ISEE Middle Level (grades 7-8) Verbal Reasoning - ISEE Middle Level Verbal Reasoning

In this statement, the best answer choice is that the lake water is opaque. The key to this question is that she cannot see the bottom of the lake.

The key to this question is noting that Joe ran in high heat and was out of shape before undertaking a lengthy run of five miles. Thus, the run was presumably excruciating or painful.

Since he got a rejection letter from his first-choice college, Tom was presumably miserable and sad. Thus, another way to express his gloom is to say he was melancholy after receiving the news.

Since the membrane allows liquids and molcules to pass through it, the membrane must have gaps and therefore be porous.

The sentence demonstrates how Rebecca is so gullible, or easily fooled, to the point that she believes even radically incorrect statements.

In terms of public speaking, Natasha was anxious about public speaking and therefore she was flustered when she began to speak; in other words, she was nervous and slightly agitated.

He was so inept that he could not be trusted with the simplest of tasks.

Inept most nearly means incompetent. Someone who is inept has a very low threshold for what they are capable of handling.

She was adamant, so we had no choice but to do it her way. Someone who is adamant about something is convinced that their way or opinion is correct, and is unyielding on this point.

Your computer is ten years old? Throw that away, it is obsolete. Something that is obsolete is out of date and is not current.

Though it is ten years old, that does not mean the computer is broken. And while it may be foreign, that is not a reason to throw it away.

We know that Kim expected the bill to be smaller, so we should pick out an answer choice that means something like "shocked." Since "stupefied" means "astonished and shocked," "stupefied" is the only answer that fits the context of the sentence, so "stupefied" is the correct answer.

We know that the sheep are "gentle" and that they stayed where the shepherdess put them, so we need to pick out an answer choice that describes these qualities. While "intractable" might look like a potentially correct answer, "intractable" actually means difficult to control, the opposite of "gentle" and obedient, so it can't be the correct answer. "Meek," however, means submissive and gentle, and because it best fits the context of the sentence, "meek" is the correct answer.

We can infer that the lab in the back of the altered RV can move around, as the doctors can take it directly to outbreak sites. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that reflects the lab's ability to be easily transported. "Malingering" may look like a potentially correct answer because it has to do with disease, meaning pretending that one is sick in order to avoid having to do something, e.g. go to work, it does not have anything to do with something being easily transportable, so it cannot be the correct answer. "Mobile," however, when used as an adjective, means able to be moved to different locations. Because "mobile" best fits the context of the sentence, "mobile" is the correct answer.

We can tell from the context of the sentence that people expected Liam to be injured, but he somehow remained unhurt, "with not even a bruise or scrape." So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "unhurt." While "unscathed," "unburnt," and "unparalleled" may all look like potentially correct answers, the meaning of "unparalleled"("unequalled") doesn't have anything to do with injuries, while "unburnt" specifically refers to injuries that are burns, which doesn't fit the context of the sentence. "Unscathed," however, means "without suffering any injury, damage, or harm," and best fits the context of the sentence, so "unscathed" is the correct answer.

We know from the sentence's context that all of the group's members voted for Sarah to be the leader, even though she expected a few people to disagree and vote differently. So, we know that all the members voted the same way, and need to pick out an answer choice that reflects this. While "unambiguously" and "unanimously" might both look like potentially correct answers, "unambiguously" means "clearly" or "not open to more than one interpretation," it doesn't quite fit the context of the sentence. However, "unanimously" means "without opposition; with the agreement of all people involved," and because "unanimously" best fits the sentence's meaning, "unanimously" is the correct answer.

Because the sentence discusses the moment when the band "walked out onto the stage…before beginning their first song," we know that it is discussing the beginning of the concert. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "began." "Ended" and "concluded" both refer to the end of something, so neither of them can be correct, "proceeded" means "continued" so it cannot be correct either, and "deferred" has nothing to do with chronological progression like the other answer choices do. "Commenced," however, means "began; started," so "commenced" is the correct answer because it best fits the context of the sentence.

Clearly, bouncing off the walls is not lazy or mournful (sad) behavior, so we can scratch those two options. Exotic, which means foreign or unfamiliar, doesn't fit, especially because running around and chasing its tail is normal behavior for a puppy. Jubilant and ecstatic both fit, but they mean the same thing and both imply that the puppy is happy, something we don't know from the behavior in the sentence. What we do know is that the puppy is being wild and unpredictably energetic, which is the meaning of frenetic.

We can tell from the sentence's context that Daisy has an advanced understanding of computers, because she was able to perform "a complex procedure only professional technicians would be able to execute without error." So, we need to pick out a word that means something like advanced. "Amateur" is an antonym of "advanced," so it cannot be the correct answer. "Sorry" could mean pitiful, but even then, it would be a near antonym of "advanced," so it could not be the correct answer either. "Keen" is the best answer choice; in this context, it means acute or developed, so it is the closest synonym to "advanced" amongst the listed answer choices.

We can infer from the sentence's context that we need to pick out a word that means something like "excited." "Mendacious" is an adjective that means "not telling the truth; lying," so it can't be the correct answer because it's not close in meaning to "excited." While "bored" and "angry" both describe emotions, neither emotion fits the context of the sentence, so neither word can be the correct answer. "Fervent," an adjective that means "having or displaying a passionate intensity," best fits the context of the sentence, so it is the correct answer.

We can infer that because the old man "began to tell stories of the many adventures he had had \[at the beach\] as a child," that he was feeling nostalgic. So, we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "nostalgic." "Reminiscent" is an adjective that can mean "absorbed in or suggesting absorption in memories" when describing a person or his or her manner, so "reminiscent" is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.