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Luiss Master's Admission Test study materials
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Luiss Master's Admission Test practice questions

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Question 1Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "The committee's report was praised for its candour, yet critics noted that candour is easy when the facts are flattering. The report had been commissioned after a scandal that few expected to be examined honestly." Which inference is best supported by the passage?

  1. Critics believed the report contained fabricated evidence.
  2. The report's honesty may be less impressive because its findings were favourable. Correct answer.
  3. The committee deliberately concealed the scandal from the public.
  4. The scandal was widely anticipated before it occurred.

Explanation

The critics' remark links candour to flattering facts, implying the report's frankness is diminished if the findings were easy to state. Nothing in the passage supports concealment, fabrication, or prior expectation of the scandal.

Question 2Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

A passage states: "Far from solving the housing shortage, the new tax incentive merely shifted construction from city centres to the outskirts." The author's attitude toward the incentive is best described as:

  1. Sceptical of its effectiveness Correct answer.
  2. Approving but cautious
  3. Neutral and descriptive
  4. Openly hostile

Explanation

The phrase "far from solving" signals doubt about the policy's success, while "merely shifted" suggests the change was superficial. This is scepticism rather than outright hostility or neutrality.

Question 3Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The professor's argument was so ______ that even his opponents conceded the force of his reasoning."

  1. ambiguous
  2. redundant
  3. cogent Correct answer.
  4. tentative

Explanation

The context of opponents conceding the force of the reasoning calls for a word meaning convincing or logically compelling. "Cogent" fits precisely.

Question 4Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "Scholars once assumed that medieval towns grew mainly through trade. Recent excavation of grain stores, however, suggests that agricultural surplus, not commerce, drove early urban expansion." The word "however" primarily serves to:

  1. Summarise the scholars' original view
  2. Introduce a contrast with the preceding assumption Correct answer.
  3. Provide an example of the preceding claim
  4. Concede that trade was the main cause

Explanation

"However" marks a shift from the old assumption to the new evidence, so it introduces a contrast. It does not illustrate, summarise, or concede the earlier claim.

Question 5Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Which pair of words has a relationship most similar to "frugal : extravagance"?

  1. Cheerful : optimism
  2. Generous : charity
  3. Cautious : recklessness Correct answer.
  4. Punctual : punctuality

Explanation

Frugal describes a person who avoids extravagance, so the second term names the quality the first opposes. Cautious similarly describes a person who avoids recklessness.

Question 6Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "The museum's decision to return the artefacts was presented as an act of generosity. But generosity implies a gift freely given, whereas these objects were taken without consent; the return is better understood as restitution." The author's main point is that:

  1. Generosity is never an appropriate motive for museums.
  2. Calling the return a gift misrepresents its nature. Correct answer.
  3. The artefacts were acquired through legitimate purchase.
  4. The museum should keep the artefacts until legal claims are settled.

Explanation

The author contrasts generosity with restitution because the objects were taken without consent, so framing the return as a gift distorts the situation. The passage is about labelling, not about keeping objects or legal process.

Question 7Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "Her remarks were ______: they could be read as either praise or a subtle rebuke."

  1. categorical
  2. emphatic
  3. equivocal Correct answer.
  4. unambiguous

Explanation

The colon explains that the remarks admit two readings, which is the meaning of equivocal. The other options all suggest clarity or certainty.

Question 8Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "Critics of the reform argue that it burdens small firms. Yet the same critics offered no objection when earlier rules imposed identical costs on those firms." The author's strategy is to:

  1. Explain the technical details of the earlier rules
  2. Concede that the reform is genuinely burdensome
  3. Prove that the reform will benefit small firms
  4. Show that the critics' position is inconsistent Correct answer.

Explanation

By pointing out that critics accepted identical costs before, the author highlights an inconsistency in their objection. The passage does not claim the reform is beneficial or explain the rules in detail.

Question 9Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

A passage says: "The novelist's later works are often dismissed as inferior, but this judgment rests largely on comparisons with her debut, a standard no other writer is held to." Which assumption underlies the author's criticism?

  1. Writers should not be judged against a single early work. Correct answer.
  2. Later works are always superior to debuts.
  3. The novelist's readers prefer her later works.
  4. The debut is genuinely the novelist's finest work.

