AON Verbal Reasoning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Passage: 'All employees must complete the mandatory safety training before operating machinery. New hires who have not yet received their equipment badges are not permitted to operate machinery.' Based on this, which conclusion MUST be true?
- New hires can skip safety training if supervised.
- New hires without equipment badges have not completed safety training. (Correct answer)
- All employees without equipment badges are new hires.
- Employees with badges do not need safety training.
Correct answer: New hires without equipment badges have not completed safety training.
Since operating machinery requires both safety training and a badge, new hires without badges cannot operate machinery — implying they haven't met the full requirements.
Question 2: Which word is closest in meaning to 'METICULOUS'?
- Careless
- Thorough (Correct answer)
- Hasty
- Vague
Correct answer: Thorough
Meticulous means showing great attention to detail, which is closest in meaning to thorough.
Question 3: Passage: 'The company reported a 10% rise in Q3 profits despite a 5% drop in unit sales, attributing the gain to improved pricing strategy.' Which statement is SUPPORTED by the passage?
- Unit volume drives profit.
- Higher prices offset lower sales volume. (Correct answer)
- Q3 was the best quarter overall.
- The company plans to cut prices next year.
Correct answer: Higher prices offset lower sales volume.
The passage explicitly states profits rose despite fewer sales due to improved pricing, supporting the idea that higher prices offset lower volume.
Question 4: Choose the word that best completes the sentence: 'The CEO's speech was so ______ that even the most skeptical board members were persuaded.'
- ambiguous
- monotonous
- compelling (Correct answer)
- obscure
Correct answer: compelling
Compelling means powerfully persuasive, which fits the context of convincing skeptical board members.
Question 5: Which word is most OPPOSITE in meaning to 'TRANSPARENT'?
- Clear
- Honest
- Opaque (Correct answer)
- Visible
Correct answer: Opaque
Opaque means not transparent — it is the direct antonym of transparent.
Question 6: Passage: 'Remote work policies vary widely: some firms allow full flexibility, others require at least three office days per week, and a few have returned to fully in-office arrangements.' Which conclusion can be drawn?
- Most companies prefer fully remote work.
- There is no standard remote work policy across companies. (Correct answer)
- Remote work reduces productivity.
- All companies will eventually mandate office attendance.
Correct answer: There is no standard remote work policy across companies.
The passage describes wide variation in policies, directly supporting that there is no universal standard.
AON Verbal Reasoning 1
Passage: 'All employees must complete the mandatory safety training before operating machinery.
New hires who have not yet received their equipment badges are not permitted to operate machinery.' Based on this, which conclusion MUST be true?