3. A score obtained by one-third of the population — average degree of aptitude.
4. Lowest one-third — below average.
5. Lowest 10% — minimal aptitude.
The tests that follow are divided into three main sections: verbal aptitude, numerical aptitude and technical aptitude. Several spatial aptitude tests are included in subsequent chapters, specifically Chapter 3 (Logical reasoning) and Chapter 4 (Creativity).
Because they have been newly compiled for this book, the tests have not been standardised in comparison to scores obtained by other groups. Nevertheless there is a guide to assessing your performance at the end of each test, and because the tests relate to specific aptitudes, the results will give you the opportunity to identify your own particular strengths and weaknesses.
Unless stated otherwise, you should award yourself one point for each completely correct answer.
Section I — Verbal aptitude
Mastery of words is seen by many as having in one’s possession the ability to produce order out of chaos and because of this it is argued that command of vocabulary is seen as a true measure of intelligence, with the result that verbal tests are widely used in IQ testing.
Verbal reasoning tests are designed to measure basic verbal ability (the ability to understand and use words), and typically include spelling, grammar, word meanings, completing sentences, synonyms and antonyms.
The exercises that follow test basic verbal aptitude in a number of separate areas including synonyms, antonyms, analogy, odd one out and verbal comprehension. There are also two advanced tests, one of which is multi-discipline and one which is anagram-based.
For each test a performance assessment is provided. There is also a time limit specified for completing each test, which should not be exceeded otherwise your score will be invalidated.
Test 2.1 Synonym test A
A synonym is a word having the same, or very similar, meaning to another of the same language. Examples of synonyms are: select and choose, easy and elementary, inquire and probe.
Test A is a series of 20 questions designed to test your knowledge of language and your ability to quickly identify words that have the same or very similar meanings. In each case choose just one word from the five words inside the brackets that is closest in meaning to the word in capitals.
You have 20 minutes in which to solve the 20 questions.
1. GLUTINOUS (churlish, adhesive, hungry, bright, desolate)
2. ILLUMINATING (real, authentic, informative, rational, coherent)
3. ESPOUSAL (avoidance, outburst, care, adoption, crux)
4. SIGNIFY (connote, outline, depict, welcome, influence)
5. ERUDITE (ancient, scholarly, distinguished, careful, itinerant)
6. IRRATIONAL (intransigent, irredeemable, unsafe, lost, nonsensical)
7. MODERATION (reticence, equanimity, humility, care, delicacy)
8. PANORAMIC (extensive, picturesque, distant, ceremonial, equidistant)
9. WEB (erode, create, clothe, lattice, skirl)
10. SATIATE (follow, censure, undermine, veto, overfill)
11. THOROUGHLY (attentively, assiduously, long-winded, eagerly, prodigal)
12. COGENCY (grace, competence, prestige, force, speed)
13. DESIROUS (eager, eligible, worthy, fulsome, true)
14. SOJOURN (relief, holiday, breach, retirement, rest)
15. PETRIFY (bedevil, calcify, agitate, decline, coerce)
16. ENCAPSULATE (facilitate, imitate, captivate, epitomize, impede)
17. ADMONITORY (scolding, juvenile, acceptable, praiseworthy, flexible)
18. PRETENCE (premises, precept, diversion, charade, preponderance)
19. FULMINATION (business, tirade, scripture, casket, channel)
20. WONT (awe, tribulation, perception, custom, desire)
Test 2.2 Synonym test B
Synonym test B is a series of 20 questions designed to test your knowledge of language and your ability to quickly identify words that have the same or very similar meanings. In each case choose just the two words from the six words provided that are closest in meaning.
You have 20 minutes in which to solve the 20 questions.
