Solved Examples (Sentence Equivalence)

Directions: Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning.

1. Normally an individual thunderstorm lasts about 45 minutes, but under certai conditions the storm may ________, becoming ever more severe, for as long as four hours.

   1. wane
   2. moderate
   3. persist
   4. endure
   5. vacillate
   6. disperse

   (C. persist and D. endure) Normally an individual thunderstorm lasts about 45 minutes, but under certai conditions the storm may persist/endure, becoming ever more severe, for as long as four hours.

2. Perhaps because something in us instinctively distrusts such displays of neutral fluency, some readers approach John Updike's fiction with ________.

   1. wariness
   2. indifference
   3. suspicion
   4. veneration
   5. bewilderment
   6. remorse

   (A. wariness and C. suspicion) Perhaps because something in us instinctively distrusts such displays of neutral fluency, some readers approach John Updike's fiction with wariness/suspicion.

3. We lost confidence in him because he never ________ the grandiose promises he had made.

   1. forgot about
   2. reneged on
   3. carried out
   4. tried of
   5. delivered on
   6. retreated from

   (C. carried out and E. delivered on) We lost confidence in him because he never carried out/delivered on the grandiose promises he had made.

4. We were amazed that a man who had been heretofore the most ________ of public speakers could, in a single speech, electrify an audience and bring them cheering to their feet.

   1. prosaic
   2. enthralling
   3. accomplished
   4. pedestrian
   5. auspicious
   6. iconoclastic

   (A. prosaic and D. pedestrian) We were amazed that a man who had been heretofore the most prosaic/pedestrian of public speakers could, in a single speech, electrify an audience and bring them cheering to their feet.

5. Despite the mixture's ________ nature, we found that by loweing the temperature in the laboratory we could dramatically reduce its tendency to vaporize.

   1. resilient
   2. homogeneous
   3. volatile
   4. insipid
   5. acerbic
   6. unstable

   (C. volatile and F. unstable) Despite the mixture's volatile/unstable nature, we found that by loweing the temperature in the laboratory we could dramatically reduce its tendency to vaporize.

6. In a revolutionary development in technology, some manufacturers now make biodegradable forms of plastic; some plastic trash bags, for example gradually ________ when exposed to sunlight.

   1. harden
   2. stagnate
   3. inflate
   4. propagate
   5. decompose
   6. disintegrate

   (E. decompose and F. disintegrate) In a revolutionary development in technology, some manufacturers now make biodegradable forms of plastic; some plastic trash bags, for example gradually decompose/disintegrate when exposed to sunlight.

7. Aimed at curbing European attempts to seize territory in the Americas, the Monroe Doctrine was a warning to ________ foreign powers.

   1. pertinacious
   2. cautionary
   3. credulous
   4. rapacious
   5. predatory
   6. remote

   (D. rapacious and E. predatory) Aimed at curbing European attempts to seize territory in the Americas, the Monroe Doctrine was a warning to rapacious/predatory foreign powers.

8. Few other plants can grow beneaththe canopy of the sycamore tree, whose leaves and pods produce a natural herbicide that leaches into the surrounding soil, ________ other plants that might compete for water and nutrients.

   1. inhibiting
   2. distinguishing
   3. nourishing
   4. suppressing
   5. harvesting
   6. fertilizing

   Few other plants can grow beneaththe canopy of the sycamore tree, whose leaves and pods produce a natural herbicide that leaches into the surrounding soil, inhibiting/suppressing other plants that might compete for water and nutrients.

9. The child was so spoiled by her indulgent parents that she pouted and became ________ when she did not receive all of their attention.

   1. discreet
   2. suspicious
   3. elated
   4. sullen
   5. tranquil
   6. grumpy

   The child was so spoiled by her indulgent parents that she pouted and became sullen/grumpy when she did not receive all of their attention.

10. The reasoning in this editorial is so ________ that we cannot see how anyone can be deceived by it.

    1. unsound
    2. coherent
    3. astute
    4. dispassionate
    5. scrupulous
    6. specious

    The reasoning in this editorial is so unsound/specious that we cannot see how anyone can be deceived by it.

