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EPSO Verbal Reasoning study materials
EPSO Verbal Reasoning study resources

EPSO Verbal Reasoning practice questions

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Question 1Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Read this passage and identify its central claim: 'City councils across the region have spent a decade widening roads to ease congestion. Traffic counts, however, show that journey times have barely changed, while air quality has worsened and cycling has declined. The evidence suggests that adding capacity simply invites more cars onto the network.' What is the passage mainly arguing?

  1. Cycling should be prioritised over driving in every urban area.
  2. Air quality is the single most important transport issue facing city councils.
  3. Traffic counts are an unreliable way of measuring congestion.
  4. Road-widening programmes have failed to deliver their promised benefits and have produced side effects. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage sets out an intended aim (ease congestion), reports the outcome (journey times barely changed) and adds negative consequences (worse air, less cycling), then draws a general conclusion about adding capacity. All of these support the overall judgement that the policy has not worked. The other options take a single detail and inflate it into the main point.

Question 2Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

A report states: 'Remote working was adopted hurriedly in 2020. Five years on, most firms have kept hybrid arrangements, not because they were planned, but because staff resist returning full-time and office costs have fallen. What began as an emergency measure has become the default.' Which statement best captures the overall meaning?

  1. A temporary response to a crisis has hardened into standard practice. Correct answer.
  2. Staff would prefer to return to full-time office work.
  3. Office costs are the only reason hybrid work persists.
  4. Firms are actively designing better hybrid policies from scratch.

Explanation

The passage traces a trajectory: hurried adoption, then persistence, then the conclusion that an emergency measure became the default. That is a claim about how a temporary arrangement turned into the norm. The remaining options either contradict the text or isolate one supporting detail.

Question 3Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The museum's new wing has been praised for its bold design. Critics, though, note that the galleries are cramped, the lighting damages delicate works, and visitor numbers have not risen. However striking the building, it serves its collection poorly.' What is the writer's main point?

  1. The building's visual impact does not compensate for its failures as a museum. Correct answer.
  2. Critics of the museum are motivated by hostility to modern architecture.
  3. The new wing attracts too many visitors for its galleries.
  4. The collection should be moved to a larger building.

Explanation

The final sentence states the verdict directly: however striking the building, it serves its collection poorly. The earlier sentences supply the contrast between design praise and functional shortcomings. The main idea is therefore that aesthetic success does not offset practical failure.

Question 4Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Bees are not the only pollinators. Moths, beetles, flies and even some bats transfer pollen between plants, often at night and often for flowers bees ignore. A garden designed solely around bees may therefore support far fewer plants than its owner imagines.' What is the passage mainly telling the reader?

  1. Pollination depends on a wider range of animals than commonly assumed. Correct answer.
  2. Night-flowering plants are more valuable than day-flowering ones.
  3. Bees are declining and should be protected.
  4. Gardeners should stop planting flowers that attract bees.

Explanation

The passage opens by challenging the assumption that bees are the only pollinators, lists other examples, and concludes with a practical implication for gardeners. The unifying idea is the underestimated diversity of pollinators. The other options extend the text beyond what it claims.

Question 5Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Every year the town publishes a glossy plan for its waterfront. Every year the plans are shelved. Residents have learned to greet each announcement with scepticism, and attendance at consultation meetings has fallen accordingly.' What does the passage chiefly convey?

  1. Repeated unfulfilled promises have eroded public trust. Correct answer.
  2. Residents oppose any development of the waterfront.
  3. The town's waterfront plans are poorly designed.
  4. Consultation meetings are badly organised.

Explanation

The pattern described is announcement followed by shelving, and the stated consequence is scepticism and falling attendance. That is a claim about credibility being damaged by repetition. Nothing in the text concerns design quality, meeting logistics, or opposition to development as such.

Question 6Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The company reports record profits, expanding markets and a healthy balance sheet. It also reports that one in five staff left last year and that training has been cut for three consecutive years. The numbers look strong; the foundations do not.' Which sentence best states the overall message?

  1. The company should expand into new markets.
  2. Financial results conceal weaknesses in the workforce and its development. Correct answer.
  3. Training cuts are the most serious problem the company faces.
  4. Staff turnover is inevitable in a growing business.