Explanation

The author objects that the debut is used as an unfair benchmark, which presupposes that a single early work should not define a writer's standard. The argument does not require the debut to be her best.

Question 10Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "The city's cycling plan was praised for its ambition. Ambition, however, is not the same as feasibility, and the plan's funding remains unspecified." The second sentence functions mainly to:

  1. Repeat the first sentence's praise
  2. Criticise cyclists for unrealistic demands
  3. Describe how the plan will be funded
  4. Qualify the praise with a practical concern Correct answer.

Explanation

The second sentence accepts the ambition but raises feasibility and funding as doubts, so it qualifies the praise. It neither repeats praise nor explains actual funding.

Question 11Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The evidence was too ______ to support so sweeping a conclusion; a single case study cannot represent an entire population."

  1. robust
  2. tenuous Correct answer.
  3. copious
  4. conclusive

Explanation

The clause about a single case study shows the evidence is weak, which tenuous means. Robust, copious, and conclusive all imply strength or sufficiency.

Question 12Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "Historians who rely on official records risk hearing only the voices of the powerful. But diaries and letters, though fragmentary, can restore the perspectives of ordinary people." The author's view of diaries and letters is that they are:

  1. Irrelevant because they are fragmentary
  2. Valuable despite their incomplete nature Correct answer.
  3. Useful only when official records are lost
  4. More reliable than official records in every respect

Explanation

The concessive "though fragmentary" acknowledges their limits while asserting their value in recovering ordinary voices. The author does not rank them as universally more reliable or restrict their use.

Question 13Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Which sentence uses the semicolon correctly?

  1. The lecture was cancelled; the lecturer was ill. Correct answer.
  2. The lecture was cancelled; and the lecturer was ill.
  3. The lecture was cancelled; because the lecturer was ill.
  4. The lecture was cancelled; which disappointed the students.

Explanation

A semicolon joins two independent clauses without a conjunction. "The lecturer was ill" is a full clause, so it can follow the semicolon directly.

Question 14Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "The claim that screens shorten attention spans is widely repeated. Yet the studies cited usually measure only self-reported distraction, not attention itself." The author's objection is that the studies:

  1. Were funded by technology companies
  2. Contradict one another in their findings
  3. Measure something other than what they claim to measure Correct answer.
  4. Were conducted on too few participants

Explanation

The author distinguishes self-reported distraction from attention itself, which is a validity problem: the studies measure a proxy rather than the claimed construct. Sample size, funding, and contradictory findings are not mentioned.

Question 15Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The minister's statement was deliberately ______, allowing her to deny either interpretation later."

  1. explicit
  2. candid
  3. vague Correct answer.
  4. forthright

Explanation

The purpose clause about denying either interpretation shows the statement was left unclear on purpose, which is vague. The other options all imply clarity or frankness.

Question 16Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "The reviewer called the film 'unforgettable'. Readers who know her style will recognise this as faint praise: she reserves warmer adjectives for works she truly admires." The passage suggests that the reviewer:

  1. Used a strong word without full enthusiasm Correct answer.
  2. Considered the film a masterpiece
  3. Was unfamiliar with the director's work
  4. Had not watched the entire film

Explanation

The passage explicitly interprets "unforgettable" as faint praise given the reviewer's usual warmer vocabulary. This indicates limited enthusiasm rather than admiration or unfamiliarity.

Question 17Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Which option best restates the argument: "Because the survey sampled only volunteers, its findings cannot be generalised to the whole population."?

  1. Volunteers are unrepresentative, so the survey's results cannot be extended to everyone. Correct answer.
  2. Volunteers are more honest than other respondents.
  3. The survey should have used a larger sample to be valid.
  4. The survey's findings apply to the population because volunteers are typical.

Explanation

The original argument moves from a biased sample to a limit on generalisation. The correct restatement preserves both the reason (volunteers) and the conclusion (no generalisation).

Question 18Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "Some economists treat GDP as a measure of wellbeing. But GDP counts output, not distribution, and a society can grow richer while its poorest members stagnate." The author's main criticism is that GDP:

  1. Overstates the importance of the poorest members
  2. Is calculated too slowly to guide policy
  3. Ignores how income is shared across society Correct answer.
  4. Fails to measure total national output

Explanation

The author distinguishes output from distribution and notes that growth can coexist with stagnation for the poorest, which is a distributional criticism. GDP's measurement of total output is not disputed.

