NTS VERBAL REASONING SECTION: SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Choose the word that is most nearly similar in meaning to the word in capital letters.
(Find answers and explanation to the answers at the bottom of the page.)

1. INTEGRITY
(A) questioning
(B) transparency
(C) honesty
(D) sadness

2. PREROGATIVE
(A) interrogative
(B) right
(C) wise
(D) casual

Choose the word that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the word in capital
letters.

3. RESTIVE
(A) easy
(B) calm
(C) hurry
(D) restless

4. PRODIGAL
(A) wasteful
(B) confident
(C) neutral
(D) frugal

Choose the pair of words that best expresses a relationship similar to that
expressed in the pairs of words in capital.

5. TIGER : CARNIVOROUS
(A) lion : jungle
(B) cat : house
(C) cow : herbivorous
(D) wolf : clever

6. CONSTELLATION : STARS
(A) archipelago : islands
(B) city : country
(C) book : pen
(D) school : education

Fill in the blanks with suitable choices.

7. We cannot predict whether he will go on a picnic or not. He is so __________ .
(A) deleterious
(B) offensive
(C) feckless
(D) capricious

8. He is __________ fame and money. He pursues research just as an amateur

scientist.
(A) indifferent to
(B) enamoured of
(C) running for
(D) struggling for

9. Octopuses have not only large brains __________ also a well-developed nervous
system.
(A) but
(B) and
(C) are
(D) and have

10. I hardly __________ meet him.

(A) ever
(B) never
(C) had ever
(D) had never

11. She wouldn’t ask you if she _________ not sure.

(A) was
(B) were
(C) has
(D) had

12. Don’t think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm. This is a
(A) Simple Sentence
(B) Compound sentence
(C) Complex sentence
(D) Mixed sentence

Read the following paragraphs carefully. Choose the correct answer from the
options given below.
These huge waves wreak terrific damage when they crash on the shores of distant
lands or continents. Under a perfectly sunny sky and from an apparently calm sea, a
wall of water may break twenty or thirty feet high over beaches and waterfronts,
crushing houses and drowning unsuspecting residents and bathers in its path. How
are these waves formed? When a submarine earthquake occurs, it is likely to set up
a tremendous amount of shock, disturbing the quite waters of the deep ocean.

13. One surprising aspect of the waves discussed in the passage is the fact that they
(A) are formed in concentric patterns
(B) often strike during clear weather
(C) arise under conditions of cold temperature
(D) are produced by deep swells

14. It is believed that the waves are caused by

(A) seismic changes
(B) concentric time belts
(C) underwater earthquakes
(D) storms

ANSWERS: NTS VERBAL REASONING

1(C) 2(B) 3(A) 4(D) 5(C) 6(A) 7(D)
8(A) 9(A) 10(A) 11(B) 12(B) 13(B) 14(C)

EXPLANATION

1. (C) Integrity   means honesty.

2. (B) Prerogative   means right (or legal rights).
3. (A) Restive   means restless or uneasy. So, easy is the antonym.
4. (D) Prodigal   means wasteful (who spends too much). So, frugal   
(economic or one who spends with care) is the antonym.
5. (C) Tiger is carnivorous (meat eating) animal. And, cow is herbivorous (grass
eating) animal.
6. (A) Constellation   is made up of stars. And, archipelago is made up of
islands.
7. (D) Cannot predict whether will go or not. So, he is unpredictable. Hence,
capricious (unpredictable) is the best choice.
8. (A) Amateur   (non-professional or unpaid worker) works without being paid.
So, indifferent to   (not interested) in fame and money is the best choice.
9. (A) not only …. but also. This is a conjunction.
10. (A) We cannot use negative word, never, with ‘hardly’. So, ‘ever’ is the best
choice.
11. (B) The verb, to be, will always appear as were in the present conditional.
12. (B) There are two clauses in the sentence. Hence, it is a compound sentence.
13. (B) Read this: Under a perfectly sunny sky and from an apparently calm sea, a
wall of water may break.
14. (C) Read this: When a submarine earthquake occurs, it is likely to set up a
tremendous amount of shock.

the words or phrases that is most opposite in meaning to the word.

VIVACIOUS
Sober
Notorious
Quarrelsome
Drunken
the words or phrases that is most opposite in meaning to the word.
WANE
Swell
Fatten
Widen
Prosper
a related pair of words or phrases
VISE : GRIPS
Calipers : measure
Spout : geysers
Kiln : potter
Tempers : flare
a related pair of words or phrases
ALWAYS : NEVER
Often : Rarely
Constantly : Frequently
Intermittently : Causally
Frequently : Occasionally

a related pair of words or phrases

FLURRY : BLIZZARD
Simmer : cook
Draw : doodle
Anger : bluster
Drizzle : downpour

the words or phrases that is most opposite in meaning to the word.

PLACATE
Amuse
Pacify
Embroil
Antagonize

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the

entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of
education as a three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the
university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which
is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or
renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction, or improve their
skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have
their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care
of the needs of everyone.
Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that
there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the
more harmful today. A UNESCO report, titled “Learning to Be” prepared by
Edgar Faure and others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must
prepare the future adult for various forms of self-learning. A viable
education system of the future should consist of modules with different
kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. And performance, not
the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is
already on the wall.
In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning
and lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in
educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an
integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For, to move in
that direction means much more than some simple rearrangement of the
present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by
developing Open University programs for older learners of different
categories and introducing extension services in the conventional colleges
and schools. Also, these institutions should learn to cooperate with the
numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, municipal
recreational programs, health services etc.
Q: According to the author, what measures should Open University adopt to
meet modern sequence means?
Develop various programs for adult learners.
Cater to the needs of those who represent “core”
Open more colleges on traditional lines.
Primary education should be under the control of open universities.

the words or phrases that is most opposite in meaning to the word.

CONTENTED
Narrow-minded
Gloomy
Rash
Disappointed

Sentence Completion
As______as she is original. Tahira has created songs for theaters classical
concerts and Pakistani movies.
Versatile
Sophisticated
Old fashioned
Solo
the words or phrases that is most opposite in meaning to the word.
ECLIPSE
Gleam
Shine
Goggle
Enlarge