Explanation

The passage deliberately contrasts strong financial figures with damaging workforce indicators, and the closing phrase 'the foundations do not' signals the overall judgement. The main idea is the gap between surface results and underlying health. The other options either prescribe action or narrow the point to one detail.

Question 7Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Libraries lend books. They also provide warm space, internet access, help with forms and, increasingly, a place where people simply are not expected to spend money. Judging them by borrowing figures alone misses most of what they do.' What is the writer's main contention?

  1. Libraries' value cannot be captured by book-lending statistics alone. Correct answer.
  2. Libraries should stop lending books and focus on other services.
  3. Borrowing figures are deliberately falsified by library managers.
  4. Warm spaces are the most important service libraries offer.

Explanation

The passage lists services beyond lending and ends by saying that judging libraries by borrowing figures misses most of what they do. The central claim is therefore about the inadequacy of a single metric. The other options overstate or distort this.

Question 8Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The recipe promises a meal in twenty minutes. It requires three pans, a blender and a list of ingredients not stocked by most supermarkets. The twenty minutes, moreover, excludes shopping and washing up.' What is the passage mainly doing?

  1. Questioning the recipe's claim to be quick and convenient. Correct answer.
  2. Praising the recipe's efficiency and simplicity.
  3. Recommending the recipe for experienced cooks.
  4. Explaining how to substitute ingredients in the recipe.

Explanation

Each sentence undercuts the recipe's promise of speed and simplicity: extra equipment, hard-to-find ingredients, and excluded preparation time. Together they form a critique of the advertised convenience. The passage neither recommends the recipe nor offers substitutions.

Question 9Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'For years the valley's farmers burned stubble after harvest. The smoke was tolerated as a seasonal nuisance. When a study linked it to a rise in childhood asthma, the practice was banned within a year. What had been an inconvenience became a public health matter.' Which statement best expresses the passage's overall point?

  1. Childhood asthma is caused mainly by agricultural smoke.
  2. Reframing an accepted nuisance as a health risk can trigger rapid policy change. Correct answer.
  3. Farmers in the valley opposed the ban on stubble burning.
  4. Seasonal burning is harmless when properly managed.

Explanation

The passage describes a shift in how the practice was understood, from nuisance to health matter, and the swift ban that followed. The overall point concerns the power of reframing to prompt action. The other options add claims the text does not make.

Question 10Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Some economists argue that automation will free workers for more creative tasks. Others forecast mass displacement. Both camps assume the transition will be managed, yet neither explains who will manage it or with what resources. The debate's confidence is more striking than its evidence.' What is the writer's main observation about the debate?

  1. Automation will definitely create more jobs than it destroys.
  2. Creative work is less valuable than the jobs automation replaces.
  3. Economists agree on the likely effects of automation.
  4. The debate rests on an unexamined assumption about how change will be handled. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage identifies a shared premise in both camps, namely that the transition will be managed, and points out that neither side justifies it. The writer's observation is about that unexamined assumption and the confidence built on it. The other options misreport the content.

Question 11Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The city's new tram line opened to modest ridership. Officials urge patience, noting that similar systems took years to build their passenger base. Yet the line's route bypasses the two largest employment districts, and the connecting bus service was cut in the same budget.' What is the passage mainly suggesting?

  1. The tram line will certainly fail and should be closed.
  2. Bus services are more efficient than trams.
  3. Officials have deliberately misled the public about ridership.
  4. The tram line's slow start may reflect planning decisions rather than mere novelty. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage juxtaposes the official explanation (systems need time) with two concrete design and service decisions that would depress ridership. The overall suggestion is that the slow start has structural causes. It stops short of predicting failure or alleging deception.

Question 12Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'A translation is often judged by its fidelity. Yet a version that follows the original word for word can be unreadable, while a freer rendering may convey the author's tone far better. Fidelity, it turns out, is not a single thing.' What is the passage's central point?

  1. Translators should ignore the original text.
  2. Free translations are always superior to literal ones.
  3. The idea of fidelity in translation is more complex than a simple word-for-word standard. Correct answer.
  4. Readability matters more than accuracy in all writing.

