Cake is to dessert as soup is to what?

Cake is to dessert as soup is to what?

• A. meal
• B. appetizer
• C. snack
• D. beverage

Answer: (B)

To understand why the correct answer is appetizer, it is important to look at the relationship between cake and dessert. Cake is a specific type of dessert, which refers to a category of sweet courses that typically concludes a meal. Thus, the analogy is making a comparison between a specific item and its broader category.

Applying this logic to soup, we consider the role of soup in a meal. Soup often serves as an introductory course intended to stimulate the appetite, which aligns it with the concept of an appetizer. Just as cake represents a component of dessert, soup represents a component of an appetizer category.

In this analogy, meal, snack, and beverage do not fit as closely. While soup can be part of a meal, it is not a type of meal itself. Similarly, snack suggests something lighter and less formal than soup typically represents, and while beverage may involve a liquid form, it does not capture the essence of soup in its function within a meal setting. Therefore, appetizer is the most appropriate choice that parallels the relationship established between cake and dessert.