Question 19Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The two accounts of the meeting are ______ on every detail, which makes it hard to decide whom to believe."

  1. compatible
  2. consistent
  3. irreconcilable Correct answer.
  4. identical

Explanation

If the accounts cannot be reconciled, deciding whom to believe is difficult, so irreconcilable fits. Consistent, compatible, and identical would make the choice easy or unnecessary.

Question 20Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "The proposal to ban cars from the historic centre is bold. Its supporters, however, have yet to explain how deliveries will reach shops that line those streets." The author's position is best described as:

  1. Enthusiastic support for the ban
  2. Support in principle with unresolved practical doubts Correct answer.
  3. Indifference to the outcome of the debate
  4. Total opposition to any traffic restrictions

Explanation

Calling the proposal bold signals sympathy, while the unanswered delivery question expresses a practical doubt. This combination is qualified support, not enthusiasm or total opposition.

Question 21Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Which pair of words has a relationship most similar to "archipelago : island"?

  1. Library : shelf
  2. Museum : visitor
  3. Ocean : wave
  4. Forest : tree Correct answer.

Explanation

An archipelago is a group of islands, just as a forest is a collection of trees; the first term denotes a whole made of the second. The other pairs lack this part-to-collective relationship.

Question 22Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "The policy was announced as a response to public concern. Yet it was drafted months before that concern was voiced, which suggests the timing was political rather than reactive." The word "reactive" here means:

  1. Opposing public opinion
  2. Carefully planned in advance
  3. Lacking any political motive
  4. Responding to events after they occur Correct answer.

Explanation

The contrast is between drafting in advance and responding to concern, so reactive means responding to events as they arise. The passage suggests the policy was not reactive.

Question 23Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read this passage: "Museum audio guides are often praised for democratising access. But a guide that narrates every object may discourage the very looking it claims to support." The author uses the word "democratising" to:

  1. Describe the cost of audio equipment
  2. Endorse the guides without reservation
  3. Introduce a claim the next sentence qualifies Correct answer.
  4. Criticise visitors who use guides

Explanation

The word introduces the standard praise, which the following sentence then qualifies with a concern about discouraging looking. It is not an endorsement or a comment on cost or visitors.

Question 24Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

A passage argues: "We should not dismiss oral history as unreliable simply because it is unwritten; written records, after all, are shaped by the interests of those who produce them." The argument's conclusion is that:

  1. Oral history should not be rejected merely for being unwritten Correct answer.
  2. Written records are always less reliable than oral accounts
  3. Oral history is the only trustworthy source
  4. Written records should be discarded altogether

Explanation

The conclusion is the first clause: oral history should not be dismissed just because it is unwritten. The point about written records supports this by showing they too are shaped by interests.

Question 25Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The report's conclusions were ______ by later research, which found the opposite result."

  1. reinforced
  2. corroborated
  3. validated
  4. undermined Correct answer.

Explanation

If later research found the opposite, the conclusions were weakened, which is undermined. Corroborated, reinforced, and validated all mean strengthened.

Question 26Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The committee's report describes the new library as 'a triumph of civic planning'. Yet the same report notes that the building opened two years late and 40 per cent over budget." Which statement best captures the author's attitude toward the report's description?

  1. The description is irrelevant to the report's main purpose.
  2. The description is undermined by details the report itself supplies. Correct answer.
  3. The description is fully supported by the evidence in the report.
  4. The description is more cautious than the facts warrant.

Explanation

The author contrasts the celebratory phrase with the report's own admission of delay and overspend, implying the praise is undercut by the very facts presented. The key is to see the tension between evaluative language and the accompanying evidence, not to judge the library itself.

Question 27Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The witness's account was so ______ that investigators could not determine whether the car had been travelling north or south."

  1. candid
  2. meticulous
  3. verbose
  4. ambiguous Correct answer.

Explanation

The second clause states that investigators could not determine a basic fact, which signals a lack of clarity. 'Ambiguous' means open to more than one interpretation, fitting the inability to decide direction.