1. chop, gnaw, grate, sever, chew, destroy
2. inimitable, corresponding, matchless, surpassed, mature, imposing
3. delegate, advise, identify, recruit, adjust, mobilise
4. boorish, unchaste, stable, impure, unjust, bizarre
5. workaday, prosaic, feasible, easy, special, effective
6. unassailable, kind, inveterate, entrenched, contrary, convoluted
7. truncate, abandon, misuse, relinquish, rectify, denounce
8. snappish, ordinary, cursory, shrewd, sardonic, hurried
9. severe, opinionated, crude, dogmatic, unprincipled, vocal
10. progress, orbit, travel, run, encircle, align
12. conspicuous, virulent, wild, profane, noxious, rancorous
13. just, somewhat, yet, once, now, moreover
14. elegant, serene, sophistic, shameful, sincere, fallacious
15. alter, assist, educate, facilitate, dream, cultivate
16. horizontal, unconscious, encompassed, submissive, supine, feral
17. farm, fare, style, food, firm, variety
18. guide, shepherd, farmer, shelter, carry, relocate
19. retreat, conclude, alight, circulate, call, getaway
20. intellect, symbol, rank, savour, genre, type
Test 2.3 Antonym test A
An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning to another of the same language. Examples of antonyms are big and small, true and false, happy and sad.
Test A is a series of 20 questions designed to test your knowledge of language and your ability to quickly identify words that have opposite meanings. In each case choose just one word from the five words inside the brackets that is most opposite in meaning to the word in capitals.
You have 20 minutes in which to solve the 20 questions.
1. CHECK (stay, accelerate, monitor, foil, win)
2. INVARIABLE (valueless, viable, genuine, flexible, simple)
3. RIBALD (genteel, attractive, serious, ethical, austere)
4. TOUCHY (obedient, fortunate, genial, sympathetic, durable)
5. TOTALITARIAN (democratic, fair, political, partial, conservative)
6. UNACCOUNTABLE (desirable, honest, potent, comprehensible, absolute)
7. WIDEN (prevent, compress, encase, hinder, terminate)
8. WORKABLE (atypical, amateurish, unfair, inconceivable, garrulous)
9. BRUTAL (civil, humane, patient, varying, happy)
10. PRODIGIOUS (tiny, tight, unproductive, inept, preposterous)
11. REMOTE (abstract, vital, related, astute, adjacent)
12. HYPOTHETICAL (academic, cagey, proven, punative, impressive)
13. IMMATURE (old, mundane, wise, mellow, respected)
14. EARTHLY (ethereal, temporal, seasoned, sensual, natural)
15. DENIGRATE (acknowledge, welcome, enhance, eulogise, master)
16. PUSILLANIMOUS (bold, cold, pure, sweet, dry)
17. COMPOSED (divided, nervous, specific, problematic, unhappy)
18. ASSET (acquisition, tragedy, misfortune, burden, mistake)
19. INTRINSIC (elemental, useless, obscure, unnecessary, appended)
20. MUSICAL (discordant, loud, lyrical, verbal, euphonious)
Test 2.4 Antonym test B
Antonym test B is a series of 20 questions designed to test your knowledge of language and your ability to quickly identify words that have opposite meanings. In each case, choose just the two words from the six words provided that are most opposite in meaning.
You have 20 minutes in which to solve the 20 questions.
1. wet, murky, cheerful, bright, still, happy
2. scarce, unwise, profuse, moral, ample, absent
3. contradict, continue, promote, in
tensify, quell, substantiate
4. fatuous, irrelevant, similar, therapeutic, contrary, rash
5. rigid, fluent, baroque, faltering, bare, effective
6. saturation, remuneration, tradition, reflection, salvation, perdition
7. eerie, hazardous, secure, active, restrained, sad
8. wise, foolproof, enlarged, wasteful, frugal, weak
9. candid, lucid, ignorant, angry, subtle, strong
10. sparse, gregarious, unsociable, graceful, weak, confused
11. litigate, allow, proffer, spread, proscribe, disagree
12. bob, rear, train, sail, bow, genuflect
13. important, rich, free, elevated, petty, perverse
14. neglected, brief, diplomatic, palpable, rude, devious
15. capture, absolve, captivate, diminish, hide, convict
16. climax, liking, zest, flavour, apathy, reluctance
17. trouble, turmoil, drivel, joy, passion, calm
18. elastic, severed, taut, level, slack, pliant
19. popinjay, neophyte, instructor, gambler, prize-fighter, aviator
20. humane, phlegmatic, erudite, solid, animated, healthy
Test 2.5 Analogy test A
An analogy is a similitude of relations where it is necessary to reason the answer from a parallel case. Questions may take the form ‘A is to B as C is to?’, as in the following example:HELMET is to protection as TIARA is to: adornment, queen, hair, royalty, head
Answer: adornment; both a helmet and a tiara are worn on the head, however, a helmet is worn for the purpose of protection and a tiara is worn for adornment.
