SAT Critical Reading : Parts of Speech in One-Blank Sentences

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Critical Reading

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Example Questions

Example Question #2482 : Sat Critical Reading

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Having just been called __________ by her friends, Carrie proved them right by storming out of the room.

Possible Answers:

negligible

courageous 

jubilant

histrionic

haughty 

Correct answer:

histrionic

Explanation:

From the context of the sentence you know that whatever Carrie was called by her friends she must have proved it right when she stormed out of the room. Storming out of a room is a dramatic response so the blank word must closely resemble a dramatic action. Jubilant means joyous; courageous means brave; haughty means condescending or proud; negligible means insignificant. Those answer choices are all incorrect. The correct answer is histrionic which means overdramatic or theatrical.

Example Question #2483 : Sat Critical Reading

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

It would be foolish to describe the invention of the cotton gin as __________ because it changed the economic and social situation in the South.

Possible Answers:

negligible

wondrous

indulgent 

apoplectic

comely 

Correct answer:

negligible

Explanation:

The second clause of this sentence emphasizes how the economic and social situation of the South was changed by the invention of the cotton gin. Therefore it would appear to be foolish to describe its invention as insignificant. Of the five answer choices negligible is by far the best match. Negligible means insignificant; indulgent means tolerant; apoplectic means overcome with anger; wondrous means inspirational; comely describes something cute.

Example Question #2484 : Sat Critical Reading

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The mythology and magical legend surrounding the former Russian minister Rasputin caused him to be perceived somewhat __________ during his lifetime.

Possible Answers:

lazily 

preternaturally

magnanimously

sardonically 

wistfully 

Correct answer:

preternaturally

Explanation:

From the context of this sentence you know that Rasputin must be perceived as something otherworldly, magical or unnatural. Of the five answer choices preternaturally is by far the best answer. It means exceeding what is common in nature or supernatural. Sardonically means sarcastically; wistfully refers to looking back with sorrowful appreciation to the past; magnanimously refers to a noble-spirited, generous individual.

Example Question #2485 : Sat Critical Reading

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Winston Churchill’s contemporaries spent many a __________ evening in his company; he was considered knowledgeable and pleasant to be around.

Possible Answers:

meticulous 

cautious 

endangered 

mercenary 

convivial

Correct answer:

convivial

Explanation:

The second clause in the sentence describes Winston Churchill as knowledgeable and pleasant to be around. From this information you can infer that the blank word must describe some amiable or positive quality about Churchill. Of the five answer choices only convivial describes fits comfortable. Convivial means enjoyable company or pleasant. Meticulous refers to someone who is precise and extremely careful; mercenary means doing something for money; cautious means careful; endangered means threatened.

Example Question #2486 : Sat Critical Reading

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

After experiencing terrible famine and starvation, in the middle of the nineteenth century, the average young Irish boy looked extremely sickly and ­__________.

Possible Answers:

portly 

pulchritudinous

comely 

corpulent 

emaciated

Correct answer:

emaciated

Explanation:

The context described in the sentence indicates that the blank word must relate to some physical appearance brought on by starvation. This rules out corpulent and portly which both mean big or fat. It also rules out pulchritudinous which means beautiful and comely which means cute. The remaining, correct, answer is “emaciated” which means very thin to the point of wasting away.

Example Question #1271 : One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

To make his grandmother’s cooking more __________, Bert is often forced to add copious amounts of salt and pepper.

Possible Answers:

auriferous

palatable 

unsettling 

bombastic 

voracious

Correct answer:

palatable 

Explanation:

The context of this question suggests that Bert is forced to add salt and pepper to his grandmother’s cooking in order to make it taste better. This indicates that the correct answer is “palatable” which means pleasant tasting. Voracious describes someone with a big appetite; unsettling means worrying; bombastic means verbose or pretentious; auriferous describes a mineral that contains gold.

Example Question #472 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

He expected me to be up at the crack of dawn, cooking his friends a fancy breakfast; I thought that was rather __________.

Possible Answers:

illogical

particular

presumptuous

unequivocal

scrupulous

Correct answer:

presumptuous

Explanation:

The correct answer is "presumptuous," meaning assuming too much or arrogant. "Illogical" could also describe someone's request, but "presumptuous" is the better choice because it more specifically describes the situation of someone expecting too much.

Example Question #1272 : One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The party guests enjoyed a __________ buffet of rich food and exotic delicacies.

Possible Answers:

diffident

banal

homogenous

sumptuous

endemic

Correct answer:

sumptuous

Explanation:

"Sumptuous" means luxurious or splendid. "Banal" means commonplace or mundane. "Diffident" means hesitant or lacking in confidence. "Endemic" means native or local. "Homogenous" means similar or comparable.

Example Question #1273 : One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Devin was a particularly grave child, often finding his peers’ idea of enjoyment to be merely __________.

Possible Answers:

playful

merry

enjoyable

joyous

frivolous

Correct answer:

frivolous

Explanation:

Often, we think of the adjective “grave” as meaning that someone is ill-tempered or “grumpy;” however, its most proper meaning is “serious” or perhaps even “solemn.” According to this meaning, the sentence implies (by using the word “merely”) an opposition between such gravity and the attitude of Devin’s peers. When something is “frivolous,” it appears to be utterly unserious, which would indeed be a fitting opposite to Devin’s grave manner.

Example Question #1274 : One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Rarely thinking more than two days in advance, Robin would __________ undertake grand projects that few believed she could complete in an adequate manner.

Possible Answers:

frequently

irrationally

impetuously

regularly

simultaneously

Correct answer:

impetuously

Explanation:

For whatever might be said about the regularity of Robin’s undertaking of grand projects, the sentence definitely conveys that she does so without much forethought. When someone acts “impetuously,” he or she acts quickly and without much planning or thought. The word comes from the Latin meaning “to attack” or also “to seek.” The “im-” prefix here intensifies the sense of “attacking” (to the point that one attacks a task without even planning). The general root “-pet-” found in this word is related to the same root found in “petition,” “impetus,” and “repeat.”

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