Verbal Reasoning & Reading Comprehension Flashcards

The word 'ameliorate' most nearly means:

Answer: Improve or make better

'Ameliorate' means to make something bad or unsatisfactory better; to improve a situation.

A passage with a 'compare and contrast' structure would most likely contain:

Answer: Similarities and differences between two or more subjects

A compare and contrast structure examines how two or more subjects are alike and different from each other.

'The committee was unable to reach a consensus.' In this sentence, 'consensus' means:

Answer: General agreement among a group

Consensus refers to a general agreement or collective opinion reached by a group through discussion.

Which of the following sentences contains a logical non sequitur?

Answer: He wears glasses; therefore, he must be intelligent.

A non sequitur means 'it does not follow' — wearing glasses has no logical connection to intelligence.

In a reading passage, the 'author's tone' refers to:

Answer: The author's attitude or feeling toward the subject

Tone refers to the author's attitude toward the subject, which may be formal, critical, enthusiastic, sarcastic, etc.

'The evidence is irrefutable' means the evidence is:

Answer: Impossible to disprove or deny

'Irrefutable' means impossible to deny or disprove; the evidence is conclusively established beyond challenge.

Which sentence best demonstrates the use of an 'analogy' to clarify an idea?

Answer: The brain is like a computer: it processes inputs and produces outputs.

An analogy explains an unfamiliar concept by comparing it to something familiar — here, comparing the brain to a computer clarifies how it works.