Solved Examples Set 2 (Sentence Completion)

1. Pretending in his works to be gauche, uneducated, and ________, the real Chaucer was a sophisticated, widely read, and ________ man.

   1. provincial . . . cosmopolitan
   2. exiguous . . . vigorous
   3. avuncular . . . shrewd
   4. inept . . . dauntless
   5. incompetent . . . flaccid

   (A. provincial . . . cosmopolitan) The pattern the sentence sets up is a specific contrast between the terms in the two series. In the first series, provincial, inept, and incompetent would fit, but only A gives an opposite for the second blank: provincial versus cosmopolitan.

2. Loyalty tests are ________ in their consequences because they distract attention from truly disloyal activities, and they ________ the criticism that true loyalty inspires.

   1. salutary . . . intimidate
   2. cautionary . . . mute
   3. pernicious . . . silence
   4. unexceptional . . . abstract
   5. perilous . . . augment

   (C. pernicious . . . silence) The first missing word must be critical of loyalty tests, such as C or E. The second word must mean something like stifle, so only B and C are possible.

3. Unless the prevailing ________ attitude toward genetically altered food is changed, the biotech industry will have little ________ to pursue research and development.

   1. rampant . . . motive
   2. auspicious . . . occasion
   3. censorious . . . disinclination
   4. negative . . . incentive
   5. unassailed . . . reason

   (D. negative . . . incentive) The missing noun must mean something like motive or reason, so you can eliminate C. To make sense, the adjective in the right choice should be derogatory, so only D (negative) is possible.

4. The ________ of Darwin’s theory of evolution on Victorian religion was to create a bitter ________ of ideas and beliefs.

   1. result . . . moderation
   2. effect . . . conflict
   3. extension . . . growth
   4. origin . . . compromise
   5. influence . . . solidarity

   (B. effect . . . conflict) The answer is effect . . . conflict. A cause-and-effect relationship is set up in this sentence with a negative term required for the second blank suggested by the term bitter.

5. Puzzled passersby occasionally see the ________ message “Nowhere in Particular” on the destination signs of Culver City buses.

   1. minatory
   2. exclamatory
   3. enigmatic
   4. surreptitious
   5. ameliorative

   (C. enigmatic) Because the passersby are puzzled, the missing word should have some connection with this adjective. The best choice is enigmatic, a synonym of perplexing.

6. Although they are now commercially ________, caper bushes are still found growing wild in many ________ Mediterranean areas.

   1. exported . . . fertile
   2. marketed . . . urban
   3. preempted . . . fluvial
   4. eluded . . . indigenous
   5. cultivated . . . remote

   (E. cultivated . . . remote) The first word here might be A, B, or E, but the grow wild detail seems to contrast with the first clause, suggesting that cultivated is the best of the three. Because remote also makes more sense in the context of the sentence, the best answer is E.

7. A highly ________ player, the champion will snarl at himself and rage at the umpire with no ________ whatsoever.

   1. reticent . . . reason
   2. demonstrative . . . provocation
   3. recusant . . . excuse
   4. obstreperous . . . corroboration
   5. emotional . . . antagonism

   (B. demonstrative . . . provocation) Both B and D will fit the first blank (snarl, rage), but the word provocation (that which incites) is clearly better than corroboration (that which makes certain).

8. That so shameless, sentimental, and dishonest a film attracts a large and enthusiastic audience is ________ of how low the popular taste has ________.

   1. an indication . . . soared
   2. a gauge . . . refined
   3. a signatory . . . fallen
   4. a refutation . . . descended
   5. a barometer . . . plummeted

   (E. a barometer . . . plummeted) The word low tells us the second word must be fallen, descended, or plummeted. The words indication, gauge, or barometer fit the first blank, so the right choice must be E.

9. One cannot ________ to be impressed by the structural and ________ differences between the United States as a federal union in 1789 and the United States as a federal union today.

   1. refuse . . . legal
   2. stop . . . attitudinal
   3. begin . . . economic
   4. fail . . . operational
   5. start . . . classical

   (D. fail . . . operational) The best choice is fail . . . operational. The signal here is cannot ________ to be impressed, which should be a negative word, but the second choice should be a complement to structural, which is operational.

10. The company’s ________ produce new, daring, and socially relevant plays has made it the most ________, though not the most popular, theater group in the city.

