Solved Examples Set 2 (Sentence Completion)

1. The writing is awkward, even ________, but the novel has nonetheless attracted a large ________.

   1. felicitous . . . following
   2. grotesque . . . vacuity
   3. elegant . . . repertoire
   4. graceful . . . audience
   5. ungainly . . . readership

   (E. ungainly . . . readership) The first word here must have a meaning like awkward, but more intense. The only choices are grotesque, B, or ungainly, E, but only E has a noun (readership) that fits the second blank.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Unless the environmentalists can draft a more ________ proposal, the courts will disallow their proposition as too vague.

   1. legal
   2. restrictive
   3. encompassing
   4. specific
   5. ecological

   (D. specific) The missing adjective is defined as the opposite of too vague by the completed sentence. Though B is possible, the best choice is more specific. Restrictive means limiting or tending to restrict, but the context calls for specific, that is, explicit or definite.

7. 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.

8. He ________ into the room as if he had just been ________ from a deep sleep.

   1. strode . . . ejected
   2. proceeded . . . summoned
   3. minced . . . fomented
   4. shambled . . . roused
   5. swaggered . . . awakened

   (D. shambled . . . roused) Both roused and awakened are good choices for the second blank, but the verb shamble (to shuffle) describes the gait of someone just awakened better than swaggered.

9. Churchill was cordial to Beria when they first met, but that was the last show of ________ between them.

   1. charity
   2. enmity
   3. amiability
   4. pathology
   5. austerity

   (C. amiability) The noun here will follow from the adjective cordial. The best word is amiability, closest of the five choices to cordiality.

10. Students at Pennsylvania State University have ________ the Liberty Bell’s original tone, a ________ of four notes, E flat, F sharp, G sharp, and B flat.

    1. relegated . . . combination
    2. replicated . . . melding
    3. decanted . . . concurrence
    4. reproduced . . . disjunction
    5. intimated . . . knell

    (B. replicated . . . melding) The context suggests a word like reproduced or replicated. Given these two choices, only melding could describe the combining of the four notes.

11. 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).

12. The ________ problem of piracy has the music industry worried, because the pirates overseas are ________ by the crackdown in the United States.

    1. burgeoning . . . unabashed
    2. widespread . . . intimidated
    3. immaterial . . . incriminated
    4. minor . . . untroubled
    5. evanescent . . . undeterred

    (A. burgeoning . . . unabashed) If the problem worries the industry, it cannot be immaterial, minor, or evanescent. And if the industry is worried, the pirates still must be unabashed (unafraid) rather than intimidated by crackdowns.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. The ________ songs of Irving Berlin captured the uninhibited joy and ________ verve of New York in the twenties.

    1. jaunty . . . insouciant
    2. tuneful . . . timorous
    3. cacophonous . . . careless
    4. catchy . . . lurid
    5. popular . . . flagrant

    (A. jaunty . . . insouciant) Both of these adjectives should go well with joy and verve. Though tuneful, catchy, or popular might work, only the combination of jaunty and insouciant, which means carefree, fits both needs.

16. Rather than ________ the commuter delays, the new toll road has ________ the problems, and the traffic jams are worse than ever.

    1. minimize . . . extenuated
    2. extol . . . compounded
    3. abate . . . decimated
    4. alleviate . . . aggravated
    5. emend . . . increased

    (D. alleviate . . . aggravated) Because the traffic jams are worse, the second word must mean something like increased, so options B, D, or E are possibilities. The first word must mean something like reduce, leaving only alleviate as a right answer.

17. Truman tried to continue Roosevelt’s ________ approach to the Soviet Union, but by 1946, he had adopted a much tougher policy toward the Russians.

    1. cursory
    2. strict
    3. obligatory
    4. uncompromising
    5. conciliatory

    (E. conciliatory) The correct answer is conciliatory. The sentence sets up a contrast situation with the word but. Truman tried to do something but ended up adopting a tougher policy. Conciliatory is the only choice that suggests a previously weaker approach.

18. Slovenia’s declared intention to ________ and Croatia’s decision to ________ the conference, aimed at preventing the breakup of the federation, are twin blows to Yugoslavian unity.

    1. secede . . . boycott
    2. withdraw . . . foster
    3. divide . . . consolidate
    4. recede . . . avoid
    5. patronize . . . exclude

    (A. secede . . . boycott) The two verbs must both (twin blows) indicate a divisive action. The words foster, consolidate, and patronize do not fit, but choice D is marred by the use of recede, which means to move back, not to withdraw from.

19. 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.

20. Unlike most historians, an anthropologist may not share the conventional ________ that the written word is more ________ than a tale told by a campfire.

    1. belief . . . prolix
    2. assumption . . . authentic
    3. idea . . . incredible
    4. tenet . . . specious
    5. canon . . . interesting

    (B. assumption . . . authentic) You can assume that historians regard the written word as more certain than the fireside tale, so the second blank is probably authentic. That assumption fits well confirms the choice of B.

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