GRE Verbal : One-Blank Texts
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
All GRE Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #791 : One Blank Texts
His ______________ approach to the sport soon was copied by competitors and quickly became the standard method.
mundane
nostalgic
epistolary
novel
lax
novel
The approach to the sport "became the standard method" only after being "copied by competitors." This implies it was not the standard method at first, and the correct answer will reflect this. "Novel," meaning new and innovative, is the best choice.
Example Question #792 : One Blank Texts
The investor remained ____________ throughout the meeting, revealing none of his thinking.
ebullient
philanthropic
perpicacious
taciturn
loquacious
taciturn
The investor revealed "none of his thinking" in the meeting, indicating he said almost nothing. The correct answer will mean extremely quiet, which is the definition of "taciturn."
Example Question #793 : One Blank Texts
Both sides agreed the controversy needed a(n) _________________ party to help resolve the conflict.
enthusiastic
disinterested
zealots
sycophantic
hackneyed
disinterested
The party described by the missing word is attempting to resolve the "controversy." The correct answer needs to reflect a person who could work with both sides. "Disinterested," meaning unbiased or neutral, is the best answer choice.
Example Question #794 : One Blank Texts
She was ________________ enough to claim that she was not at a party, but she was caught on a surveillance camera.
innocuous
irreproachable
mendacious
venerable
perspicacious
mendacious
To claim she was not where "she was caught on a surveillance camera," indicates that she was less than honest. The correct answer should mean prone to lying or deception, the definition of "mendacious."
Example Question #795 : One Blank Texts
The film's ___________________ humor was looked down on by intellectual critics.
sophomoric
perspicacious
acerbic
exemplary
superlative
sophomoric
The film is "looked down on by the intellectual critics," meaning the humor is unappealing to intellectuals. The correct answer needs to mean the opposite of "intellectual." "Sophomoric," meaning juvenile or conceited, is the best fit.
Example Question #145 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Texts
The _________________ city councilman was an easy target for underworld bribery.
venal
irreproachable
venerable
mercurial
disinterested
venal
The city councilman is "an easy target" for bribery. The correct answer needs to mean corruptible or able to be bribed, the definition of "venal."
Example Question #1084 : Gre Verbal Reasoning
The book was highly derivative, with a ___________________ plotline.
supercilious
innovative
avant garde
novel
cliché
cliché
The plotline for a "highly derivative" book will be old and common, and the correct answer should illuminate this. "Cliché," meaning an overused and unoriginal phrase or idea, is the best choice.
Example Question #796 : One Blank Texts
Standing in the presence of his idol, he quickly became _____________ and unable to speak.
poised
ebullient
flustered
salacious
articulate
flustered
The inability to speak "in the presence of his idol," indicates the subject was bothered and agitated, and the correct answer will reflect this. "Flustered," meaning worked up or problematically excited, is the best choice.
Example Question #797 : One Blank Texts
His ________________ lectures usually made half the class zone out after fifteen minutes.
soporific
affable
ebullient
vivacious
effusive
soporific
The fact the class would "zone out after fifteen minutes" indicates the lectures were quite boring and the correct answer will reflect this. "Soporific," meaning excessively drawn out and sleep inducing, is the correct answer.
Example Question #798 : One Blank Texts
The students used to love the young priest’s sermons, which he delivered so __________, as though he were directing a flowing symphony, but with words.
vociferously
mellifluously
didactically
tonally
pacifically
mellifluously
The most temping wrong answer would be "pacifically" (so long as you are not taken in by "tonally" just because of the reference to the symphony). "Pacific" comes from the Latin pax, pacis, which means peace, and facio—from which we get many of our "-fy", "-fic" endings—meaning to make.
The operative word here, however, is "flowing", which is better matched by "mellifluous." The "fluous" portion clearly means flowing. The "mellli" portion comes from the Latin mel or Greek meli, meaning honey. Very distantly, the word "molasses" comes from this same base.
All GRE Verbal Resources
