HSPT Verbal : Qualities
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for HSPT Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #399 : Analogies: Determining Meaning From Type Of Relationship
Choose the word that best completes the comparison.
Ice is to solid as vapor is to __________.
freezing
gas
evaporation
H2O
experiment
gas
"Ice" is a "solid," just as "vapor" is a "gas."
Example Question #21 : Qualities
Answer the question by choosing the word that best completes the comparison.
Stubborn is to hardheaded as easygoing is to __________.
stressed
obnoxious
brutal
laid-back
overworked
laid-back
"Stubborn" and "hardheaded" are both synonyms, just as "laid-back" and "easygoing" mean the same thing.
Example Question #22 : Qualities
Answer the question by choosing the word that best completes the comparison.
Alabaster is to white as jet is to __________.
dark
color
black
pack
plane
black
"Alabaster" is often used to describe "white," just as "jet" is often used to describe "black."
Example Question #23 : Qualities
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the comparison.
River is to fresh as ocean is to __________.
brackish
saline
acidic
broken
expansive
saline
A "river" is filled with "fresh" water whereas an ocean is filled with "saline" (or salty) water.
Example Question #24 : Qualities
Frivolity is to shallow as gravity is to __________.
planetary
solemn
motion
weight
attractive
solemn
Something “frivolous” is not serious, and when applied to a person, the term can mean carefree. Frivolous pleasures are really shallow, inconsequential pleasures. Thus, we could say, “Just as frivolity is shallow, so is gravity X.” Although “gravity” is often used in the sense of a physical force, it can likewise mean “weighty” in a metaphorical sense, as in “a grave, important manner.” Someone who has gravity (or as is often said in the media, “gravitas”) has a certain solemnity—or, “is solemn.”
Example Question #25 : Qualities
Atrium is to open as greenhouse is to __________.
florit
flamboyant
arrangement
arboreal
glass
glass
An atrium is a type of entranceway that has an open ceiling, so the analogy must be referring to the ceiling when it places “open” in relation to “atrium.” The best way to write a bridge sentence would be, “As the ceiling of an atrium is open, so is the ceiling of a greenhouse X.” None of the other options pertain to the ceiling of a greenhouse. Even if the option “closed” were also among the other answers, even then would “glass” be the best answer, for it is more specific to “greenhouse” than “closed.” The atrium’s open roof / ceiling is a necessary characteristic. This analogy is not opposing closed and open as much as it is paralleling the characteristics of the two types of structure.
Example Question #21 : Qualities And Features
Complete this analogy.
Trustworthy is to credence as malicious is to __________.
wicked
sinful
fear
evil
preponderant
fear
The word “credence” means belief in the truth of something. If someone is "trustworthy," we are likely to give credence to his or her words or claims. Something "malicious" is evil or ill-intentioned and harmful. Such a thing or person deserves to be feared, which adequately fulfills the parallel for this analogy.
Example Question #26 : Qualities
Nebula is to misty as vacuum is to __________.
empty
sterilization
cleaning
air
implosion
empty
A nebula is a cloud of dust and gas in space, appearing misty like dust in the air—at least when magnified by a telescope. The word actually comes from the Latin word for “mist,” and when we call something “nebulous,” we imply that it is unclear and / or vague, as though it were shrouded in mists. The analogy could be written, “As a nebula is misty in appearance (or misty in character), so is a vacuum X in appearance / character.” Note that the analogy requires some flexibility since the two words are not quite the same in character—a vacuum really is a lack of something, one could say somewhat paradoxically, “It is a nothing.” In any case a property of being a vacuum is the fact that it has no contents and thus is empty.
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