Analogies: Determining Meaning from Type of Relationship - HSPT Language Skills

A camera is said to “capture images.” The implication is that it takes pictures and stores them in some medium. For this reason, the implication of the analogy is that a microphone also captures something, namely sounds. While “waves” might be tempting, note that cameras also capture light waves. The analogy is speaking more of the representation that is recorded by the instrument—images, not merely waves. The waves could be recorded as a chart of scientific data if one so wished, and that would not be exactly the same as saying that an “image was captured.”

When someone smirks, he or she smiles in a self-satisfied manner, generally because he or she is smug, that is, prideful in some accomplishment. The bridge sentence could be written, “As someone acting smugly would smirk, so would someone acting exuberantly X.” Exuberance is the state of having a great deal of energy, often in a cheerful manner. Such a state would likely lead one to grin.

Something that is oscillating swings back and forth in a regular pattern. A pendulum does just this—as in the pendulum in a grandfather clock. The simple word “swinging” must therefore be paired with something that has a swinging movement (just as a pendulum has an oscillating movement). Among the options provided, only the word “hinge” denotes a “thing.” This alone weighs heavily in its favor. Likewise, the word does describe the small joint of a door that is the tiny origin of the swinging motion of the larger door surface.

One can "advance" in a "forward" direction, just as one can "retreat" in a "backwards" direction.

You have likely heard the expression “flora and fauna,” meaning something like “animals and plants (in a given area).” The analogy seems rather general, but there is a relationship between “camel” and “fauna,” namely that a camel is a member of the class of things we call fauna; therefore, we need to find the general class into which whiskey could be categorized. Although you could stretch a bit and attempt “pleasure,” so as to say that whiskey is a member of the class of pleasurable things, it is better to choose “spirit,” which not only has to do with immaterial beings but also is a word for strong alcoholic beverages (like whiskey). (“Wine and spirit stores” are ones that sell wine and stronger beverages as well).

You have likely heard the expression “flora and fauna,” meaning something like animals and plants (in a given area). The word “flora” is a bit more obvious that “fauna” since it is related to “flower,” which clearly brings to mind plants. A “poppy” is a type of flower, thus a member of the class of “flora.” Now, a tabletop is literally (and this is important) the top of the table—that is what is indicated by the word. This is important because a tabletop itself is not a member of the general class "furniture" as it is a type of surface. A bridge sentence can help to bring this out: “Just as poppies are types of flora, so too are tabletops types of surfaces.”

While very simple seeming, this analogy does link the terms, namely by a member-to-class relationship. As stools are types of furniture, so are hammers types of tools. The other options among the answers are related to hammers—what they do, who uses them, of in other ways; however, none of the other options relates to “hammer” as a general class as “furniture” does to “stool.”

A biologist is a type of scientist, so our bridge sentence could be written, “As a biologist is a type of scientist, so a senator is at type of X.” While a senator might be an elected official, the word “elected” is not a class but an adjective to describe a person or institution. Likewise, "political," "representing," and even "duplicitous" all are adjectives, but none are a general class like “politician.” Though it seems simple, this is the best answer, for it describes the same “member of a class” relationship as does the relationship between biologist and scientist.

A telegram is an antiquated mode of communication, using some mechanism of signal that would be translated into a written message to be delivered. The general relationship for this analogy is a specific type to a general class. You could make the bridge sentence, “As a telegram is a type of communication, so is a carriage a type of X.” Although all of the options bear some relationship to carriages, the only one that is a general class is “vehicle.” Even the option “train,” would at best be a whole of which a single carriage would be a part. This is not the same as a “member to a class” relationship.

Although “coin” might at first glance appear to be synonymous with “money,” it is better described as being a type of money. Coins can be created for a number of reasons—commemorations, decoration, etc.—and money can come in many forms—paper, coins, electronic forms, checks, etc. The bridge sentence for the analogy could thus be expressed as, “As coins are a type of money, so are letters a type of X.” While several options might be tempting, “document” is the closest thing to a class into which letters can be assigned. Letters are written on paper, perhaps by calligraphers, but they are neither types of paper nor types of calligraphers.

