All ISEE Upper Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #571 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Travis assured his friends that he __________ to goals that were far loftier than what his little town could offer to him.
aspired
looked
studied
espied
imagined
aspired
The implication here is that Travis “aims” at high goals. Therefore, one could say that he hopes to accomplish these tasks. Such hopes are often called “aspirations,” a word coming from the Latin for “to breathe toward.” There are English words like “despair,” that mean “without hope” but are based on a different (but very close) Latin word meaning hope. The word for “I breathe” is “spiro” and the word for “I hope” is “spero.” Latin students often learn the shortened quip, “Dum spiro, spero,” meaning, “While I breathe, I hope.”
Example Question #572 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Robert __________ tightly onto the root sticking out of the cliff, hoping to hold himself there until a rescue crew could arrive.
affix
oscillated
clutched
recoild
attached
clutched
The key word in this sentence is “tightly,” which indicates that Robert was not merely holding on with a limp hand. The best option, therefore, is “clutched” which captures this sense of direly holding on in a tight-fisted manner.
Example Question #573 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Although Mark did not have many specific skills, he was excellent at ___________ affairs for others in order to make their work much easier.
facilitating
scheduling
discussing
overcoming
evaluating
facilitating
When someone is able to aid others in doing their work, particularly in making it easier, that person is said to “facilitate” the work. The word “facilitate” comes from the Latin root word for “easy,” found in related English words like “facile” and “facility.”
Example Question #574 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Ashley would watch other people’s hands and eyes to help her to __________ what they actually thought about the ideas that she expressed to them.
infer
influence
manipulate
espy
notice
infer
The sentence implies that Ashley is reading the outward signs of people’s behavior in order to reach some conclusion about their inner disposition. When someone “infers” something, he or she uses indirect evidence to come to a conclusion. Similar to how the word “transfer” literally means “to carry across,” the word “infer” means “to carry into.” (The “-fer-” portion of the word here means “to bring or carry,” from the Latin “ferre.”) An inference “carries” someone into the heart of a matter.
Example Question #575 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Andrew had a great deal of knowledge about the best means by which to __________ through the confusing streets of the old town.
peruse
navigate
stroll
stride
drive
navigate
Although the word “navigate” often applies to one traveling on a ship, it can be extended to apply to any case of planning the route that one must take. Given that the sentence speaks of Andrew’s great knowledge of the confusing streets, the best option will be “navigate,” which indicates that he knew how to find is way around the town. The word “navigate” does come from roots for “ship,” found in “navy” and “naval.”
Example Question #576 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
During the summer of his senior year, Eric decided to make money __________ cheap watches and t-shirts at carnivals throughout the country.
peddling
displaying
arranging
retailing
offering
peddling
The general implication of the sentence is that Eric is planning to sell these items during the summer. The key qualifying word is “cheap,” which helps to eliminate the tempting answer “retailing.” When someone “peddles” something, he or she not only is said to sell it but likewise is said to be selling something that is cheap, often doing so by traveling from place to place.
Example Question #577 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
That artist is famous for his technique of __________ black and white shapes, and his work focuses on playing up the intense contrast produced by the shapes' side-by-side placement.
limiting
separating
meandering
juxtaposing
undulating
juxtaposing
We can infer that we need to pick out a word that means something like "place side-by-side" and has something to do with creating contrast. "Separating" cannot be the correct answer because the sentence refers to "the shapes' side-by-side placement." However, "juxtaposing" is a verb that means "place or deal with close together for contrasting effect," so it is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.
Example Question #578 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Every morning it took Jerome’s parents fifteen minutes to __________ him from his deep slumber.
rouse
force
berate
jostle
coax
rouse
The best option here is “rouse,” for it has the direct meaning of “waking from sleep.” While the other options might apply to a degree (except perhaps berate, which is too strong), none of them apply quite as directly as does “rouse.”
Example Question #579 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Many quasi-rituals like tea parties and graduation ceremonies have elaborate __________ actions that are as intricately planned as those found in any complex dance.
manual
prancing
serving
pouring
choreographed
choreographed
Since tea parties and graduation ceremonies are said to have planned actions, one could say that they are “choreographed.” When something is choreographed, it is given a planned set of steps that are to be performed or executed. The word comes from the combination of the Greek words for “dance” and “to write,” thus having the sense of “writing down (the steps) of a dance.”
Example Question #580 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Although Luca was not naturally __________ to be patient, with time he was able to train himself to be less easily agitated by a number of potential irritants.
born
disposed
reflective
permitted
nurtured
disposed
Since Luca is said to train himself in the virtue of patience, it can be inferred that he was not born with such a disposition; therefore, the best option would be “disposed,” which means “inclined toward something.” When we say that someone has a “cheerful disposition,” he or she is thus said to show an inclination to a cheerful attitude.
All ISEE Upper Level Verbal Resources