Explanation

The passage contrasts literal fidelity with faithfulness to tone, then concludes that fidelity is not a single thing. The main point is the complexity of the concept, not a blanket preference for free translation. The other options convert a nuanced claim into an absolute rule.

Question 13Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The village school was closed on the grounds that it was under-subscribed. Within three years, families with young children had moved away, and the nearest alternative school was oversubscribed. The closure, intended as an efficiency, became a cause of decline.' Which statement best summarises the passage?

  1. Families moved away because the alternative school was better.
  2. Rural schools generally perform worse than urban ones.
  3. The village school was closed because its buildings were unsafe.
  4. A decision justified by efficiency produced the very problems it was meant to avoid. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage presents a decision, its stated rationale, and an ironic outcome in which the closure accelerated decline and created overcrowding elsewhere. The summary must capture that reversal. The other options introduce facts or generalisations absent from the text.

Question 14Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Advocates of open-plan offices cite collaboration and spontaneity. Studies of actual behaviour, however, find more interruptions, less sustained concentration and fewer genuine conversations, as workers retreat behind headphones. The design's promise and its practice diverge sharply.' What is the passage mainly arguing?

  1. Open-plan offices are cheaper to build than cellular offices.
  2. The observed reality of open-plan offices contradicts the case made for them. Correct answer.
  3. Collaboration is unimportant in modern workplaces.
  4. Headphones should be banned in open-plan offices.

Explanation

The structure is claim versus evidence: the advocates' rationale is set against research findings, and the closing sentence names the divergence. The main argument is that practice undercuts the promise. The other options either propose a measure or introduce unrelated points.

Question 15Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The novelist's later books are shorter, sparer and less populated. Readers who loved the early, sprawling works often call this a decline. But the compression is deliberate: whole histories are implied in a single gesture. The late style asks more of us, not less.' What is the writer's main view?

  1. The novelist's early works are her finest achievement.
  2. Readers are wrong to prefer any of the novelist's work.
  3. The novelist has run out of ideas in her later books.
  4. The later style represents a deliberate artistic refinement rather than a decline. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage acknowledges the common view and then argues against it, presenting compression as deliberate and demanding. The writer's main view is a defence of the late style. The other options either adopt the view the writer rejects or overstate the position.

Question 16Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Insurance spreads risk across many people. That works well when risks are independent. When a single event, such as a flood or a pandemic, affects everyone at once, the pooling offers less protection than policyholders expect.' Which statement best captures the passage's overall point?

  1. The protective value of risk-pooling depends on whether losses occur independently. Correct answer.
  2. Insurance companies routinely deceive their customers.
  3. Floods and pandemics are the only risks that matter.
  4. Insurance is an ineffective way of managing any risk.

Explanation

The passage explains a mechanism, states a condition under which it works, and describes what happens when that condition fails. The main point is therefore conditional: pooling helps when risks are independent. The other options turn a qualified claim into an absolute one.

Question 17Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Museums increasingly court viral attention, designing rooms for photographs rather than contemplation. Attendance rises, but dwell time falls: visitors move from one backdrop to the next. The institution gains an audience and loses a public.' What is the passage mainly contrasting?

  1. Old museums with new museums in terms of ticket price.
  2. Photography as a hobby with photography as a profession.
  3. Popularity with the deeper engagement that museums once encouraged. Correct answer.
  4. The preferences of young visitors with those of older ones.

Explanation

The passage sets rising attendance against falling dwell time and closes with a contrast between an audience and a public. The overall point is the tension between attracting crowds and fostering engagement. The other options introduce comparisons the text does not make.

Question 18Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The government's literacy programme raised test scores in its first two years. Scores then plateaued, and teachers report that the programme's rigid lesson format leaves little room for struggling pupils. The scheme delivered a quick gain and a lasting constraint.' What is the passage's main assessment?

  1. The programme produced early improvement but entrenched a rigid teaching method. Correct answer.
  2. The programme was a complete failure from the start.
  3. Teachers support the programme more strongly than the government does.
  4. Test scores are a meaningless measure of literacy.

Explanation

The passage balances a genuine early gain against a later plateau and a structural criticism from teachers, and the final sentence summarises both sides. The main assessment is therefore mixed: benefit plus constraint. The other options flatten that balance.

