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Example Questions
Example Question #843 : Sentence Completion
Mother Theresa was known for her __________ personality; she gave often and generously to the poor.
bountiful
intrepid
insolent
arcane
incoherent
bountiful
From the context of the sentence you know that whatever aspect of Mother Theresa’s personality is being described must relate to generosity and giving to the poor. Of the five answer choices only bountiful means giving generously, and is therefore the correct answer. Intrepid means adventurous; incoherent means impossible to understand; insolent means rude; arcane means mysterious or hard to understand.
Example Question #1 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
The rhetoric of North Korean leaders has long been described as __________ by the American and South Korean governments who fear a return to war.
conciliatory
bellicose
dismissive
laconic
affable
bellicose
From the context of the sentence you know that the blank word must describe some aggressive quality of North Korean rhetoric that causes the other governments to fear the outbreak of war. This reveals that the correct answer is “bellicose” which means belligerent, aggressive or war-like. Affable means friendly; dismissive means to undermine the importance of something; laconic means terse or brief; conciliatory means appeasing or pacifying.
Example Question #11 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The various engagements she had promised to attend made her weekend plans a particularly __________ puzzle.
straightforward
knotty
adroit
blithe
simple
knotty
The many different engagements indicate that the weekend schedule will be a difficult problem. The correct answer is a synonym of "difficult." Of the answer choices, "knotty," meaning complex, is the only synonym for difficult.
Example Question #661 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
King James I was a famously __________ man; he rarely interjected during meetings with his council, preferring to listen and observe.
taciturn
portly
ludicrous
meticulous
suspicious
taciturn
The sentence describes how King James I rarely spoke in his council meetings, so you know that the word we're looking for must relate to some quality of silence or using words sparingly. This means that the correct answer is “taciturn,” which means silent or reserved in speech. "Suspicious" means distrustful; "ludicrous" means absurd; "meticulous" describes someone who pays close attention to detail; and "portly" describes someone who is big or fat.
Example Question #3 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
The professor loved diagramming everything on the chalkboard, so after a day of lecturing his hands were usually __________; he kept moisturizing lotion in his office for this reason.
distal
desicated
distraught
proximal
benign
desicated
"Desicated" means dried out. The fact that the professor needs moisturizer and that he has his hands covered in chalk tells us that this is the best choice. The other answer choices do not make sense, as "distal" means distant, "proximal" means close, next to, or nearby, "benign" means harmless, and "distraught" means upset.
Example Question #571 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Jamie was __________ after finishing the marathon, and his wife had to handle the kids by herself for the rest of the day.
enthused
splendid
disenchanted
exhausted
bewildered
exhausted
The contextual clues in the sentence tell us that Jamie was not able to do much after he finished the race, and because it was a marathon it is reasonable to assume that the reason for this is that he had no energy left. The word "exhausted" means drained of one's physical or mental resources, so "exhausted" is the correct answer because it best fits the sentence's context.
Example Question #652 : One Blank Sentences
In the poem entitled The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost writes about two different and __________ paths that people can take in their lives.
divergent
analogous
nefarious
convergent
adverse
divergent
Something that is divergent is dissimilar or different. The key word to notice in the sentence is "different," which indicates that the two roads people can take are divergent.
Example Question #653 : One Blank Sentences
In Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver comes upon a land where the people are __________; they are small in size compared to Gulliver, who has an average body size.
erroneous
gargantuan
lilliputian
prodigious
augmented
lilliputian
If something is "lilliputian" in size, it means that it is small. Since the people of the country are smaller than Gulliver, who is average size, this is the best answer.
Example Question #2072 : Sat Critical Reading
After staying up the entire night before the exam to study, Joe was __________ the next day.
lethargic
taciturn
emaciated
jocular
invigorated
lethargic
Since Joe pulled an all-nighter, he was presumably tired, or lethargic, the next day.
Example Question #662 : One Blank Sentences
The ice sculpture, floating island, and expensive party favors seemed __________ to the bride, who had wanted a small affair.
rancorous
reverent
perfidious
ostentatious
tactful
ostentatious
Since the bride had wanted a small wedding, the flaunting of wealth through the sculpture and party favors would have seemed "ostentatious."
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