The Complete Book of Intelligence Tests : 500 exercises to improve, upgrade and enhance your mind strength (5 page)

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)

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The Complete Book of Intelligence Tests

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)

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Specific aptitude tests

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, intensify, 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

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The Complete Book of Intelligence Tests

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

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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

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The Complete Book of Intelligence Tests

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.

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Specific aptitude tests

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)

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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

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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

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The Complete Book of Intelligence Tests

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 difficult __________________ (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).

window

question

himself

sickening

hapless

involved

worst

saw

shot

crash

asking

interviewer

totally

brown

kitchen

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Specific aptitude tests

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.

sufficient

pressures brain

realise

encouragement

ammunition data

living

latent

time

processed

creative

potential specialization explore

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).

abilities

plan

acquisition

basis

consider

learning

retention