Verbal Reasoning Test

True: the passage states the three automated warehouses “each processed more parcels per shift than they had in the previous year”, and “each” covers all three. False is wrong because nothing in the text contradicts the increase. Cannot say is wrong because the increase is stated directly, so the reader can decide it from the passage alone rather than being left uncertain.

Cannot say: the passage states the firm “has not decided whether to install the equipment at the two remaining warehouses”, so it gives no timetable. True is wrong because no future installation is asserted. False is wrong because the passage does not rule installation out either; it simply leaves the decision open, which is exactly what cannot say describes.

False: the passage explicitly cautions that error rates “had been falling gradually across all five sites for several years before the equipment arrived”, so a factor other than the equipment was already reducing errors, which is enough to contradict the equipment being the sole cause. True is wrong because the text never credits the equipment alone. Cannot say is wrong because the passage does not leave the matter open: it names a pre-existing cause, so the sole-cause claim can be judged false against the text rather than treated as unknown.

Cannot say: the passage states the review “made no attempt to compare staffing levels between the automated and manual sites”, so the text gives no information about relative staffing. True is wrong because it assumes automation must have cut headcount, a real-world guess the passage never supports. False is wrong because the passage does not state that staffing was equal or higher either; it is simply silent on the comparison, so neither direction can be settled.

False: the passage says these communities “do not depend on sunlight for energy” and that the bacteria instead use chemosynthesis to convert dissolved chemicals into energy, which contradicts reliance on sunlight. True is wrong because it asserts the opposite of the text. Cannot say is wrong because the passage explicitly settles the point, so the reader can decide it rather than being left uncertain.

True: the passage states researchers “observed that when a vent stopped releasing fluid, the community of organisms around it declined within months”. False is wrong because it reverses the reported outcome. Cannot say is wrong because the decline is directly reported as an observation, so the text decides the statement and leaves nothing for the reader to guess.

False: the passage says that although new vents were colonised by similar organisms, the researchers “did not establish how the organisms travelled between vent sites”, which directly contradicts the claim that they determined it. True is wrong because it asserts something the text explicitly denies. Cannot say is wrong because the passage states plainly that the mechanism was not established, deciding the statement.

True: the passage states samples “contained bacteria that were genetically distinct from any previously catalogued”, which is what the statement asserts. False is wrong because it denies a directly stated finding. Cannot say is wrong because the passage confirms the finding explicitly, leaving nothing undecided for the reader to weigh up.

True: the passage states the first thirty minutes of each hire are free and that surveys “found that most hires lasted less than thirty minutes”; a hire under thirty minutes falls entirely within the free period, so most hires carried no charge. False is wrong because it denies this entailment. Cannot say is wrong because the two stated facts together settle the point without needing outside information.

Cannot say: the passage reports only that the operator “attributed” the peak pattern to people travelling to and from work; an attribution is a suggested explanation, not an established cause, and the text offers no confirmation. True is wrong because the passage confirms only the operator’s view, not the cause itself. False is wrong because commuting is not contradicted; it is simply left unproven.

False: the passage states the outer-district stations “were used less frequently than those in the centre”, which is the opposite of the statement. True is wrong because it reverses the stated comparison. Cannot say is wrong because the passage gives a direct comparison of the two areas, so the statement can be decided against rather than left open.

Cannot say: the passage states the operator “has not confirmed where the new stations will be placed”, so their location is unknown. True is wrong because no location is asserted. False is wrong because the passage does not rule the outer districts out either; it leaves the placement undecided, which is the definition of cannot say.

False: the passage states that “among all subscribers, fiction was borrowed more often than non-fiction”, which is the reverse of the statement. True is wrong because it asserts the opposite of the text. Cannot say is wrong because the passage gives the direct comparison between fiction and non-fiction, so the reader can decide the statement rather than being left uncertain.

True: the passage states subscribers reading on tablets “finished, on average, more books each month than those who read on small-screen phones”. False is wrong because it denies a directly stated comparison. Cannot say is wrong because the averages are explicitly compared in the text, so the reader can decide it rather than treating it as unresolved.

Cannot say: the passage says goal-setters “borrowed more titles”, but adds the study “did not measure whether borrowing more titles meant reading more of them”, so reading more cannot be inferred. True is wrong because borrowing is not the same as reading, and the text blocks that leap. False is wrong because the passage does not state goal-setters read fewer or the same; reading was simply not measured.

False: the passage states the house “offers the same catalogue to all subscribers regardless of the device they use”, which contradicts a device-dependent catalogue. True is wrong because it asserts the opposite of the text. Cannot say is wrong because the passage directly addresses the catalogue and settles the matter, so the statement can be decided.

False: the passage states the survey “was conducted once, at the end of the period, and relied on households recalling their earlier spending”, and that collecting data at several points was only a recommendation for future surveys. True is wrong because it claims the opposite of the single, end-of-period method. Cannot say is wrong because the passage explicitly describes the method, deciding the statement.

True: the passage states that “across all income groups, spending on non-essential goods fell during the period studied”. False is wrong because it denies a directly stated finding. Cannot say is wrong because the passage explicitly covers all income groups, so the reader can decide the statement rather than treating some groups as unaccounted for.

Cannot say: the passage says some households reported taking on extra paid work, but that the report “did not record how many hours this involved or whether the extra income fully covered the increase”. True is wrong because full coverage is exactly what was not recorded. False is wrong because the passage does not state the income fell short either; whether it covered the bills is simply unknown.

True: the passage states households “in the lowest income group reduced their heating use more than households in the highest income group did”, which is exactly the two groups the statement names. False is wrong because it reverses the stated comparison. Cannot say is wrong because the passage compares those two income groups directly, so the reader can decide the statement rather than leaving it unresolved.