SSAT Quick Quiz
Think you're ready? Try out a few SSAT practice questions and find out.
________________________________________
Synonyms
1. ACUMEN
(A) beauty
(B) poise
(C) keenness
(D) illness
(E) courtesy
Analogies
1. Pungent is to odor as:
(A) intense is to emotion.
(B) pervade is to atmosphere.
(C) infect is to spread.
(D) proverb is to paragraph.
(E) resent is to denial
Quantitative Mathematics
1. A sportswriter claims that her football predictions are accurate 60% of the time. During football season, a fan kept records and found that the writer was inaccurate for a total of 16 games, although she did maintain her 60% accuracy. For how many games was the sportswriter accurate?
(A) 5
(B) 15
(C) 24
(D) 40
(E) 60
Reading Comprehension
As he threw his head back in the chair, his glance happened to rest upon a bell, a disused bell, that hung in the room, and communicated, for some purpose now forgotten, with a chamber in the highest story of the building. It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable dread, that, as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing. Soon it rang out loudly, and so did every bell in the house.
This was succeeded by a clanking noise deep down below as if some person were dragging a heavy chain over the casks in the wine-merchant's cellar. Then he heard the noise much louder on the floors below; then coming up the stairs; then coming straight toward his door.
It came in through the heavy door, and a specter passed into the room before his eyes. And upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried, 'I know him! Marley's Ghost!'
- from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
1. The word inexplicable means:
(A) explaining in simple terms.
(B) not able to be taken out of.
(C) without an expressed reason.
(D) eerie.
(E) incapable.
2. The bell that began ringing:
(A) was large and heavy.
(B) did so by itself.
(C) could be rung from another room.
(D) was attached to every bell in the house.
(E) rested first on his glance.
3. The man in the story:
(A) first heard noises in his room.
(B) is probably a wine merchant.
(C) had been asleep.
(D) recognized Marley's ghost.
(E) set the room on fire.
Writing an Essay (sample only)
Some educators suggest that all elementary, middle school, and high school students should be required to wear school uniforms. What do you think? Support your position with one or two specific examples from personal experience, the experience of others, history, or literature.
SSAT Quick Quiz Answers
Synonyms
1. The correct answer is (C). Acumen is keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a situation. For example, acumen with respect to foreign cultures is a great asset in the diplomatic corps.
Analogies
1. The correct answer is (A). Pungent is an adjective used to describe a heightened degree of odor. Intense is an adjective used to describe a heightened degree of emotion.
Quantitative Mathematics
1. The correct answer is (C).
If 60% of the games were predicted accurately, 40% of the games were predicted inaccurately.
Let x = games played
.40x = 16
x = 40 games played
40 - 16 = 24 games won
Reading Comprehension
1. The correct answer is (C). Inexplicable means without explanation.
2. The correct answer is (B). If a disused bell suddenly began to swing, it must have done so all by itself.
3. The correct answer is (D). This is the only choice supported by the selection. The answer is in the last sentence. Choice (A) is incorrect because the man first saw the bell begin to move, and then he heard noises.
Think you're ready? Try out a few SSAT practice questions and find out.
________________________________________
Synonyms
1. ACUMEN
(A) beauty
(B) poise
(C) keenness
(D) illness
(E) courtesy
Analogies
1. Pungent is to odor as:
(A) intense is to emotion.
(B) pervade is to atmosphere.
(C) infect is to spread.
(D) proverb is to paragraph.
(E) resent is to denial
Quantitative Mathematics
1. A sportswriter claims that her football predictions are accurate 60% of the time. During football season, a fan kept records and found that the writer was inaccurate for a total of 16 games, although she did maintain her 60% accuracy. For how many games was the sportswriter accurate?
(A) 5
(B) 15
(C) 24
(D) 40
(E) 60
Reading Comprehension
As he threw his head back in the chair, his glance happened to rest upon a bell, a disused bell, that hung in the room, and communicated, for some purpose now forgotten, with a chamber in the highest story of the building. It was with great astonishment, and with a strange, inexplicable dread, that, as he looked, he saw this bell begin to swing. Soon it rang out loudly, and so did every bell in the house.
This was succeeded by a clanking noise deep down below as if some person were dragging a heavy chain over the casks in the wine-merchant's cellar. Then he heard the noise much louder on the floors below; then coming up the stairs; then coming straight toward his door.
It came in through the heavy door, and a specter passed into the room before his eyes. And upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried, 'I know him! Marley's Ghost!'
- from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
1. The word inexplicable means:
(A) explaining in simple terms.
(B) not able to be taken out of.
(C) without an expressed reason.
(D) eerie.
(E) incapable.
2. The bell that began ringing:
(A) was large and heavy.
(B) did so by itself.
(C) could be rung from another room.
(D) was attached to every bell in the house.
(E) rested first on his glance.
3. The man in the story:
(A) first heard noises in his room.
(B) is probably a wine merchant.
(C) had been asleep.
(D) recognized Marley's ghost.
(E) set the room on fire.
Writing an Essay (sample only)
Some educators suggest that all elementary, middle school, and high school students should be required to wear school uniforms. What do you think? Support your position with one or two specific examples from personal experience, the experience of others, history, or literature.
SSAT Quick Quiz Answers
Synonyms
1. The correct answer is (C). Acumen is keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a situation. For example, acumen with respect to foreign cultures is a great asset in the diplomatic corps.
Analogies
1. The correct answer is (A). Pungent is an adjective used to describe a heightened degree of odor. Intense is an adjective used to describe a heightened degree of emotion.
Quantitative Mathematics
1. The correct answer is (C).
If 60% of the games were predicted accurately, 40% of the games were predicted inaccurately.
Let x = games played
.40x = 16
x = 40 games played
40 - 16 = 24 games won
Reading Comprehension
1. The correct answer is (C). Inexplicable means without explanation.
2. The correct answer is (B). If a disused bell suddenly began to swing, it must have done so all by itself.
3. The correct answer is (D). This is the only choice supported by the selection. The answer is in the last sentence. Choice (A) is incorrect because the man first saw the bell begin to move, and then he heard noises.