Complete the analogy with ONE word from paragraph 6: free : bound :: dropped : _
Complete the analogy with ONE word from paragraph 6: free : bound :: dropped : _
Options
Correct option: (A) soared.
The analogy 'free : bound' is an antonym (opposite-meaning) pair. 'Dropped' (falling downward) is the exact opposite of 'soared' (rising upward) — and 'soared' is the word actually used in paragraph 6: 'Jonathan soared not just through the skies but through understanding.'
Marking Scheme
- 11 mark for selecting option (A) 'soared' — the antonym of 'dropped' from paragraph 6, matching the free/bound relationship.
Hint
Decide whether 'free : bound' shows similar or opposite meanings, then find the opposite of 'dropped' only within paragraph 6.
Quick Oral Answer
'Free' and 'bound' are opposites, so I needed the opposite of 'dropped' from paragraph 6 — that word is 'soared', since dropping is falling and soaring is rising.
Analysis & Explanation
This item tests two skills together: recognising the logical relationship in a given word pair, and locating a word with the same relationship inside one specified paragraph.
Why (A) is correct
- 'Free' and 'bound' are opposites — one denotes liberty, the other restriction.
- 'Dropped' and 'soared' are likewise opposites of physical motion — falling versus rising — so the relationship matches exactly.
- 'Soared' is drawn directly from paragraph 6, satisfying the instruction to use a word from that paragraph only.
Why the distractors are wrong
- (B) 'learned' — present in paragraph 6 but describes gaining knowledge, not motion; it has no antonym link with 'dropped'.
- (C) 'measured' — from the line 'greatness is not measured in a wingspan', but unrelated in meaning to 'dropped'.
- (D) 'break' — part of 'break free', a verb of separation, not an antonym of 'dropped'.
Common Mistakes
- 1Picking a word simply because it occurs in paragraph 6, without checking whether it is an antonym of 'dropped' (e.g., wrongly choosing 'learned' or 'measured').
- 2Misreading 'free : bound' as a synonym pair instead of an antonym pair, which leads to an unrelated choice.
- 3Searching the entire passage instead of restricting the search to paragraph 6 as instructed.
Interesting Facts
Analogy questions combine verbal reasoning (spotting the relationship in the first pair) with reading comprehension (finding the matching word in a given paragraph) — a format also used in aptitude tests.
'Jonathan Livingston Seagull' (1970) by Richard Bach uses flight as an extended metaphor for self-realisation, repeatedly contrasting words like 'bound' and 'soared' to mark the gull's transformation.
The novella sold over a million copies in its first year and stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 38 weeks.
Spotted a mistake or something unclear?
Tell us — we fix reported answers fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should analogy questions in the CBSE English Core reading section be approached?
First identify the relationship between the given word pair — synonym, antonym, cause-effect, or part-whole — then find a word in the specified paragraph that shares the identical relationship with the given word.
Why is 'measured' incorrect even though it also appears in paragraph 6?
'Measured' is present in paragraph 6 but shares no antonym or logical link with 'dropped'. Only 'soared', the opposite of 'dropped', completes the analogy correctly.