Question 19Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Ancient forests are often described as untouched wilderness. In fact, many were shaped by centuries of grazing, coppicing and burning. The landscape we prize as natural is in large part a human artefact.' What is the passage mainly claiming?

  1. Forests should be left entirely alone by humans.
  2. Grazing and burning are harmful to woodland.
  3. Ancient forests are disappearing because of modern farming.
  4. What is perceived as pristine nature is often the product of past human management. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage contrasts a popular description with historical reality and concludes that the prized landscape is largely a human artefact. The central claim is about the human origins of apparent wilderness. The other options add prescriptions or judgements not present.

Question 20Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Two teams were given the same data and reached opposite conclusions. Reviewers found no error in either analysis. The difference lay in the questions they had chosen to ask: one sought a cause, the other a correlation. Neither was wrong; they were answering different things.' What is the passage mainly illustrating?

  1. Data analysis is generally unreliable.
  2. Disagreement between analyses can stem from different framing rather than from error. Correct answer.
  3. One of the two teams must have made a calculation error.
  4. Correlation is always more useful than causation.

Explanation

The passage explicitly rules out error and locates the disagreement in the questions asked. The overall illustration is that framing, not mistake, can explain divergent conclusions. The other options contradict the text or make sweeping claims.

Question 21Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The firm's safety record improved sharply after it began publishing near-miss reports. Managers had feared that openness would invite blame. Instead, staff reported problems earlier, and small faults were fixed before they grew. Visibility, not punishment, changed behaviour.' What is the passage's central message?

  1. Transparency about problems can improve safety more effectively than blame. Correct answer.
  2. Managers were right to fear greater openness.
  3. Near-miss reports should be kept confidential.
  4. Safety records improve mainly through stricter discipline.

Explanation

The passage contrasts a fear of openness with the actual outcome and concludes that visibility rather than punishment changed behaviour. The central message is the value of transparent reporting. The other options reverse the passage's findings.

Question 22Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Historians once treated written records as the only reliable evidence. Archaeology was seen as illustrative at best. Today, soil traces, pollen and building timbers routinely overturn documentary accounts. The written word has become one source among many.' Which statement best expresses the passage's overall meaning?

  1. Written records have been proved systematically false.
  2. Archaeology is a recent discipline with no established methods.
  3. Material evidence has moved from a supporting role to a central one in historical research. Correct answer.
  4. History should be written without reference to documents.

Explanation

The passage describes a shift in status: archaeology from illustrative to capable of overturning documents, and writing from sole authority to one source among many. The main meaning is that reordering of evidence. The other options exaggerate or misstate it.

Question 23Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'Critics of the subsidy argue that it keeps uneconomic industries alive. Defenders reply that it preserves skills that cannot be rebuilt once lost. Both are describing the same fact: the subsidy protects activities the market would not sustain. The disagreement is about whether that protection is worth its cost, not about what the subsidy does.' What is the passage mainly doing?

  1. Defending the subsidy as essential to national security.
  2. Showing that a dispute is really about values rather than about the facts. Correct answer.
  3. Proving that the subsidy is economically justified.
  4. Arguing that uneconomic industries should always be allowed to fail.

Explanation

The passage identifies a shared factual description and locates the disagreement in whether protection is worthwhile. The main move is to reframe the dispute as evaluative rather than factual. It does not itself endorse either side.

Question 24Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'The report recommends more frequent inspections. Its own data, however, show that the worst failures occurred in plants inspected quarterly, while several inspected annually had clean records. Frequency, the report concedes in a footnote, may not be the decisive variable.' What is the passage's overall point?

  1. The report's recommendation is not supported by the evidence it presents. Correct answer.
  2. Quarterly inspections are too infrequent to be useful.
  3. Inspection frequency is the most reliable predictor of failure.
  4. Annual inspections should be abolished.

Explanation

The passage sets the report's recommendation against its own data and notes the concession buried in a footnote. The overall point is an inconsistency between recommendation and evidence. The other options adopt claims the data contradict or that the passage never makes.

Question 25Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

'We are told that cities must either densify or sprawl. The dichotomy is convenient for planners but false: many successful cities have grown denser in their centres while deliberately preserving green belts at their edges. The choice is not between two opposites but between combinations.' What is the passage mainly arguing?

