Solved Examples Set 3 (Sentence Completion)

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. America at Sea is a one-volume ________ history that covers the nation’s military and commercial activities.

    1. aquatic
    2. ancient
    3. meretricious
    4. theological
    5. maritime

    (E. maritime) The title tells us the book is about the American sea history; the logical choice is maritime, which means “of the sea.”

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. ________ must be distinguished from ________, which is the recognition of different categories of people without the inputing of any differences in rank.

    1. Totalitarianism . . . brotherhood
    2. Modification . . . ossification
    3. Classification . . . ramification
    4. Stratification . . . differentiation
    5. Finitude . . . infinitude

    (D. Stratification . . . differentiation) In this case, the second blank is easier to fill because it is followed by a definition. Differentiation is the recognition of different categories of people, and so on. Stratification, which does imply the differences in rank that differentiation does not, is also appropriate.

13. Time and time again, the power of the mob in Chicago appears to have been annihilated, but it has always ________ itself.

    1. reappeared
    2. eliminated
    3. returned
    4. regenerated
    5. exhumed

    (D. regenerated) The but indicates the power has not been annihilated, so the verb that is missing must indicate a rebirth and be used with itself. A and C are not used with the pronoun; B has the opposite of the required meaning; and though E is possible, D is clearer.

14. The thought of a nuclear ________ sparked by a misunderstanding poses an awesome ________.

    1. device . . . reverberation
    2. holocaust . . . specter
    3. danger . . . spectacle
    4. liaison . . . probability
    5. explosion . . . calamity

    (B. holocaust . . . specter) Working from the second blank first, notice that you are looking for a word coinciding with thought. Only specter is a type of thought (something that haunts or perturbs the mind), and along with it, holocaust (destruction by fire) makes good sense.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. My wealthy aunt is more than economical; she is so ________ that she washes paper plates to be used again.

    1. affluent
    2. parsimonious
    3. indigent
    4. impoverished
    5. selfish

    (B. parsimonious) The correct answer is parsimonious. The context provides a definition for the correct choice in is more than economical. The context also suggests the trait of being excessively frugal by the word so. Choices C and D would not apply because they mean poor, and the aunt is wealthy. Choice A is not excessive. E does not fit with the example of washing paper plates.

20. 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.

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