ISEE Upper Level Verbal Reasoning Question of the Day

Practice ISEE Upper Level Verbal Reasoning with the production-style question-of-the-day selection for this public URL.

Question 1

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

A(n) aspect of a healthy psyche is the ability to cope with changes; without this skill, a person is almost guaranteed to have significant psychological problems in the course of life.

essential
accidental
healthy
jejune
exalted

Explanation: The second clause furnishes the clues that we need. It implies that without the ability to cope with changes, a healthy psyche is likely impossible. This means that you must have this skill—it is not optional. Such things are "essential." In much older philosophical language, "essential" things were contrasted with "accidental" ones. The latter were not "accidents" in the sense that we generally use that word; they were things that just happened to come along with something. For instance, it is essential to a person that he or she be able to think (or at least potentially be able to do so). It is wholly accidental if he or she has black or blond hair. In this sentence, it is said that it is a necessary and essential aspect of psychological health to have the ability to cope with changes.

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ISEE Upper Level Verbal Reasoning

ISEE Upper Level Verbal Reasoning Question of the Day

Practice ISEE Upper Level Verbal Reasoning with the production-style question-of-the-day selection for this public URL.

Question 1

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

A(n) aspect of a healthy psyche is the ability to cope with changes; without this skill, a person is almost guaranteed to have significant psychological problems in the course of life.

essential
accidental
healthy
jejune
exalted

Explanation: The second clause furnishes the clues that we need. It implies that without the ability to cope with changes, a healthy psyche is likely impossible. This means that you must have this skill—it is not optional. Such things are "essential." In much older philosophical language, "essential" things were contrasted with "accidental" ones. The latter were not "accidents" in the sense that we generally use that word; they were things that just happened to come along with something. For instance, it is essential to a person that he or she be able to think (or at least potentially be able to do so). It is wholly accidental if he or she has black or blond hair. In this sentence, it is said that it is a necessary and essential aspect of psychological health to have the ability to cope with changes.