11. Because InspectorMorse could not contain his scorn for the police commissioner, he was imprudent enough to make ________ remarks about his superior officer.

    1. ambiguous
    2. impartial
    3. unfathomable
    4. contemptuous
    5. scathing
    6. pertinent

    Because InspectorMorse could not contain his scorn for the police commissioner, he was imprudent enough to make contemptuous/scathing remarks about his superior officer.

12. Though he was theoretically a friend of labor, his voting record in Congress ________ that impression.

    1. implied
    2. confirmed
    3. created
    4. belied
    5. tallied
    6. contradicted

    Though he was theoretically a friend of labor, his voting record in Congress belied/contradicted that impression.

13. Modern architecture has discarded ________ trimming on buildings and has concentrated on an almost Greek simplicity of line.

    1. flamboyant
    2. ornate
    3. austere
    4. inconspicuous
    5. aesthetic
    6. derivative

    Modern architecture has discarded flamboyant/ornate trimming on buildings and has concentrated on an almost Greek simplicity of line.

14. The young clerk was quickly promoted when his employers saw how ________ he was.

    1. indigent
    2. assiduous
    3. autocratic
    4. industrious
    5. intractable
    6. self-serving

    The young clerk was quickly promoted when his employers saw how assiduous/industrious he was.

15. Because it arrives so early in the season, before many other birds, the robin has been called the ________ of spring.

    1. prototype
    2. hostage
    3. harbinger
    4. herald
    5. progeny
    6. newcomer

    Because it arrives so early in the season, before many other birds, the robin has been called the harbinger/herald of spring.

16. Truculent is defending their individual rights of sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation, the newly formed states ________ constantly.

    1. digressed
    2. conferred
    3. bickered
    4. dismembered
    5. rebuffed
    6. squabbled

    (C. and F. squabbled) Truculent is defending their individual rights of sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation, the newly formed states bickered/squabbled constantly.

17. In Anglo Saxon times, the monastic scribes made ________ distinction between Latin texts and texts in the vernacular by assigning the former an Anglo-Caroline script and reserving the pointed insular script for texts in Old Engilsh.

    1. a nice
    2. a subtle
    3. a pointless
    4. an obvious
    5. an unconventional
    6. a judgmental

    In Anglo Saxon times, the monastic scribes made a nice/a subtle distinction between Latin texts and texts in the vernacular by assigning the former an Anglo-Caroline script and reserving the pointed insular script for texts in Old Engilsh.

18. Written in an amiable style, the book provides a comprehensive overview of European wines that should prove ________ to both the virtual novice and the experienced connoisseur.

    1. inviting
    2. tedious
    3. engaging
    4. inspirational
    5. perplexing
    6. opaque

    (A. inviting and C. engaging) Written in an amiable style, the book provides a comprehensive overview of European wines that should prove inviting/engaging to both the virtual novice and the experienced connoisseur.

19. Although it does contain some pioneering ideas, one would hardly characterize the work as ________.

    1. orthodox
    2. eccentric
    3. original
    4. trifling
    5. conventional
    6. innovative

    (C. original and F. innovative) The word "Although" is a crucial signpost here. The work contains some pioneering ideas, but apparently it is not overall a pioneering work. Thus the two words that could fill the blank appropriately are "original" and "innovative." Note that "orthodox" and "conventional" are two words that are very similar in meaning, but neither one completes the sentence sensibly. Thus the correct answer is original and innovative.

20. It was her view that the country's problems had been ________ by foreign technocrats, so that to ask for such assistance again would be counterproductive.

    1. ameliorated
    2. ascertained
    3. diagnosed
    4. exacerbated
    5. overlooked
    6. worsened

    (D. exacerbated and F. worsened) The sentence relates a piece of reasoning, as indicated by the presence of "so that": asking for the assistance of foreign technocrats would be counterproductive because of the effects such technocrats have had already. This means that the technocrats must have bad effects; i.e., they must have "exacerbated" or "worsened" the country's problems. Thus the correct answer is exacerbated and worsened.