All HSPT Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Measurement, Storage, Location, And Material Composition
Timber is to sawmill as iron is to __________.
ferrous
sword
smithy
anvil
lull
smithy
Timber is the produced by a sawmill, so the analogy requires a place where iron is produced. The only answer that functions in this manner is “smithy,” which is name for the place that a blacksmith works on metals.
Example Question #342 : Analogies: Determining Meaning From Type Of Relationship
Choose the best answer that completes the comparison.
Hydrogen is to oxygen as proton is to __________.
positive
element
electron
bacteria
molecule
electron
"Hydrogen" and "oxygen" are both elements, whereas a "proton" and an "electron" are both subatomic particles.
Example Question #2 : Material Composition
Answer the question by choosing the word that best completes the comparison.
Forest is to woods as field is to __________.
dreams
baseball
nature
meadow
outdoors
meadow
"Forest" and "woods" are synonyms, just as "field" and "meadow" mean the same thing.
Example Question #654 : Analogies: Determining Meaning From Type Of Relationship
Complete this analogy.
Water is to ice as magma is to __________.
subterranean
molten
crust
stone
circulating
stone
When water cools, it becomes ice; therefore, this analogy requires that which magma becomes when it cools. Magma is the liquid stone that flows under the earth’s crust. When this cools, it becomes stone again. This is the only option that fits among those provided.
Example Question #2 : Measurement, Storage, Location, And Material Composition
Answer the question by selecting the word that best completes the comparison.
Aquarium is to fish as terrarium is to __________.
solar
swimming
tuna
water
plants
plants
An "aquarium" is designed to contain "fish," just as a "terrarium" is designed to contain "plants."
Example Question #3 : Measurement, Storage, Location, And Material Composition
Sheathe is to sword as veil is to __________.
face
marriage
matrimonial
dress
laced
face
A sheathe is the covering into which a sword is placed. You have likely seen this in movies that depict knights and warriors. The sheathe is often on the belt of the warrior, and he will place the sword into the sheathe after having used the blade. The analogy could be read, “Just a sheathe is used to cover a sword, so is a veil used to cover a X.” A veil is the covering that is used by women to hide their faces, often for events like weddings. A veil also can be just any type of cloth used to hide something from sight; however, among the options provided, only face stands in relation to veil like sword does to sheathe.
Example Question #361 : Analogies
Grain is to silo as wealth is to __________.
affluence
pecuniary
elegance
avarice
bank
bank
Grain is stored in a silo, so this analogy needs a word that describes a place in which wealth is stored. Abstractly speaking, there are many options for this, for people “store” wealth in stocks, gold, paintings, and many other things. Luckily, none of the answers are tempting in this way, for the others are variously related to wealth but not as places for storage. Only the humble word “bank” fits that usage.
Example Question #362 : Analogies
Complete this analogy.
Trinket is to shelf as tool is to __________.
construction
fabrication
mechanic
belt
manufacturer
belt
A "trinket" is a small item of little value. The word can describe either jewelry of this type or small items that might be set out as a humble ornament (like a small porcelain statue or something of that sort). Such trinkets can be placed on a shelf, and this makes the most sense among the possible sense of this analogy, given the potential answers. We can say that just as a trinket is placed on a shelf, so too can a tool be placed in a belt. (There are tool belts used by people working with tools.)
Example Question #363 : Analogies
Choose the word that best completes the comparison.
Ship is to port as car is to __________.
highway
shipyard
transmission
garage
automobile
garage
A "ship" is docked in a "port," while a "car" is parked in a "garage."
Example Question #4 : Measurement, Storage, Location, And Material Composition
Italian is to occident as Chinese is to __________.
developing
unknown
foreign
alien
orient
orient
The words “occident” and “orient” describe the West and the East respectively. The word “occident” comes from the Latin for “setting” in the sense of the sun’s evening “setting.” Since the sun sets—goes down—in the West, the West became called the “occident”—the land of the setting sun. The east, on the other hand, is the land of the rising sun. The Latin from which “orient” comes means “to rise.” The Christmas song, “We Three Kings” speaks of them as being from the “Orient.” The implication is that the kings came “from the east.” As something Italian is “western” (occidental) so is something Chinese “oriental.”