Question 28Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "Advocates of open-plan offices claim they foster collaboration. Studies of such offices, however, find that employees actually speak less in person and retreat to private spaces for focused work." The author's main point is that

  1. the claimed benefit of open-plan offices is contradicted by observed behaviour. Correct answer.
  2. employees prefer private offices for social reasons.
  3. open-plan offices are more expensive than private offices.
  4. collaboration is unimportant in modern workplaces.

Explanation

The passage sets the advocates' claim against research findings that show the opposite behavioural effect. The author is not evaluating cost or the value of collaboration, but exposing a gap between promise and evidence.

Question 29Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Which option best restates the argument: "Because the museum's new wing was funded entirely by a private donor, it cannot claim to represent the public's taste."

  1. Museums should refuse all private donations.
  2. A privately funded wing fails to reflect public preferences. Correct answer.
  3. The public's taste is impossible to determine.
  4. Private donors should not fund museum buildings.

Explanation

The original argument moves from exclusive private funding to a conclusion about the wing's inability to represent public taste. The restatement must preserve both the premise about funding and the conclusion about representation.

Question 30Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The novelist's early work is often praised for its restraint. But restraint can be a virtue only when there is something to restrain; in these novels, little happens and less is felt." The author's criticism is that the early work is

  1. empty rather than controlled Correct answer.
  2. insufficiently disciplined
  3. excessively eventful
  4. too emotional

Explanation

The author reinterprets 'restraint' as a lack of substance, arguing that there is nothing being held back because there is nothing there. The criticism is that the praised quality is actually emptiness.

Question 31Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The two historians' accounts of the treaty are ______: they agree on the date, the signatories, and even the wording of the preamble."

  1. superficial
  2. consistent Correct answer.
  3. speculative
  4. contradictory

Explanation

The colon introduces evidence of agreement on multiple details, which indicates that the accounts match. 'Consistent' means compatible or in agreement, fitting the list of shared elements.

Question 32Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The city's decision to pedestrianise the main square was presented as a response to residents' complaints about traffic. Yet the planning documents show that the scheme was proposed years earlier, before any such complaints were recorded." Which claim is best supported by the passage?

  1. Planning documents are generally unreliable sources.
  2. Residents did not complain about traffic until after the scheme began.
  3. The scheme was not originally motivated by the complaints it was said to answer. Correct answer.
  4. The pedestrianisation scheme was abandoned because of residents' objections.

Explanation

The passage contrasts the public justification with the timeline in the documents, implying the stated cause came after the decision. The evidence supports a claim about motivation, not about the scheme's outcome or the reliability of documents in general.

Question 33Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Which pair of words has a relationship most similar to 'constellation : star'?

  1. orchestra : conductor
  2. forest : tree Correct answer.
  3. book : chapter
  4. river : bank

Explanation

A constellation is a group of stars, just as a forest is a group of trees; the first term denotes a collection of the second. The relationship is collective noun to member, not part to whole or object to controller.

Question 34Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The claim that bilingual education delays children's acquisition of the national language is often repeated. Yet longitudinal studies comparing bilingual and monolingual pupils find no lasting difference in national-language proficiency by the end of primary school." The author's purpose is to

  1. describe the methodology of longitudinal studies.
  2. question a common claim by citing contrary evidence. Correct answer.
  3. explain how children acquire a second language.
  4. argue that bilingual education should be mandatory.

Explanation

The passage sets a widely repeated claim against research findings that contradict it, which is a move to challenge the claim. It does not advocate a policy or explain acquisition mechanisms in detail.

Question 35Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The professor's comments were ______ rather than critical: she pointed out the flaws in the argument but also suggested how it might be repaired."

  1. indifferent
  2. dismissive
  3. hostile
  4. constructive Correct answer.

Explanation

The contrast with 'critical' and the mention of suggesting repairs indicate a helpful, improving tone. 'Constructive' means intended to improve or build up, matching that description.

Question 36Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "Some argue that the decline of local bookshops is simply a matter of consumer choice. But choice presupposes alternatives; when large retailers sell books below cost until competitors close, the subsequent 'choice' is made in a market those retailers have reshaped." The author's point is that

  1. consumers should be forced to shop locally.
  2. large retailers always sell books below cost.
  3. the notion of free choice is misleading when the market has been altered. Correct answer.
  4. local bookshops are inefficient and deserve to close.