    1. reluctance to . . . esoteric
    2. avidity to . . . congenial
    3. commitment to . . . provocative
    4. inability to . . . liberal
    5. eagerness to . . . regressive

    (C. commitment to . . . provocative) Both A and D are illogical. If the company did not produce new and daring plays, it would not be described as esoteric or liberal. And if it did, it would not be congenial or regressive. Only C makes sense, with provocative fitting well with the phrase though not the most popular.

11. Ozone in the Earth's atmosphere ________ living organisms from damaging ultraviolet radiation.

    1. protects
    2. warms
    3. reflects
    4. absorbs

    (A. protects) Ozone shields harmful ultaviolet radiation. Hence it protects living things on the earth.

12. Fauzia presents herself as a bold journalist by asking people in politics the kinds of ________ questions that other reporters do not ask.

    1. controversial
    2. circumnutating
    3. abnormal
    4. irrelevant

    (A. controversial) The sentence says that Fauzia earned a reputation for herself as a journalist by asking the questions that other reporters avoided. Its mean she asks probing questions about "controversial" issues.

13. Briefly popular in the ’40s, the ’60s, and the ’80s, Brazilian music is now making one of its periodic ________ into the American ________.

    1. forays . . . consciousness
    2. escapes . . . miasma
    3. appearances . . . discourse
    4. eclipses . . . scene
    5. invasions . . . liturgy

    (A. forays . . . consciousness) Forays (a brief venture), appearances, and maybe even invasions would seem to fit the first blank, but discourse and liturgy make no sense in this context, so the second noun must be consciousness.

14. Unfortunately, too many American actors in a Shakespeare play chop the verse into gobbets that are ________ to the audience and ________ to their own vocal chords.

    1. inscrutable . . . an expedience
    2. congenial . . . a danger
    3. galling . . . a panacea
    4. anodyne . . . an emollient
    5. incomprehensible . . . a threat

    (E. incomprehensible . . . a threat) The Unfortunately at the beginning tells us to look for words with negative denotations. Of the five choices, only E has both an adjective and a noun with meanings that are unfavorable.

15. The company has accused its larger rival of trying to ________ the ________ retail market in the north by offering illegal contracts to outlets in the area.

    1. control . . . bankrupt
    2. monopolize . . . lucrative
    3. annul . . . profitable
    4. corner . . . factitious
    5. divest . . . remunerative

    (B. monopolize . . . lucrative) Three of the verbs might work here (control, monopolize, or corner), but only lucrative fits a sought-after market.

16. The meager ruins of the castle, which once covered 6 acres of ground, can now be of interest only to ________.

    1. antiques
    2. antiquaries
    3. reliquaries
    4. patricians
    5. histrionics

    (B. antiquaries) The context calls for a word to describe someone who might be interested in ancient ruins. Of the five choices, the only one that fits this definition is antiquaries, which refers to an expert or student of things remaining from ancient times.

17. Though it lasted only half an hour, the ponderous lecture seemed ________ to most of the students.

    1. interminable
    2. cabalistic
    3. waggish
    4. vendible
    5. expressive

    (A. interminable) The clues of though it lasted only half an hour and ponderous point here only to interminable or endless.

18. Despite his illness, Inzamam was ________ in winning his team.

    1. disappointing
    2. useless
    3. vigorous
    4. instrumental

    (D. instrumental) "Despite" is the key word. It leads you to predict the importance of Inzamam. Hence, the right answer choice is D.

19. Comparing him to P.T. Barnum, Mencken called William Jennings Bryan a ________, a mountebank, a fake without shame or dignity.

    1. coward
    2. charlatan
    3. poltroon
    4. craven
    5. demigod

    (B. charlatan) The best choice will mean something like fake and mountebank. A craven, or a poltroon is a coward. A charlatan is a mountebank.

20. So ________ was the sales person's tone about the qualities of the new computer system that Najam nearly missed the ________ in its calculations in his budget.

    1. Persuasive ... flaw
    2. adopted ... accuracy
    3. harsh ... amount
    4. irritating ... greatness

    (A. Persuasive ... flaw) The sales person's tone is always "persuasive" during sales talk for the first blank and something like "flaw" for the second. Choice A is the right answer.

Solved Examples Set 1
Solved Examples Set 2
Solved Examples Set 3