The following text describes Maria Santos during her university's annual honors ceremony. Maria walked slowly toward the podium as her...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The following text describes Maria Santos during her university's annual honors ceremony.
Maria walked slowly toward the podium as her name was called for the Outstanding Student Research Award. As the dean handed her the certificate, she felt her face warm and a smile spread across her features. Her eyes brightened with an expression of genuine surprise, as though she was seeing herself in a new light. She remained still for several moments, barely registering the applause around her. The realization of her academic achievement washed over her completely. She had never imagined this recognition possible.
According to the text, what is true about Maria?
She is pleased by the recognition she receives.
She had expected to win the research award.
She is uncomfortable with public ceremonies.
She disagrees with the dean's choice of recipient.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Maria walked slowly toward the podium as her name was called for the Outstanding Student Research Award." |
|
| "As the dean handed her the certificate, she felt her face warm and a smile spread across her features." |
|
| "Her eyes brightened with an expression of genuine surprise, as though she was seeing herself in a new light." |
|
| "She remained still for several moments, barely registering the applause around her." |
|
| "The realization of her academic achievement washed over her completely." |
|
| "She had never imagined this recognition possible." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Maria experiences genuine surprise and pleasure when receiving an unexpected academic award.
Argument Flow: The passage shows Maria's journey from simply walking to the podium to being completely absorbed in an unexpected moment of recognition. We see her physical reactions (warmth, smile), emotional responses (surprise, new self-view), and the context that makes this meaningful (she never expected it).
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- From our analysis, we know Maria shows clear positive physical reactions (face warming, smiling), emotional responses (eyes brightening), and the passage explicitly describes her surprise as genuine
- The context reveals she never expected this recognition, which explains her reaction
- So the right answer should capture Maria's positive response to receiving unexpected recognition
She is pleased by the recognition she receives.
✓ Correct
- Directly supported by multiple textual details: felt her face warm and a smile spread across her features and Her eyes brightened
- These are clear indicators of pleasure and positive response to recognition
- Matches our prethinking about her positive reaction
She had expected to win the research award.
✗ Incorrect
- Directly contradicted by the text: genuine surprise and never imagined this recognition possible
- The passage explicitly shows she did NOT expect to win
She is uncomfortable with public ceremonies.
✗ Incorrect
- No evidence in the text suggests discomfort with public ceremonies
- Her stillness and absorption seem to indicate being overwhelmed by the honor, not discomfort with the setting
She disagrees with the dean's choice of recipient.
✗ Incorrect
- Nothing in the passage suggests disagreement with the dean's choice
- Her positive reactions indicate acceptance and pleasure, not disagreement