SSAT Upper Level Verbal : Location, Time, or Context

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Upper Level Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Location, Time, Or Context

Law is to court as medicine is to __________.

Possible Answers:

hospital

medication

doctor

school

library

Correct answer:

hospital

Explanation:

Since law is practiced in courts, we need to pick out an answer that describes a kind of building in which medicine is practiced. While "hospital," "doctor," and "medication" all have to do with medicine, only "hospital" refers to a building in which medicine is practiced, so "hospital" is the correct answer.

Example Question #1 : Location, Time, Or Context

Complete this analogy.

Future is to prognosticate as past is to __________.

Possible Answers:

symbolize

remember

prepare

forget

delegate

Correct answer:

remember

Explanation:

“Prognosticate” is a verb that means foretell. So, “prognosticate” is a verb that is associated with knowing information that has to do with the future, and we need to pick out an answer choice that is a verb that is associated with knowing information that has to do with the past. While “forget” and “remember” might each look like potentially correct answer choices, only “remember” has to do with obtaining information about the past, so “remember” is the correct answer.

Example Question #2 : Location, Time, Or Context

Complete this analogy.

Car is to highway as __________.

Possible Answers:

movie is to theatre

traffic is to accident

boat is to ocean

runner is to marathon

scooter is to bicycle

Correct answer:

boat is to ocean

Explanation:

A car is a mode of transportation that can travel via the highway. We see a parallel relationship in the correct answer: a boat is a mode of transportation that can travel via the ocean.

Example Question #3 : Location, Time, Or Context

Complete this analogy.

Launch pad is to shuttle as __________.

Possible Answers:

car is to gas

flame is to hot air balloon

dock is to boat

bus is to highway

moon is to orbit

Correct answer:

dock is to boat

Explanation:

Since a shuttle takes off from a launch pad, we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is a noun indicating the location from which where the second word begins traveling. While "flame is to hot air balloon" might look like a good answer choice because hot air balloons can get nowhere without a flame, "dock is to boat" is the better answer because both launch pads and docks are locations, while a flame is not. Similarly, a flame is a component part of a hot air balloon that is present when the balloon is in motion, but launch pads are not part of shuttles after they are launched and boats do not bring their docks with them. Since boats embark from docks just like shuttles embark from launch pads, "dock is to boat" is the correct answer.

Example Question #4 : Location, Time, Or Context

Complete this analogy.

After is to guilt as before is to _________.

Possible Answers:

pride

confounded

complicit 

misgivings 

remorse 

Correct answer:

misgivings 

Explanation:

Guilt is something you might experience after an event, so to solve this analogy, you have to identify a negative feeling of concern before an event. This should lead you to the correct answer, “misgivings,” which describes concerns about not wanting to do something or participate in an approaching event. For clarification, "confounded" means puzzled, and "complicit" means involved in something bad.

Example Question #4 : Location, Time, Or Context

Bowl is to pin as dart is to __________.

Possible Answers:

rings

throw

aim

target

board

Correct answer:

board

Explanation:

When you go bowling, the pins are your target. When you play darts, the board is your target.

Example Question #6 : Location, Time, Or Context

Basketball is to free throw as __________.

Possible Answers:

baseball is to inning

chess is to chessboard

football is to touchdown

tennis is to racket

swimming is to pool

Correct answer:

football is to touchdown

Explanation:

One scores points in basketball by making successful free throws, so we need to pick out an answer choice in which the first word is a noun conveying a sport and the second word a noun conveying the way one might score points or win when playing that sport. While “baseball is to inning” and “football is to touchdown” might each look like a potentially correct answer, “inning” is defined as “a single turn at bat for a team until three outs are made” in the context of baseball, so a baseball game is divided into innings, but one does not necessarily score points by completing innings. So, “baseball is to inning” cannot be the correct answer. “Touchdown,” however, is a noun that means “a six-point score made by carrying or passing the ball into the end zone of the opposing side” in the context of football, so one scores points in football by completing touchdowns, just as one scores points in basketball by completing free throws, making “football is to touchdown” the correct answer.

Example Question #5 : Location, Time, Or Context

Complete this analogy.

Skyscraper is to city as wharf is to __________.

Possible Answers:

mountain

cave

village

seaside

forest

Correct answer:

seaside

Explanation:

A skyscraper is something that one would expect to find in a city, so we need to pick out an answer choice that describes a location in which one would expect to find a wharf. “Wharf” is a noun defined as “a dock; a level quayside area to which a ship may be moored,” so the correct answer is “seaside,” because it is the only answer choice which is located on the border between water and land.

Example Question #652 : Ssat Upper Level Verbal

Complete this analogy.

Brochure is to museum as __________.

Possible Answers:

map is to vacation

movie is to video

money is to groceries

newspaper is to news

document is to law

Correct answer:

map is to vacation

Explanation:

A brochure is something you use to guide you when you go to a museum; similarly, a map is something you use to guide you when you go on a vacation.

Example Question #7 : Location, Time, Or Context

Complete this analogy.

Nocturnal is to night as __________ is to day.

Possible Answers:

cosmopolitan

eternal

diurnal

rural

urban

Correct answer:

diurnal

Explanation:

"Nocturnal" means (of an animal) awake at night, asleep during the day. So, to solve this analogy you are looking for the answer choice that means (of an animal) awake during the day, asleep at night. The correct answer is therefore "diurnal." Additionally, "eternal" means lasting forever; "rural" means related to the countryside; "urban" means related to the city; "cosmopolitan" means worldly, sophisticated.

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