All SSAT Middle Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Tool/Use, User/Tool, Actor/Action, Product/Producer, And Subject/Object
Complete this analogy.
Small is to microscope as big is to __________.
garrulous
astronomy
telescope
macroscope
huge
telescope
A "microscope" is a piece of machinery used to look at the small world, so to solve this analogy you have to identify the name of the machine used to look at the much larger world. The correct answer is “telescope.” The prefix, micro-, means small, and the prefix, macro-, means big; however in this instance you use the prefix, tele-, which means at a distance or far away. For clarification, "garrulous" means talkative.
Example Question #1 : Tool And Use
Analogies: Complete this analogy.
Bed is to rest as car is to __________.
rescue
automobile
machine
travel
supplant
travel
A bed is an object which is used to fulfill the action of resting. So, to solve this analogy you have to identify which of these answer choices is an action intended to be undertaken in a car. The correct answer is “travel.” For clarification, "automobile" means car, and "supplant" means to replace.
Example Question #2 : Tool And Use
Complete this analogy.
Shovel is to dug as paintbrush is to __________.
painted
painter
handle
paint
painting
painted
One might use a shovel to dig something, and "dug" is the past tense of "dig," so we need to pick out a word that both a.) is a verb describing what someone might do with a paintbrush and b.) is in the past tense. While "paint," "painter," "painted" and "painting" may all seem like potentially correct answers, "paint" is either a noun or a present-tense verb, "painter" a noun meaning a person who paints, and "painting" a present progressive verb, so the only answer choice that fulfills both our requirements is "painted."
Example Question #3 : Tool And Use
Complete this analogy.
Table is to tablecloth as person is to __________.
air
sail
box
quilt
ice
quilt
A tablecloth covers a table, so we need to pick out an answer choice that describes something that covers and protects a person. While “quilt” and “sail” might each look like a potentially correct answer, because each refers to a piece of cloth, a “sail” is specifically the piece of cloth that catches the wind on a sailboat and propels it and does not necessarily cover and protect a person. A “quilt,” however, is defined as a large sewn covering used on beds made up of many small pieces of cloth joined together over a layer of padding and a back layer of cloth. Just as a tablecloth covers a table, a quilt is made to cover a person, so “quilt” is the correct answer.
Example Question #4 : Tool And Use
Complete this analogy.
Phone is to communicate as car is to __________.
maintain
automobile
machine
travel
technology
travel
A phone allows one to communicate, so to solve this analogy, you have to determine what it is that a car allows one to do. The correct answer is "travel."
Example Question #5 : Tool And Use
Complete the analogy:
Toothbrush is to mouth as __________.
feather is to bird
pen is to writer
as bat is to baseball
wire is to chain-link fence
comb is to hair
comb is to hair
We use "toothbrushes" in our "mouths." We use "combs" in our "hair." The relationship is tool to body part. None of the other analogies have this relationship.
Bats are used in baseball, but humans do not have baseballs as parts of their body. Chain-link fence is composed of wire, but neither word is related to a body part. Writers use pens but writers are not a body part. Feather is a body part of a bird, but bird is not a part of the human body.
Example Question #6 : Tool And Use
Complete this analogy.
Sword is to fencing as lance is to __________.
rowing
jousting
riding
fishing
running
jousting
A sword is the weapon used in fencing, while a lance is the weapon used in the medieval sport of jousting. This analogy relates an implement to the fighting sport for which it is used. The rest of the options are, indeed, sports, but they are sports that do not require a lance.
Example Question #7 : Tool And Use
Complete this analogy.
Paper is to inscribe as __________ is to repose.
office
yard
car
school
bed
bed
To "inscribe" means to write, to mark. So, one might use "paper" for the purposes of "inscribing." To solve this analogy you need to determine which of these is something one might use to "repose." Well, "repose" means rest, so the correct answer is "bed."
Example Question #8 : Tool And Use
Complete this analogy.
Preserve is to jar as mend is to __________.
glue
window
furnace
knife
door
glue
To begin with "preserve" means save, keep intact for later use. So, one might use a "jar" to "preserve" something. What might one need to use in order to "mend" something? Well, "mend" means fix, repair, so the best possible answer is "glue."
Example Question #9 : Tool And Use
Complete this analogy.
Hinge is to join as jack is to __________.
crush
destroy
mend
suspend
lift
lift
The function of a "hinge" is to join two pieces of something together. Its functionality is to "join" things. So, to solve this analogy you need to determine what the functionality of a "jack" is. The correct answer is to "lift" things. When you see someone raising the height of a car so they can change a flat tire, they are likely using a "jack." Additionally, "suspend" means pause, stop something until later.
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