RBC Verbal Reasoning and Comprehension 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Choose the option that best describes the tone of this sentence: 'Despite numerous setbacks, the team persevered and ultimately delivered a groundbreaking solution.'
- Critical and skeptical
- Neutral and factual
- Optimistic and admiring (Correct answer)
- Pessimistic and cautionary
Correct answer: Optimistic and admiring
Words like 'persevered,' 'ultimately,' and 'groundbreaking' convey admiration for the team's achievement, making the tone optimistic.
Question 2: Which sentence is clearest and most direct?
- It is the case that the meeting was cancelled due to the fact that the venue was unavailable.
- The meeting was cancelled because the venue was unavailable. (Correct answer)
- Owing to the unavailability of the venue, the cancellation of the meeting occurred.
- The venue's unavailability resulted in the meeting being in a cancelled state.
Correct answer: The meeting was cancelled because the venue was unavailable.
Option B is the most direct because it uses simple subject-verb-object structure without unnecessary filler phrases.
Question 3: Passage: 'The marketing budget was increased by 30%, yet brand awareness metrics did not improve significantly.' What does this suggest about the spending?
- The budget increase was too small to matter
- Increased spending alone did not drive brand awareness (Correct answer)
- Brand awareness metrics are unreliable
- The marketing team performed exceptionally well
Correct answer: Increased spending alone did not drive brand awareness
A 30% budget increase with no significant awareness improvement indicates that spending more did not automatically produce results.
Question 4: Select the correct word: 'The committee will ______ the proposal at next week's meeting.'
- altar
- allude
- evaluate (Correct answer)
- elicit
Correct answer: evaluate
'Evaluate' means to assess or examine, which correctly fits the context of reviewing a proposal at a meeting.
Question 5: What is the logical flaw in this argument: 'Our competitor's sales dropped after they rebranded. We should never rebrand.'?
- Circular reasoning
- Hasty generalization (Correct answer)
- Ad hominem
- False dilemma
Correct answer: Hasty generalization
Concluding from one competitor's negative experience that rebranding always fails is a hasty generalization—one example does not prove a universal rule.
Question 6: Passage: 'Employees may take up to five personal days per year. Personal days do not roll over to the following year and cannot be converted to pay.' An employee has 3 unused personal days in December. What happens to them?
- They carry over to January
- They are paid out at year-end
- They expire and are lost (Correct answer)
- They convert to half-days
Correct answer: They expire and are lost
The policy explicitly states personal days do not roll over and cannot be converted to pay, so unused days are forfeited.
Question 7: Choose the sentence with the correct subject-verb agreement:
- The collection of reports were submitted on time.
- The collection of reports was submitted on time. (Correct answer)
- The collection of reports have been submitted on time.
- The collection of reports are submitted on time.
Correct answer: The collection of reports was submitted on time.
The subject is 'collection' (singular), so the correct verb is 'was,' not the plural form triggered by 'reports.'
RBC Verbal Reasoning and Comprehension 5
Choose the option that best describes the tone of this sentence: 'Despite numerous setbacks, the team persevered and ultimately delivered a groundbreaking solution.'