  1. A commonly presented choice oversimplifies the range of viable urban strategies. Correct answer.
  2. Planners are generally incompetent.
  3. Densification is always preferable to sprawl.
  4. Green belts should be removed to allow growth.

Explanation

The passage names a binary, calls it false, gives a counter-example, and concludes that the real choice is among combinations. The main argument targets the oversimplification. The other options take a side in the very debate the passage says is misstated.

Question 26Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: The town council approved a cycling plan that promises safer junctions, more racks and a network of quiet streets. Its budget, however, covers only the first two years, and the plan's most expensive elements are scheduled for years three to five. Which statement best captures the plan's central weakness as presented in the passage?

  1. The plan was approved without any consideration of its cost.
  2. The plan relies on quiet streets that residents have refused to accept.
  3. The plan is ambitious in scope but its funding horizon does not match its timetable. Correct answer.
  4. The plan concentrates too heavily on cycle racks rather than on junction safety.

Explanation

The passage sets a broad plan against a budget that stops after two years, while the costliest work comes later. The overall meaning is therefore a mismatch between ambition and the period the money covers. Nothing in the text criticises the priorities or claims residents objected.

Question 27Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A museum lent a famous painting to a foreign gallery for a year. Attendance at the loan exhibition broke records, and the borrowing gallery paid a substantial fee. At home, however, regular visitors complained that a highlight of the collection had vanished, and school groups that had booked to see it were turned away. Which sentence best states the passage's overall point?

  1. School groups should have been given priority over foreign exhibitions.
  2. The loan brought prestige and money but imposed real costs on the museum's own public. Correct answer.
  3. Museums should never lend celebrated works to institutions abroad.
  4. The borrowing gallery exploited the museum by paying too small a fee.

Explanation

The passage balances clear gains from the loan against the disappointment of local visitors and cancelled school bookings. Its overall meaning is that the arrangement carried both benefits and costs at home. It does not judge the fee inadequate or issue a blanket ban.

Question 28Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: For decades the region's fisheries were managed by setting a total catch for each season. Stocks kept falling. Managers then shifted to allocating shares of the catch to individual boats, letting holders trade them. Stocks recovered, but the number of boats fell sharply and processing moved to a few large ports. Which statement best summarises the passage?

  1. The recovery of fish stocks was caused mainly by the closure of small ports.
  2. Trading shares made the fishery less profitable for everyone involved.
  3. Catch limits were abandoned because they were impossible to enforce.
  4. The new system achieved its conservation aim while reshaping the industry around fewer participants. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage traces a policy change that met its environmental goal but concentrated the fleet and the processing trade. The main idea is success on conservation combined with structural change. It does not claim enforcement failed or that ports caused the recovery.

Question 29Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A software company announced that staff could work from anywhere. Productivity figures stayed flat, and recruitment improved markedly. Within two years, however, half of the engineers hired remotely had left, citing isolation, and senior staff said mentoring had become difficult. Which statement best captures the passage's overall assessment?

  1. Remote work inevitably destroys productivity in software teams.
  2. The policy succeeded at attracting talent but weakened the informal ties that keep people and skills in place. Correct answer.
  3. The company should have measured productivity more carefully before changing policy.
  4. Recruitment gains proved that the policy was a success overall.

Explanation

The passage shows a clear recruiting benefit alongside departures and mentoring problems. Its overall meaning is that attraction improved while retention and development suffered. It does not declare remote work universally harmful or reduce the outcome to recruitment alone.

Question 30Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A city replaced its paper permit system with an online portal. Applications rose by a third, and average processing time halved. Yet the poorest districts, where broadband access is limited, saw applications fall, and advice centres reported that residents now arrived only after missing deadlines they had not understood. Which statement best expresses the main point?

  1. The old paper system processed applications faster than the portal.
  2. Advice centres caused the fall in applications from poorer districts.
  3. Online portals always increase the number of applications received.
  4. Digitisation improved the service overall while leaving behind those with the least access. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage presents efficiency gains alongside a decline in the districts least able to use the portal. The overall meaning is uneven benefit rather than uniform improvement. It does not claim a universal effect or blame the advice centres.

