Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Contents
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This analogy uses relationships between reference tools and the specific information they organise or display. A calendar is a tool that organises and shows dates. Similarly, an index is a tool in the back of a book that helps readers locate specific items in the text. To complete the analogy “Calendar : Date :: Index : ?”, we must select the word that represents what an index lists or points to, in parallel with how a calendar lists dates.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
A calendar arranges days and months in a structured way so that you can locate any particular date you need. An index performs a comparable role in a book: it lists topics, names, and key terms, along with page numbers where they appear in the text. Therefore, the relationship is “tool that helps you locate something : the items it helps you locate”. For an index, these items are the contents or topics of the book. Among the options, contents best captures that role.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Clarify the first relationship.
A calendar organises dates. You consult a calendar to find the date of a particular day.
Step 2: Describe the role of an index.
An index lists important words, topics, or names and tells you the page numbers where they occur. It is a map to the contents of the text.
Step 3: Examine each option.
Name of author is usually on the cover or title page and is not what the index itself lists.
Glossary is a separate section that explains difficult words, not what an index directly points to.
Contents is a good general word for the material inside the book and is what the index helps you locate, entry by entry.
Summary is a brief overview of the text, not the set of detailed items the index refers to.
Step 4: Recognise that the closest parallel to date in this context is contents.
Verification / Alternative check:
We can write the analogy as “tool for quick lookup : item(s) it lets you find”. A calendar allows quick lookup of a date; an index allows quick lookup of specific parts of the contents. Other parts of a book such as the glossary or summary serve different functions and do not map as directly to what an index lists or points at.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
• Name of author – although it might appear in an index, it is only one possible entry, not the general type of item we are describing.
• Glossary – is its own separate list of definitions and is not what the index itself represents.
• Summary – summarises contents but is not the detailed set of entries that an index helps you navigate.
Common Pitfalls:
Some learners confuse index with table of contents or glossary, mixing up book parts. The key is to focus on the primary function: an index is designed to help the reader find specific topics in the contents, so contents is the best general term to complete the analogy.
Final Answer:
The word that correctly completes the analogy is Contents.
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