Psytech Test

Psytech GRT1 Graduate: Verbal Reasoning

1. Question 1 of 10

   The review body reported on the training grant scheme in June. It found that the scheme reached fewer people each year than when it started and that the cost of running it had risen. It recommended that the scheme be kept and simplified, and that the eligibility rules be reduced from eleven conditions to four. It said closing the scheme had been considered and rejected, because no other route reached the same group. The report runs to sixty pages.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “The review body recommended that the scheme be closed.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: B. False

   The statement is False. The passage says the review body “recommended that the scheme be kept and simplified”, and that “closing the scheme had been considered and rejected”. Either sentence contradicts the statement. The rule: False needs a stated contradiction rather than a silence, and here there are two. The most tempting wrong judgement is True, because the findings that come first are all unfavourable, and a reader who reasons from the evidence to the conclusion will not expect the scheme to survive.

2. Question 2 of 10

   Sheafmarket Yard is a terrace of twelve workshop units behind Sheffield’s old cutlery quarter. Nine of the twelve units have been re-roofed over the past two years, with insulation brought up to the landlord’s new standard. The remaining units are scheduled as tenancies allow access. The yard’s units house knife makers, a plater and an engraver, with a shared etching room at the terrace end. Rents rise only at re-letting, a practice the landlord’s agent confirms in each tenancy letter.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Unit 9 at Sheafmarket Yard has been re-roofed.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. Cannot say

   The statement is Cannot say. The passage says “nine of the twelve units have been re-roofed” and never identifies which units. Which group unit 9 belongs to is not settled. The rule: a fact about most of a group never settles a claim about a named member; only a universal would. The most tempting wrong answer is True, from carrying the nine-in-twelve down to the one named unit.

3. Question 3 of 10

   Scarista Software supported version five of its estimating product for twenty-two months and version six for thirty-one months. Version five had been installed by more customers than version six, and it drew more support requests in its first year. Scarista publishes the dates on which support for each version begins and ends. The company has released a new version roughly every two years since 2014 and tells customers when a date is fixed.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Scarista supported version six for longer than it supported version five.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: A. True

   The statement is True. The passage states that Scarista “supported version five of its estimating product for twenty-two months and version six for thirty-one months”. Those are two figures on the same stated measure, so version six was supported for longer. The rule: a statement is True when it follows from comparing two figures the passage states on the same measure. The most tempting wrong answer is False, from a reader who reaches for the installation numbers instead.

4. Question 4 of 10

   Tilbrook Airport has changed the way its fast-track security lane is sold. The lane is open only to passengers who have bought a fast-track pass, either online or at the desk in the departures hall. A pass bought online costs 6 pounds and one bought at the desk costs 8 pounds. Passes are valid on the day shown and are not transferable. The airport says the lane opens at 04:30 each morning and closes when the last departure has boarded. Passengers travelling with an infant may instead use the family lane, which is free and open to everyone.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Some passengers may use Tilbrook Airport’s fast-track security lane without buying a pass.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: B. False

   The statement is False. The notice states that the fast-track lane “is open only to passengers who have bought a fast-track pass”. That sentence names the lane and states the restriction without exception, so it contradicts a claim that some passengers may use that lane without a pass. The rule: a restrictive qualifier is a stated contradiction, not a silence. The strongest pull the other way is the family lane at the end of the notice, described as free and open to everyone; the deciding sentence sits second in the passage and names the fast-track lane explicitly, so the two lanes are kept apart in the text.

5. Question 5 of 10

   Valtos Software keeps a feature running for at least six months after its replacement becomes available, rather than withdrawing it as soon as the new one works, so that customers can move at a time that suits them. The withdrawal notice names both features and the date the older one goes. Valtos withdrew three features last year and has announced two for next year. The notices sit on a page listing every withdrawal since 2019.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Valtos withdraws a feature as soon as its replacement is available.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: B. False

   The statement is False. The passage states that Valtos “keeps a feature running for at least six months after its replacement becomes available, rather than withdrawing it as soon as the new one works”. That sentence says the opposite of the claim in as many words. The rule: False needs a stated contradiction. The most tempting wrong answer is True, because retiring a feature the moment its replacement lands is what a reader assumes a software company would do.

