Solved Examples Set 1 (Sentence Completion)

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. ________ 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. It is difficult to take sides with either party because both of the combatants are so ________ to ________.

   1. indifferent . . . evasion
   2. reluctant . . . compromise
   3. hostile . . . interference
   4. impenetrable . . . rhetoric
   5. averse . . . expectation

   (B. reluctant . . . compromise) The first half of the sentence presents the choice between the two combatants as difficult. Choices A, D, or E would not clarify this description. Both B and C are plausible, but because many disputing parties would object to interference, choice B is preferable.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

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. 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. 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).

16. The success of the English-Spanish simulcast must be ________ to Margo Quiroz, who interprets 40 different news items in each nightly newscast.

    1. attested
    2. censured
    3. interpreted
    4. transliterated
    5. attributed

    (E. attributed) The context requires a transitive verb used with the preposition to meaning assign or ascribe. Choices B, C, and D do not fit these requirements. Choice A attested is used with to but means to certify or make clear.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. Alarmist newspaper stories present the pit bull terrier as ________ killer, but owners insist that the dog is friendly and ________.

    1. an invidious . . . malleable
    2. a malign . . . philanthropic
    3. a ferocious . . . docile
    4. an infamous . . . self-serving
    5. a dissolute . . . venal

    (C. a ferocious . . . docile) The first adjective will be negative (a malign or a ferocious killer), while the second must go well with friendly and describe a dog. The best choice is docile, because people do not normally describe dogs as philanthropic.

20. 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.

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