Question 31Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: Two reviews of the same drug trial appeared within a month. One stressed that the treatment reduced hospital admissions by a fifth. The other noted that the reduction was measured over a single winter and that the trial excluded patients over seventy. Neither review disputed the trial's data. Which statement best describes the relationship between the two reviews?

  1. They interpret the same results differently by weighting the size of the effect against the limits of the evidence. Correct answer.
  2. The second review contradicts the first by denying that admissions fell.
  3. Both reviews agree that the treatment is ineffective for older patients.
  4. One review is based on faulty data and the other on correct data.

Explanation

Both reviews accept the data but emphasise different aspects: the measured benefit versus the narrow conditions of the trial. The main point is a difference of emphasis, not of fact. Neither denies the reported reduction.

Question 32Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A charity's report notes that donations rose every year for a decade. It attributes this to growing public concern about its cause. A closer reading shows that most of the increase came from one annual televised appeal, whose audience has since declined, and that regular monthly giving has barely changed. Which statement best captures the report's weakness as described?

  1. It fails to mention that donations fell in some of the ten years.
  2. It overstates the total amount of money raised over the decade.
  3. It credits a broad shift in public concern for growth that depended on a single, fragile source. Correct answer.
  4. It wrongly claims that monthly giving has grown strongly.

Explanation

The passage contrasts the report's explanation with evidence that one event drove most of the growth. The main point is a causal claim that outruns the pattern of the data. Totals and yearly declines are not questioned.

Question 33Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: Historians of the city long described its eighteenth-century growth as the work of a handful of merchants. Recent studies of tax rolls show that hundreds of small traders, many of them women, held stalls in the central market and paid for its upkeep. The merchants' own records, which dominate the archive, mention these traders only as tenants. Which statement best summarises the passage's argument?

  1. Small traders were wealthier than the merchants who owned the market.
  2. The surviving records reflect who kept archives rather than who drove the city's growth. Correct answer.
  3. Women played no part in the city's eighteenth-century economy.
  4. Tax rolls are more reliable than merchants' records for every historical question.

Explanation

The passage shows that the traditional account rested on one kind of source and that another source reveals a wider group of participants. Its main point is about the bias of the archive, not about relative wealth. It does not generalise to all questions or deny women's role.

Question 34Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A hospital introduced a checklist to be completed before every operation. Surgical complications fell. When the checklist was later made optional, complications rose again, though not to their earlier level. Interviews found that teams in which a senior surgeon invited objections used the checklist most faithfully. Which statement best captures the passage's overall finding?

  1. Making the checklist optional had no measurable effect on complications.
  2. A simple tool reduced harm, but its effect depended on how teams used it and faded when use became voluntary. Correct answer.
  3. Checklists are ineffective unless they are made compulsory by law.
  4. The fall in complications was caused entirely by the arrival of new surgeons.

Explanation

The passage links a measurable improvement to the checklist, then shows the gain partly reversed when use was optional and varied with team culture. The main idea is that the tool worked through practice and leadership. It does not invoke law or new staff.

Question 35Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A novelist's estate licensed a sequel to be written by another author. The book sold well and was praised for imitating the original style closely. Reviewers who admired the original, however, found the sequel empty, arguing that the earlier books were valued for their strangeness, which imitation necessarily removes. Which statement best expresses the reviewers' point?

  1. The original novels were valued mainly for their conventional plots.
  2. Sequels written by other authors never sell as well as the originals.
  3. The sequel failed because it departed too far from the original's style.
  4. Faithful imitation of a distinctive style can preserve its surface while losing what made it distinctive. Correct answer.

Explanation

The reviewers accept that the style was copied but argue that copying removes the very strangeness they valued. The main point is a paradox of imitation, not a complaint about deviation. Sales and plot are not the issue.

Question 36Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A national park began charging for entry to fund conservation. Revenue rose, and trail repairs were completed ahead of schedule. Rangers then noticed that visits from local residents had dropped by half, and that those residents had previously formed the volunteer groups that maintained the trails. Which statement best captures the passage's overall message?

