Solved Examples Set 2 (Sentence Completion)

1. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

9. 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.

10. Unfortunately, too many American actors in a Shakespeare play chop the verse into gobbets that are ________ to the audience and ________ to their own vocal chords.

    1. inscrutable . . . an expedience
    2. congenial . . . a danger
    3. galling . . . a panacea
    4. anodyne . . . an emollient
    5. incomprehensible . . . a threat

    (E. incomprehensible . . . a threat) The Unfortunately at the beginning tells us to look for words with negative denotations. Of the five choices, only E has both an adjective and a noun with meanings that are unfavorable.

11. 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.

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. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.”

18. Heavy snows in the passes of the Pyrenees have seriously ________ rescuers trying to reach travelers surprised by the spring blizzards.

    1. excluded
    2. expedited
    3. rappelled
    4. assisted
    5. hampered

    (E. hampered) The context indicates the missing verb should mean impeded, kept from moving freely. B, C, and D are clearly unsuitable. The use of the adjective seriously eliminates excluded as the answer.

19. 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.

20. 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.

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