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Verbal Test 11
Questions Booklet
Instructions
This verbal reasoning test comprises 30 questions, and you will have 25 minutes in which to
correctly answer as many as you can.
You will be presented with a passage to read, and a statement about that passage. For each
statement you must select one of the following answers:
True: The statement follows logically from the information contained in the passage.
False: The statement is logically false from the information contained in the passage.
Cannot Say: It is not possible to determine whether the statement is true or false
without further information.
You will have to work quickly and accurately to perform well in this test. If you don’t know the
answer to a question, leave it and come back to it if you have time.
Try to find a time and place where you will not be interrupted during the test. When you
are ready, begin the test.
Assessment Day
Practice Aptitude TestsFounded in 1954, the Bilderberg Group holds an annual conference of 120 of the
world’s most powerful and influential people. Participants, invited by a steering
committee comprised of two people from 18 different countries, typically include
financiers, industrialists, politicians, royalty and newspaper editors. Past
delegates have included Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, shortly before becoming
heads of state. Reporters, however, are not invited: the Bilderberg Group’s
meetings are conducted in privacy, with strict confidentiality rules to foster open
discussion. The Group was established to promote understanding and
cooperation between the United States and Europe and to create an informal
network for the global elite. No votes are taken at the conference and no policies
are agreed. However, the secrecy surrounding the conferences has given rise to
numerous conspiracy theories. Right-wing critics believe that the Bilderberg
Group is a shadowy global government, with some conspiracy theorists holding
the Group responsible for organising events including the overthrow of Margaret
Thatcher, the Bosnian War and the invasion of Iraq. Left-wing activists, who call
for greater transparency, accuse the Group of being an unelected capitalist cabal
controlling world finance. While opponents view the Group as undemocratic,
supporters argue that modern democracies depend on cooperation between
banking and politics, and that organisations such as the Bilderberg Group help
ensure their success.
Q1 The Bilderberg Group has critics on both sides of the ideological spectrum.
True False Cannot say
Q2 Representatives from the media are not allowed to attend the Bilderberg
Group conference.
True False Cannot say
Q3 The Bilderberg Group was created as a private forum to set Europe and
America’s political and financial agenda.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Q4 Topics discussed at Bilderberg Group conferences have included the
invasion of Iraq.
True False Cannot say
Q5 Because its delegates are not elected, the Bilderberg Group’s activities are
widely believed to be undemocratic.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Although today used to describe any movement to claim back territory for ethnic,
linguistic, geographical or historical reasons, the term irredentism originally came
from the Italian nationalist movement Italia irredenta. Meaning “unredeemed
Italy”, Italian irredentism was an opinion movement rather than a formal
organisation. It sought to unify ethnically Italian territories, such as Trieste,
Trentina, and Istria, that were outside of Italian borders at the time of the
unification of Italy in 1866. The annexation of these Italian territories from Austria
provided Italy with its strongest motive for participating in World War I. The Treaty
of Versailles in 1919 satisfied most of Italy’s irredentist claims, however new
borders delineated by the treaty gave rise to new irredentist claims. Dividing the
German Empire into separate nations created German minority populations in the
new countries of Poland and Hungary. German irredentist claims to these
territories, as well as to Austria, resulted in the Second World War. The Treaty of
Versailles created Yugoslavia to be a Slavic homeland, but ethnic and religious
differences between Bosnians, Serbs and Croats eventually led to war in the
1990s. The artificial political states created by the Treaty of Versailles in East
Africa failed to take tribal boundaries into account, and thus remain subject to
irredentist claims. Similarly, borders drawn up in the Near East are still
contentious today.
Q6 Trieste, Trentina and Istria were reunified with Italy following the Treaty of
Versailles.
True False Cannot say
Q7 Borders imposed in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles resulted in twentieth
century conflicts.
True False Cannot say
Q8 Irredentist movements advocate the annexation of territories only on the
grounds of prior historical possession.
True False Cannot say
Q9 Yugoslavia was created following the Second World War to provide a
homeland for Bosnians, Serbs and Croats.
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.True False Cannot say
Q10 Although originally an Italian movement, irredentist claims are now being
made in other countries.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Many organisations predict that the global water crisis presents this century’s
biggest threat. Today 84% of people in developing countries have access to clean
water, 2 billion more than in 1990. However, millions still lack clean water for
drinking and sanitation, posing a major health threat. In the developed world, water
consumption is unsustainably high, doubling every twenty years. Agriculture
accounts for 70% of the world’s fresh water use, and an increasing population to
feed means this demand will only increase. Groundwater sources, used to irrigate
crops, are running dry because of overuse. While limiting the use of groundwater is
a possible solution, it would have a financial impact on farmers and result in lower
yields. While climate change has resulted in increased precipitation in some areas,
it is contributing to water shortages in other regions. Rising temperatures have
caused the Himalayan glaciers, the source for all of Asia’s major rivers, to retreat. A
reservoir for nearly half of the world’s fresh water, these glaciers are predicted to
lose four-fifths of their area by 2040. The solution to the global water crisis lies
predominantly in new technologies. Desalination plants, which convert seawater
into fresh water, have now been built in countries including Israel and Singapore.
The process’s high costs however limit its widespread adoption. Organising bodies
and treaties are also needed to ensure that cross-border water sources are
managed properly and do not become a source of conflict.
Q11 The global water crisis has resulted in less of the world’s population having
access to fresh water
True False Cannot say
Q12 The irrigation of crops comprises the majority of groundwater usage.
True False Cannot say
Q13 Despite increasing rainfall in some areas, climate change is the main cause
of the global water crisis.