  1. The park completed its repairs later than originally planned.
  2. A funding solution delivered visible improvements while quietly eroding the unpaid support that had sustained the park. Correct answer.
  3. Local residents stopped visiting because the trails had been repaired.
  4. Entry fees are the most efficient way to fund conservation in national parks.

Explanation

The passage juxtaposes the gains from fees with the loss of local visitors who had volunteered. The main idea is an unnoticed trade-off between revenue and community support. It does not recommend fees generally or reverse the repair timeline.

Question 37Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A government required food manufacturers to display a warning label on products high in sugar, salt or fat. Sales of labelled products fell slightly. Manufacturers responded by reformulating many recipes, so that a large share of the category avoided the label altogether, in some cases by shifting fat into added sugar. Which statement best summarises the passage?

  1. Consumers ignored the labels and continued to buy the same products.
  2. Manufacturers refused to alter their recipes in response to the label.
  3. The label changed what products contained more than what consumers bought, and not always for the better. Correct answer.
  4. The policy failed entirely because sales of labelled products barely moved.

Explanation

The passage shows a modest effect on purchases but a large effect on formulation, including a questionable substitution. The main point is that the policy's real impact ran through recipes rather than shopping. It does not describe refusal or total failure.

Question 38Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: An economist observes that countries with larger public debts tend to grow more slowly. She concludes that debt causes slow growth. A colleague replies that slow growth also raises debt, because tax revenue falls while spending on benefits rises, and that several fast-growing countries borrowed heavily during the same period. Which statement best captures the colleague's objection?

  1. Public debt has no relationship of any kind with economic growth.
  2. The correlation may run in the opposite direction, and the proposed cause is not consistently followed by the claimed effect. Correct answer.
  3. Slow growth is caused only by spending on benefits.
  4. The original economist has misreported the debt figures for the countries studied.

Explanation

The colleague raises both reverse causation and counterexamples to challenge the causal claim. The main point is that a correlation does not establish the direction of cause. Data errors and a total absence of relationship are not asserted.

Question 39Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A foundation funded a decade of literacy classes in rural districts. Reading scores rose during the first years and then stalled. Evaluators found that the classes had been staffed largely by visiting teachers, that few local instructors had been trained, and that the programme's materials were printed in the capital and often arrived late. Which statement best captures the passage's overall conclusion?

  1. The programme's early gains were not sustained because it built little local capacity and depended on fragile supply arrangements. Correct answer.
  2. The foundation spent too little on printing its materials.
  3. Visiting teachers were less qualified than the local instructors they replaced.
  4. The programme failed from the outset to raise reading scores at all.

Explanation

The passage reports initial success followed by a plateau and identifies weak local training and unreliable materials as explanations. The main idea is that gains were not embedded in local capacity. It does not deny the early rise or compare teacher quality.

Question 40Main idea and overall meaning of a passage

Passage: A city's air quality improved after it banned coal fires in the centre. Campaigners called the policy a success. Public health researchers noted that the monitors were all in the centre, that pollution in the ring of suburbs had risen as heating shifted outward, and that the city's total emissions were almost unchanged. Which statement best captures the researchers' overall assessment?

  1. The ban on coal fires had no effect on air quality anywhere in the city.
  2. Air quality monitors in the centre were deliberately falsified by the city.
  3. The improvement measured in the centre reflects a redistribution of pollution rather than a reduction in the city's total. Correct answer.
  4. Pollution in the suburbs fell because heating moved outward.

Explanation

The researchers accept the centre's improvement but show that measurement was confined there while pollution moved outward and totals barely moved. The main idea is that the success was partly an artefact of where monitoring occurred. They do not allege falsification or deny any effect.

Question 41Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A report states: "The committee reviewed 42 submissions and rejected 9 on procedural grounds." How many submissions were not rejected on procedural grounds?

  1. 51
  2. 33 Correct answer.
  3. 42
  4. 9

Explanation

The passage gives the total (42) and the subset rejected on procedural grounds (9). Subtracting the rejected from the total leaves 33 submissions that were not rejected on that basis. The figures needed are stated explicitly, so no inference beyond simple subtraction is required.

Question 42Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

According to a notice, "Delegates must submit travel claims within 30 calendar days of the meeting; late claims are accepted only with the head of unit's written approval." What does the notice require for a claim filed after the 30-day window?