Explanation

The author challenges the 'consumer choice' explanation by arguing that the conditions for genuine choice have been undermined. The conclusion is about the misleading use of 'choice', not about coercing consumers or making a universal claim about retailers.

Question 37Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Which sentence uses the colon correctly?

  1. The report: made three recommendations about training and funding.
  2. The report made: three recommendations about training and funding.
  3. The report made three recommendations: and they were about training.
  4. The report made three recommendations: improve training, increase funding, and review staffing. Correct answer.

Explanation

A colon should follow a complete main clause and introduce an explanation, list, or quotation that elaborates it. Only the first option places the colon after an independent clause and before a list that specifies the recommendations.

Question 38Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The film's score is often described as minimalist. If by minimalist we mean spare, repetitive, and emotionally cool, the description fits. But the score also builds to a climax of overwhelming density, which the label cannot accommodate." The author's treatment of the label 'minimalist' is best described as

  1. wholehearted endorsement
  2. qualified acceptance Correct answer.
  3. irrelevant digression
  4. complete rejection

Explanation

The author first grants that the label fits under a specific definition, then identifies a feature it cannot cover, which amounts to qualified acceptance. The label is neither fully endorsed nor entirely dismissed.

Question 39Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The editor found the manuscript's prose ______: every sentence was weighed down with adjectives and subordinate clauses."

  1. ornate Correct answer.
  2. blunt
  3. concise
  4. lucid

Explanation

The colon explains that sentences are heavily loaded with descriptive and dependent elements, which indicates an elaborate style. 'Ornate' means elaborately decorated, fitting that description.

Question 40Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The government's literacy strategy was praised for raising test scores. But scores rose most sharply in schools that had already introduced similar methods before the strategy began, suggesting that the improvement was under way before the policy arrived." Which assumption is required for the author's scepticism to hold?

  1. The strategy was not accompanied by any other changes.
  2. Schools that adopted similar methods early are representative of all schools.
  3. Test scores are the only valid measure of literacy.
  4. The early adopters' prior improvements would have continued without the strategy. Correct answer.

Explanation

The author implies the policy did not cause the rise because the rise was already happening in schools that had acted earlier. This reasoning requires the assumption that the pre-existing trend would have persisted, so the strategy is not credited with it.

Question 41Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The claim that remote work reduces productivity is often supported by managers' impressions. But impressions are formed in the office, where visibility is easily mistaken for effort; the same managers rarely observe remote employees' output directly." The author's main strategy is to

  1. argue that remote work is always more productive.
  2. describe the history of workplace management.
  3. question the reliability of the evidence behind a claim. Correct answer.
  4. present statistical evidence about productivity.

Explanation

The author does not offer data but instead challenges the source of the opposing claim, arguing that managerial impressions are biased. The strategy is to undermine the evidence rather than to prove the opposite conclusion.

Question 42Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The committee's findings were ______ by later research, which found the same pattern in a much larger sample."

  1. corroborated Correct answer.
  2. ignored
  3. anticipated
  4. undermined

Explanation

The later research found the same pattern, which supports rather than weakens the earlier findings. 'Corroborated' means confirmed or supported by additional evidence.

Question 43Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "Museum audio guides are often praised for democratising access. But a guide that narrates every object can discourage the very looking it is meant to support, leaving visitors with a script rather than an encounter." The author's concern is that audio guides may

  1. replace direct visual engagement with passive listening. Correct answer.
  2. contain historically inaccurate information.
  3. be too expensive for most museums to produce.
  4. be inaccessible to visitors with disabilities.

Explanation

The passage contrasts the intended support for looking with the risk of substituting a script for an encounter. The concern is about the mode of engagement, not cost, accuracy, or accessibility.

Question 44Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The proposal to extend the metro line is described as essential for economic growth. Yet the cost-benefit analysis assumes that every commuter hour saved can be valued at the average wage, a method that inflates benefits when many travellers are students or retirees." The author's criticism focuses on

  1. the environmental impact of metro construction.
  2. the number of commuters who would use the line.
  3. an assumption used to calculate the project's benefits. Correct answer.
  4. the political motives behind the proposal.