6. Question 6 of 10

   The Roperwalk lets artists’ studios along a covered walk that once twisted ship’s cable. Applications for studios doubled this year, queued on a list the trust reads in order of application date. The trust’s open weekend filled the walk with easels and wheels, teas served from the tar kettle hearth. Studio licences renew each Lady Day, terms posted on the trust’s board. A bursary studio is let free for a year to a graduate chosen by the artists themselves.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “The Roperwalk’s studios cost more to rent this year than last year.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. Cannot say

   The statement is Cannot say. The passage says applications “doubled this year”, but applications and rents are different measures, and no rent figures are given for either year. The rule: a change in one measure never establishes a change in a different measure. The most tempting wrong answer is True, from letting the doubled demand stand for the price.

7. Question 7 of 10

   Harswell District Council answers freedom of information requests under a target of twenty working days. Last quarter the council answered 91 per cent of requests within the target, up from 87 per cent the quarter before, after a new tracking system flagged requests approaching their deadline. The council received 212 requests in the quarter, most concerning planning and parking. Responses are published in a disclosure log, with personal data removed. The information officer reports to the governance committee twice a year.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Harswell District Council met its response target for every information request last quarter.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: B. False

   The statement is False. The passage says the council “answered 91 per cent of requests within the target”. If 91 per cent were answered within the target, the remaining 9 per cent of the 212 requests were not, so the claim that the target was met for every request is contradicted. The rule: a stated rate below 100 per cent entails exceptions, which contradict a claim about every case. The most tempting wrong answer is True, from reading the improving rate as the target achieved.

8. Question 8 of 10

   Grimswell Town Council is replacing the timber footbridge over the beck, closed since flood damage two winters ago. The council’s programme has the new bridge open in time for the spring fair, which fills the meadow on the far bank. The steel span has been fabricated and is stored at the contractor’s yard, and the crane lift is booked for the first still week of March. Fair traders have been told to plan for both banks. A temporary walkway two fields upstream adds twenty minutes to the crossing.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Grimswell’s new footbridge will be open in time for the spring fair.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. Cannot say

   The statement is Cannot say. The passage says “the council’s programme has the new bridge open in time for the spring fair” and reports the fabricated span and the booked lift. Whether the bridge will actually be open in time is not settled by a programme. The rule: a target never entails its outcome. The most tempting wrong answer is True, because the preparations are nearly complete and the traders are already planning for it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   Skerray Software released a new version of its lettings product in June and told customers they could move to it when they wished. The new version adds a way of handling deposits and a redesigned diary. Customers who stay on the old version keep the terms they signed. Skerray writes to every customer each spring setting out what it holds for them. The company has about three hundred customers and has sold the product since 2016.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Skerray’s customers who stayed on the old version pay less than those who moved.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. Cannot say

   The statement is Cannot say. The passage states that “customers who stay on the old version keep the terms they signed”, and describes what the new version adds. It gives no price for either version and makes no comparison. The rule: a claim that matches how the world usually works, but that the passage does not settle, is Cannot say. The most tempting wrong answer is True, because a newer version with more features reads as the dearer one.

10. Question 10 of 10

    The Gaslight Players stage three plays a season in the institute’s hall, sets struck to the cellar between runs. This season added a fourth night to each run, the extra Thursday agreed with the caretaker over the summer. The spring farce took its curtain call with the cast corpsing at the vicar’s walk-on, a night still retold at the interval hatch. Programmes are a pound, printed by the secretary’s son at cost. Auditions are open, posted in the institute porch.

    Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

    Statement: “The Gaslight Players sold more tickets this season than last.”

    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Cannot say

    The statement is Cannot say. The passage says the season added a fourth night to each run, but nights staged and tickets sold are different measures, and no ticket figures are given for either season. The rule: a change in one measure never establishes a change in a different measure. The most tempting wrong answer is True, from letting the extra nights stand for the box office.