Solved Examples Set 2 (Sentence Completion)

1. 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.

2. Salma's home looked as though it had been ________ from a rag bin; her expensive burner was her sole ________ of luxury.

   1. clean ... expensive
   2. computerized ... cost
   3. modernized ... symbol
   4. salvaged ... sign

   (D. salvaged ... sign) 'from a rag bin' gives the idea of "salvaged". Opposite to it is "sign" of luxury. Hence the right choice is D.

3. 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.

4. The Oxford research team was afraid that sensationalized television reports of its work on paranormal phenomena would undermine its academic ________.

   1. responsibility
   2. questioning
   3. credibility
   4. freedom
   5. credulousness

   (C. credibility) The correct noun must be something that sensational television coverage would undermine in a university setting. The best choice is credibility, or believability.

5. 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.

6. 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.

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. Some historians contend that the ________ Germany was forced to pay after World War I ________ made possible the rise of Nazism.

   1. restorations . . . indefinitely
   2. recriminations . . . finally
   3. expenditures . . . gratuitously
   4. reparations . . . ultimately
   5. disbursements . . . immediately

   (D. reparations . . . ultimately) The first noun must mean something like payments. Only reparations fits exactly, and ultimately makes more sense than the four other adverbs.

9. 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.

10. The show is worth seeing for the ________ of Judy Convoy’s vivacious performance, which ________ the stage whenever she appears.

    1. effervescence . . . enlivens
    2. verve . . . deforms
    3. torpor . . . dominates
    4. bravado . . . enervates
    5. sprightliness . . . muffles

    (A. effervescence . . . enlivens) The phrase vivacious performance suggests that both the missing words should suggest liveliness. Effervescence, verve, and sprightliness are all promising, but only A has a verb that also suggests vitality.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. The eruption of the volcano in January was only ________ of the much larger event in March.

    1. an advent
    2. a ukase
    3. an elision
    4. a precursor
    5. a subtext

    (D. a precursor) The context calls for a noun that means predecessor, something that comes first. The best choice is precursor.

16. 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.

17. As the controversial argument continued, the debaters became more _________ and their remarks became more ________.

    1. subdued . . . hostile
    2. vehement . . . acrimonious
    3. reticent . . . cliché
    4. affable . . . adverse
    5. emotional . . . adroit

    (B. vehement . . . acrimonious) The answer is vehement . . . acrimonious. The signal words controversial, more, and more suggest a conflict that increases or intensifies. The only pair that supports these context clues is vehement . . . acrimonious. Even if you are not certain of the definition of acrimonious, the other choices can be eliminated because none of them suggests the intensification of the controversy.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. Virginia has adopted detailed new ________ for what students should know in English, history, mathematics, and science.

    1. maxims
    2. jurisdictions
    3. benchmarks
    4. affirmations
    5. vortices

    (C. benchmarks) A word that means standards is needed here. The best choice is benchmarks, which means “standards or references from which others can be measured.”

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