In its original usage, the word “manuscript” indicated a type of text written by hand. (The “manu-” portion is related to the word “manual,” which means related to the use of hands—think of “manual labor.” The “-script” portion is related not only to “script” but to “scribe,” “subscription,” and other such words). We now use the word to describe an unpublished version of an author’s work, e.g. the “manuscript” of a soon-to-be-published novel that is still being edited. “Manuscript” is related to “text” as a member to a class, as though to say, “as a manuscript is a type of text, so is an apartment a type of X.” While the word “loft” might seem appropriate, it is at best the opposite of what you need (if not totally unrelated). A “loft apartment” is a type of apartment—an apartment is not a type of loft! The best option, as simple as it might seem, is “housing,” for an apartment is a type of housing.

Primates are the general class of monkeys, apes, humans, and so forth into which we can include orangutans. Thus, we have a case of a specific type being related to its general class. You could think of your bridge sentence as being something like, “As orangutans are types of primates, so are pediatricians types of X.” The only relevant general category offered among your options is “doctor.”

A baron is a type of noble and thus could be said to be a member of the general class of “nobility.” The bridge sentence for this analogy could be constructed, “As a baron is a member of the nobility, so is a beggar a member of the X.” The only general class among the options provided is “underclass,” which is the part of society that is greatly impoverished and without employment. A beggar could fairly be said to be a member of this broader group.

A tent is a type of shelter, so the answer to this question will need to say what type of “thing” a lieutenant is. The bridge sentence could be constructed, “As a tent is a type of shelter, so is a lieutenant a type of X.” The only option that suffices is “officer.” The option “commissioned” might be tempting, as you are likely thinking “commissioned officer"; however, by itself, “commissioned” does not suffice to name a group. It is not sufficient to say, “A lieutenant is a commissioned . . .” You need to add to this a noun to explain what kind of commissioned thing he is. Note that if you were to read the analogy as, “just as a tent is used for sheltering, so is a lieutenant used for X,” there would be no option that fits. This indicates that the analogy must be read in the first way outlined above. (The option “saluted” does not work, as a lieutenant is not used for the sake of being saluted—even though it is quite proper to salute such a person).

A king is a type of ruler, thus the correct answer for this question will be the word that tells us what is the general type into which “reed” fits. You might know the word from being in band, for it is used to describe instruments like the clarinet and the saxophone. These instruments are called “reed instruments” because of the small wood-like portion used for producing the initial sound. The small item is actually part of a type of grass, which is called “reed.” Thus, the general class into which “reed” falls is the simple word “grass.”

This analogy might seem strange at first sight, but likely you have heard of the Siamese breed of cats. The word “feline” is an adjective meaning “catlike” or “related to cats.” “Siamese” are a type of feline. Thus, we want to know of what general class is a “borough” a type. The word “borough” is related to the “-burg” or “-burgh” that we find at the end of many cities. It is a type of living district that has some kind of representation or at least administration. A municipality is a local area that has a government. This word is a general class in which other things like villages, cities, and towns could be included. Thus, it functions well as a general class for borough.

A brooch is a type of pin used as decoration on one’s clothing. We could say in a bridge sentence, “Just as a brooch is a type of jewelry, so is a crest a type of X.” A crest generally denotes the notion of being at the top of something (e.g. the crest of a hill). Among the options, thee really are none that denote a general class other than “insignia.” The crest on a coat of arms is the insignia that is placed upon the top of the shield and is part of the insignia that designates the royal family represented by the coat of arms.

A trail is a type of route over which you could travel. The word “route” includes many other types of paths such as “roads,” “highways,” and “lanes.” Thus, the bridge sentence for this analogy could be formed as, “Just as a trail is a type of route, so is a polygon a type of X.” A polygon is a shape with multiple straight sides. It is used to describe any such figure, from triangles to shapes with 1,000 sides (and beyond); however, not all shapes are polygons—do not forget circles for instance! Thus, the only general class that is an option in this question is “shape,” which adequately fulfills the analogy.

A wreath is a type of decoration, the latter being the general class into which the former falls. Caffeine, which is found in substances like tea and coffee, is a stimulant or something that activates the body’s nervous system. (Hence, coffee keeps you awake if need be). There are other stimulants, whether drugs or medications, so this is a good general category of which caffeine is a member. Note that not even coffee is appropriate as an answer because we would not say that caffeine is a type of coffee. It is merely a substance in coffee.

An encyclopedia is a type of book; therefore, the bridge sentence for this analogy could be written, “Just as an encyclopedia is a type of book, so too is a cumulous a type of X.” A cumulous is a type of cloud. While it is something that can be described as being either aerial or fluffy, these latter options do not name the general class into which they are placed. That is only done by the general noun “cloud.”