True False Cannot say
Q14 The main impediment to desalination is expense.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Q15 Both technological innovation and diplomacy are needed to tackle the world’s
water crisis.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Esperanto is an artificial language constructed in 1887 by the eye specialist Dr
Ludovic Zamenhof. Having experienced ethnic divisions and language barriers
growing up in Poland, he aimed to create an easy-to-learn second language that
could transcend cultural and political differences and further international peace.
Although Zamenhof’s goal of a universal auxiliary language was not realized, today
there are 1.6 million Esperanto speakers in more than 90 different countries. Using
an alphabet comprised of five vowels and 23 consonants, Esperanto is based on
Indo-European languages. Its grammar has logical rules with no irregular verbs,
and its spellings are phonetic, making Esperanto about five times easier for a
native English speaker to learn than French or Spanish. While some Esperanto
speakers still advocate the adoption of the language worldwide, other proponents
see its value primarily as a language-teaching tool. Esperanto is on the curriculum
in countries including China and Hungary, but it is not taught in British schools
because it lacks an associated culture. Its lack of culture is a common criticism
levied at Esperanto, yet its neutrality was intended to foster equality between
speakers. Detractors also argue that Esperanto’s linguistic roots give an unfair
advantage to speakers of European languages. The newer constructed language
Loglan is based on logic and uses the world’s six most widely spoken languages –
Arabic, Mandarin, English, Hindi, Russian and Spanish – as its vocabulary’s
source.
Q16 One of the advantages of Esperanto is that it is universally easy to learn.
True False Cannot say
Q17 Dr Zamenhof's goal was to replace ethnic languages with the universal
language of Esperanto.
True False Cannot say
Q18 Esperanto’s lack of an associated culture or homeland can be viewed as
both an asset and a disadvantage.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Q19 Contemporary Esperanto speakers do not share a common vision of the
language’s purpose.
True False Cannot say
Q20 Loglan is a more logically constructed language than Esperanto.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.A study has estimated that 20% of Americans have used prescription drugs for
nonmedical reasons, while the number of deaths from accidental drug poisoning
has quintupled since 1990. Prescription drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug
problem in the United States and most experts concur that the cause is the
increased availability of powerful new opioid analgesics. When taken as
prescribed, opioids are a safe, effective form of pain management with an
addiction rate of only one percent. The rise of pain clinics and online pharmacies
however has made it easy for nonmedical users to procure these potent painkillers.
The family medicine cabinet is another common source of opioids, as well as
sedatives and stimulants, which young people often combine with other drugs and
alcohol. Despite many highly-publicised deaths from prescription drug abuse, there
persists a popular misconception that using prescription medicines without a
prescription is legal, safe, and less addictive than taking recreational drugs. While
education programmes for youths and healthcare providers are being introduced to
raise awareness of prescription drug abuse, there are calls for increased
government regulation over opioid dispensation. Measures such as patient tracking
and urine testing could help doctors identify addicts. Some healthcare
professionals have expressed concern that restricting opioids in such ways would
have an adverse effect on chronic pain sufferers who rely on such medications.
Until the pharmaceutical industry develops less lucrative but non-addictive
painkillers, there are few alternatives to opioids for treating chronic pain.
Q21 Prescription drug abusers are typically young adults who have access to the
drugs at home.
True False Cannot say
Q22 The pharmaceutical industry has made opioid painkillers highly addictive to
enhance their profits.
True False Cannot say
Q23 Prescription drug abuse in the United States is generally attributed to the
availability of strong opioids.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Q24 The erroneous belief that there are fewer risks associated with taking
prescription drugs recreationally is prevalent.
True False Cannot say
Q25 Medical professionals do not support proposed government restrictions on
the prescription of opioids.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Birds were long considered stupid, however laboratory research has shown that
corvids – the group of birds including crows and jays – are actually highly intelligent.
Their ability to make and use tools rivals that of chimpanzees. When hiding stores
of food, corvids demonstrate their episodic memory and future planning ability;
cognitive abilities previously thought unique to humans. Not only do corvids
remember where they have caught food, they remember when they stored it. If
seen catching food, corvids will return and re-hide it, unobserved by competitors.
This anticipation of pilfering shows that corvids acknowledge the mental state of
other individuals. Being the most social group of birds, corvids raise their young
cooperatively and form long-term relationships. The social function of intellect
theory, which hypothesised that social living was the impetus for the development of
primate intelligence, is now applied to other species, such as corvids. Although
capable of doing many of the same things as primates, corvids have smaller brains
and lack the neocortex that is responsible for mammalian cognition. Instead, corvids
have a nidopallium, which scientists believe fulfils a similar function more efficiently.
Primate and corvid intelligence is sometimes used as an example of convergent
evolution, whereby two unrelated species independently develop the same
adaptations to similar environmental conditions. But animal intelligence is a
controversial subject, with no consensus on its definition. Some scientists argue
that corvid behaviour can be explained by adaptive specialization and is not
equivalent to primate intelligence, and thus convergent evolution does not apply.
Q26 Corvids’ feeding behaviour indicates that they have some awareness of what
their competitors are thinking.
True False Cannot say
Q27 The social function of intellect theory states that corvid intelligence
developed as a result of their complex social structure.
True False Cannot say
Q28 Although they lack a common ancestor, primates and corvids acquired their
intelligence under the same evolutionary processes.
True False Cannot say
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prior written permission from AssessmentDay.Q29 Corvids’ cognitive abilities are the result of both brain structure and social
structure.
True False Cannot say
Q30 A corvid’s nidopallium is smaller, but more powerful, than a primate’s
neocortex.
True False Cannot say
-- End of Test --
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