You have 30 minutes in which to solve the 20 questions.
1. digital is to numbers as analogue is to: symbols, hands, time, register, chronometer
2. concept is to notion as fixation is to: obsession, idea, intuition, apprehension, proposition
3. confound is to bewilder as astound is to: surprise, confuse, startle, astonish, horrify
4. corolla is to petals as pedicel is to: flower, stalk, root, leaves, anther
5. limerick is to five as sonnet is to: four, eight, twelve, fourteen, sixteen
6. laser is to beams as strobe is to: intensity, flashes, signals, X-rays, lamps
7. venerable is to august as lofty is to: imposing, December, magisterial, rarefied, grand
8. haematite is to iron as galena is to: enamel, copper, tin, zinc, lead
9. trireme is to ship as triptych is to: spear, stand, pattern, panel, play
10. east is to orient as west is to: aoristic, occident, orison, ottoman, ocean
11. artist is to brush as scribe is to: paper, pen, book, words, page
12. squander is to waste as employ is to: exploit, obtain, benefit, consume, use
13. stopcock is to pipe as throttle is to: valve, engine, flow, machine, regulate
14. Aries is to ram as Cygnus is to: goat, fish, swan, eagle, charioteer
15. continue is to resume as continuous is to: perseverance, unbroken, everlasting, repetition, persist
16. jade is to green as sapphire is to: blue, red, black, brown, yellow
17. tangent is to touch as secant is to: meet, divide, coincide, intersect, join
18. cleaver is to cut as auger is to: drill, chop, hammer, shape, saw
19. competent is to skilful as adept is to: capable, expert, able, clever, knowledgeable
20. aspiration is to ambition as fruition is to: realisation, success, victory, recognition, desire
Test 2.6 Analogy test B
In each of the following, identify two words (one from each set of brackets) that form a connection (analogy) when paired with the words in capitals, e.g:CHAPTER (book, verse, read)
ACT (stage, audience, play)
Answer: book and play; a chapter is a division of a book and an act is a division of a play.
You have 30 minutes in which to solve the 20 questions.
1. PLUM (eat, grow, fruit) WILLOW (leaves, tree, crop)
2. RIFLE (bullet, gun, fire) CATAPULT (project, fling, weapon)
3. FOX (tail, hunt, fur) PEACOCK (fly, plumage, breed)
4. EVENING (morning, night, day) AUTUMN (day, winter, season)
5. STELLATE (sword, star, triangle) TOROID (funnel, ring, crescent)
6. TASTE (food, swallow, tongue) WALK (run, legs, move)
7. CHEMISTRY (laboratory, reaction, substances) FAUNA (plants, animals, countryside)
8. TRAVEL (journey, map, list) ATTEND (meeting, programme, boardroom)
9. FOREWORD (read, progress, book) OVERTURE (music, opera, composer)
10. RESIGN (politician, leave, parliament) ABDICATE (rule, king, realm)
11. CASTOR (sugar, furniture, wheel) ROWEL (bicycle, hub, spur)
12. MOBSTER (gangster, criminal, prohibition) BRIGAND (fugitive, bandit, desperado)
13. CLAVIER (piano, compose, instrument) TAMBOUR (music, beat, drum)
14. QUADRUPED (four, year, animal) QUATRAIN (verse, eight, ship)
15. LARGO (loud, solemn, slow) PIANO (lively, soft, fast)
16. GLUTTONY (food, weight, sin) CHARITY (philanthropy, kindness, virtue)
17. VESTRY (church, hospital, refuge) DISPENSARY (monastery, laboratory, hospital)
18. MODIFY (correct, regulate, change) REDRESS (adjust, align, rectify)
19. MOAT (ditch, portcullis, crater) TURRET (rampart, watchtower, defence)
20. SAVANNAH (inlet, highland, grass) SIERRA (ravine, mountain, rock)
Test 2.7 Classification test
In this test you are given a list of five words and are required to choose which of the five words is the odd one out. This may be for a variety of reasons, as in the following examples:
(a) calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, unruffled
Answer: ‘quiet’ is the odd one out, as the rest mean the same thing. However, your being quiet does not necessarily mean that you are calm, relaxed serene or unruffled. You could be extremely upset and agitated but still remain quiet.