Explanation

The author targets the valuation method that treats all saved hours as worth the average wage, which overstates benefits for non-earners. The critique is methodological, aimed at an assumption in the cost-benefit analysis.

Question 45Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The reviewer praised the biography as 'definitive'. Yet the book relies almost entirely on the subject's own letters, and the author admits that key archives remained closed. A definitive life, one might think, would require access to more than the subject's self-presentation." The author's tone is

  1. admiring
  2. matter-of-fact
  3. neutral
  4. sarcastic Correct answer.

Explanation

The phrase 'one might think' and the pointed gap between 'definitive' and limited sources signal irony rather than straightforward praise. The author is mocking the reviewer's label by exposing its inconsistency with the evidence.

Question 46Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The claim that standardized tests predict academic success is circular: the tests were designed to correlate with the very grades they are said to predict, so their predictive power is built in rather than discovered." Which option best expresses the author's objection?

  1. The tests' predictive validity is an artifact of their design. Correct answer.
  2. Standardized tests should be replaced by teacher assessments.
  3. Standardized tests are too easy for most students.
  4. Grades are a poor measure of academic success.

Explanation

The author argues that the correlation is guaranteed by the way the tests were constructed, not an independent finding. The objection is that the predictive power is circular, not that the tests are easy or that a specific alternative is better.

Question 47Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The novelist's later works are often dismissed as inferior, but this judgment rests largely on comparisons with her early masterpiece. If we set that masterpiece aside, the later novels are more ambitious, more experimental, and more varied in voice than anything else she wrote." The author's argument depends on the assumption that

  1. comparison with a single early work is an inappropriate basis for judging later work. Correct answer.
  2. the later novels have been widely read.
  3. ambition and experimentation are the only measures of literary value.
  4. the early masterpiece is not genuinely superior.

Explanation

The author asks us to set aside the early masterpiece and judge the later novels on other terms, which only supports the conclusion if judging them against that one work is misleading. The argument does not need to deny the masterpiece's quality, only to challenge its use as the standard.

Question 48Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The policy was announced as a response to public concern. Yet it was drafted months before that concern was expressed, and its architect had advocated the same measures for years. The announcement, then, was less a reaction than a ratification." Which statement best captures the author's conclusion?

  1. The policy was designed to address a concern that had not yet arisen.
  2. The policy was a pre-existing plan presented as a response to events. Correct answer.
  3. The policy's architect opposed the measures until public concern arose.
  4. The public concern was manufactured to justify a pre-existing plan.

Explanation

The author contrasts the announced justification with the timeline and the architect's long-standing advocacy, concluding that the policy was already planned. 'Ratification' suggests the public concern confirmed rather than caused the decision.

Question 49Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The argument that university rankings improve accountability assumes that prospective students can interpret the metrics accurately. But the rankings combine measures of research output, graduate salaries, and student satisfaction into a single number, which conceals the trade-offs among them. A student who values teaching quality may be misled by a high overall score driven by research." The author's main point is that rankings

  1. should be abolished in favour of no information.
  2. are useful because they simplify complex information.
  3. accurately reflect teaching quality when research output is high.
  4. fail to improve accountability because their composite scores obscure relevant differences. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage identifies a gap between the accountability claim and the rankings' actual design, which hides trade-offs and can mislead students. The conclusion is that the intended accountability fails for this reason, not that all information should be removed.

Question 50Verbal reasoning and reading comprehension

Read the passage: "The historian argues that the treaty was inevitable given the balance of power. But inevitability is a claim about what could not have been otherwise, and the evidence shows only that the treaty was likely. To move from likelihood to inevitability is to mistake a strong probability for a certainty." The author's criticism is that the historian

  1. confuses a probable outcome with a necessary one. Correct answer.
  2. claims the treaty was unlikely.
  3. ignores the balance of power entirely.
  4. relies on evidence that is irrelevant to the treaty.

Explanation

The author distinguishes likelihood from inevitability and argues the historian has conflated them. The criticism is logical, targeting the leap from probability to certainty rather than the factual evidence itself.