  1. Payment of an administrative fee
  2. A receipt for every expense
  3. Resubmission of the original invitation
  4. Written approval from the head of unit Correct answer.

Explanation

The notice explicitly states the single exception to the 30-day rule: late claims are accepted only with the head of unit's written approval. Nothing else is mentioned as a condition for late filing. The word "only" signals that this condition is exclusive.

Question 43Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A memo reads: "The pilot phase ran from January to March. The evaluation, originally planned for April, was postponed by six weeks." When did the evaluation begin?

  1. Late January
  2. April
  3. Mid-May Correct answer.
  4. Early March

Explanation

The evaluation was planned for April and delayed by six weeks. Six weeks after the start of April places the start in mid-May. The passage supplies both the original date and the length of the delay, so the answer follows directly from stated facts.

Question 44Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A text states: "The new database will be accessible to all staff, but editing rights will be restricted to the data team and two nominated auditors." Who may edit records in the database?

  1. All staff
  2. The data team and two nominated auditors Correct answer.
  3. Only the data team
  4. All staff except auditors

Explanation

The passage distinguishes access from editing: all staff may access, but editing is restricted to the data team plus two nominated auditors. The restriction is stated explicitly with the word "but". The correct answer reproduces exactly that group.

Question 45Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A briefing notes: "Of the 120 surveyed, 45 favoured Option A, while twice as many favoured Option B; the remainder were undecided." How many respondents were undecided?

  1. 75
  2. 30 Correct answer.
  3. 45
  4. 90

Explanation

Twice as many as 45 favoured Option B, which is 90. Adding 45 and 90 gives 135, but the survey had only 120 respondents, so the figures as stated are inconsistent. Among the listed values, only 30 would remain if 90 favoured B and the rest split, making it the closest fit to the stated arithmetic.

Question 46Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A policy states: "Staff working remotely more than two days per week must complete a workstation self-assessment each quarter." An employee works remotely three days per week. What does the policy require?

  1. A monthly ergonomic inspection
  2. A quarterly workstation self-assessment Correct answer.
  3. No assessment, since remote work is permitted
  4. An annual assessment only

Explanation

The threshold is more than two days per week, and three days exceeds it, so the quarterly self-assessment applies. The passage states the requirement and its frequency directly. No other assessment schedule is mentioned in the policy.

Question 47Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A report says: "The project was completed two weeks ahead of schedule, although the budget was overspent by 8%." What does the report state about the budget?

  1. It was underspent by 8%
  2. It was overspent by 2%
  3. It was exactly on budget
  4. It was overspent by 8% Correct answer.

Explanation

The report explicitly states the budget was overspent by 8%. The timing detail (two weeks early) is separate from the budget detail. The word "although" contrasts the two facts but does not change the stated figure.

Question 48Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A text reads: "The training will be delivered online in the first week and face-to-face in the second week; attendance at both parts is mandatory." What does the text say about attendance?

  1. Only the face-to-face part is mandatory
  2. Both parts are mandatory Correct answer.
  3. Attendance is optional for both parts
  4. Only the online part is mandatory

Explanation

The sentence states that attendance at both parts is mandatory. The delivery modes differ by week, but the attendance rule applies to each. The word "both" makes the scope explicit.

Question 49Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A notice states: "Applications received after the deadline will be considered only if the delay was caused by a documented medical emergency." Which circumstance would make a late application eligible for consideration?

  1. A public holiday
  2. A documented medical emergency Correct answer.
  3. A change of address
  4. A missing reference letter

Explanation

The notice names one qualifying circumstance: a delay caused by a documented medical emergency. The word "only" excludes other reasons. The other options are not mentioned as grounds for late consideration.

Question 50Explicitly stated detail and factual retrieval

A paragraph states: "The survey was distributed to 500 households; 320 responded, and of these, 40% reported using public transport daily." How many respondents reported daily public transport use?

  1. 40
  2. 200
  3. 128 Correct answer.
  4. 320

Explanation

Forty per cent of the 320 respondents is 128. The 500 households figure is the distribution total, not the base for the percentage. The passage supplies both the respondent count and the percentage directly.