specify HOW you could accidentally kill yourself. Example #1 doesn't specify this either.)


--


This isn't some random idiom, by the way; it's a difference that fundamentally changes the meaning of the entire sentence.

really nice explanation!