(b) abode, dwelling, house, residence, street
Answer: ‘street’ is the odd one out, as the rest are specific places in which we live. ‘Street’ is a general term which may contain many houses, gardens, trees, road surfaces, etc.
You have 30 minutes in which to solve the 20 questions.
1. erect, upright, perpendicular, level, vertical
2. unequalled, paramount, exceptional, unsurpassed, finest
3. case, coffer, crate, chest, covering
4. cajole, deceive, beguile, inveigle, persuade
5. visit, summon, invite, assemble, convene
6. synagogue, mosque, pagoda, steeple, cathedral
7. hogwash, buffoonery, gibberish, gobbledegook, mumbo-jumbo
8. satisfactory, perfect, acceptable, fine, suitable
9. quadrangular, cubic, rectangular, spheroid, square
10. discontinue, forgo, relinquish, surrender, abandon
11. parched, desiccated, scorched, barren, dehydrated
12. pamphlet, certificate, catalogue, brochure, leaflet
13. burrow, till, cultivate, furrow, harrow
14. simian, ape, feline, monkey, primate
15. design, hew, chisel, sculpt, fashion
16. imaginary, strange, visionary, illusory, unreal
17. fete, holiday, gala, jamboree, carnival
18. obliquely, laterally, sideways, crabwise, orbicular
19. submit, distribute, tender, proffer, offer
20. sporadic, periodic, erratic, occasional, recurrent
Test 2.8 Comprehension
Each of the three passages below has had 15 words removed which have been listed at random below each passage. In order to test your verbal skills and comprehension ability, you must restore the 15 words correctly into each passage.
You have 30 minutes in which to reconstruct the three passages.
1. Just as the __________________ (1) __________________ (2) was half-way through __________________ (3) his most __________________ (4) and difficul
t __________________ (5), the __________________ (6) thing that could have happened did, and all hell was let loose as Ben __________________ (7) a cat through the dining room __________________ (8). Apart from almost barking the house down and __________________ (9) drowning out the second half of the question, Ben __________________ (10) across the dining room in a __________________ (11) blur before throwing __________________ (12) against the __________________ (13) door with a __________________ (14) __________________ (15).
2. We all have the potential to be __________________ (1), however, because of the __________________ (2) of modern __________________ (3) and the need for __________________ (4), many of us never have the __________________ (5) or opportunity, or indeed are given the __________________ (6), to __________________ (7) our __________________ (8) talents, even though most of us have __________________ (9) __________________ (10) to __________________ (11) this __________________ (12) in the form of __________________ (13) which has been fed into, collated and __________________ (14) by the __________________ (15) over many years.
3. __________________ (1) is the __________________ (2) of new __________________ (3), and __________________ (4) is the __________________ (5) of this knowledge. The __________________ (6) of learning and memory, therefore, is the __________________ (7) of all our knowledge and __________________ (8) and is what __________________ (9) us to __________________ (10) the __________________ (11), __________________ (12) in the __________________ (13) and __________________ (14) for the __________________ (15).
Test 2.9 Advanced verbal test A — multi-discipline
This test is a miscellaneous selection of 25 verbal questions designed to measure language use or comprehension and your ability to adapt to different types of question.