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Flashcards in Sentence Completion Practice Deck (150)
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1
Q

His assigned 60-page graduate thesis was a ________ task, since he’d never written a paper a quarter the size.

A) odious

B) prolonged

C) jocular

D) daunting

E) sober

A

D) daunting

Clues: never written, a quarter the size

2
Q

David, wanting to find Mr. Rankeillor’s house, is willing to ________ a stranger on the street to help him identify it.

A) provoke

B) castigate

C) accost

D) interrogate

E) irritate

A

C) accost

Clues: find house, stranger

3
Q

When Billy ________ the vat of soup and expects a harsh punishment, the tough master-at-arms merely ________ him in a way that puzzles the foretop man.

A) dislogdes…hastens

B) overturns…chides

C) upsets…chastises

D) reconnoiters…admonishes

E) topples…promulgates

A

B) overturns…chides

Clues: vat of soup, expects punishment, merely

4
Q

The professor of medieval studies had a most ________ collection of office furniture selected from Danish, Spanish, Italian and Hungarian styles of ________ and even a piece from the Ikea catalogue.

A) comprehensive…authenticity

B) variegated…morbidity

C) eclectic…antiquity

D) scintillating…carpentry

E) exquisite…novelty

A

C) eclectic…antiquity

Clues: medieval, collection, Danish, Spanish, Italian, Hangarian, Ikea

5
Q

The law school professor clearly ________ the boundaries of First Amendment rights as pertaining to ________ and slander.

A) demarcated…rumors

B) explored…slights

C) blurred…calumny

D) delineated…libel

E) deprecated…reputations

A

D) delineated…libel

Clues: boundaries, First Amendment

6
Q

Though he undoubtedly shared the defensive plans at West Point to an enemy commander, Gen. Benedict Arnold certainly saw his actions as less ________ than the treason ________ in his court-martial.

A) problematic…cited

B) olfactory…implied

C) perfidious…alleged

D) nefarious…posed

E) notorious…defamed

A

C) perfidious…alleged

Clues: though, enemy commander, treason

7
Q

The prisoners of war became ________ at ________ the rules of the camp, so that tunnels could be dug for escape.

A) pliant…molding

B) deft..circumventing

C) adroit…overslawing

D) adept…proscribing

E) obstreperous…respecting

A

B) deft…circumventing

Clues: prisoners, so that, tunnels, for escape

8
Q

Catching and holding a frog from the water is challenging because its ________ skin allows it to slip away from a person’s grasp.

A) unctuous

B) lithe

C) pithy

D) malleable

E) arid

A

A) unctuous

Clues: catching, frog, challenging, because, skin, slip away

9
Q

Though Rachel had just been informed by her mother that her dear dog was dead, she managed her job with remarkable ________ so that no one realized that she was heartbroken.

A) callousness

B) stoicism

C) nubility

D) equanimity

E) aplomp

A

D) equanimity

Clues: Though, dear dog dead, managed her job, no one realized, heartbroken

10
Q

Since no one saw the crime committed, the physical evidence which identified the accused was the ________ of the prosecution’s case.

A) canopy

B) basement

C) crowbar

D) rudder

E) linchpin

A

E) linchpin

Clues: Since, no one saw, physical evidence, case

11
Q

A successful teacher must maintain a good ________ with his or her students; they must understand and trust one another.

A) didacticism

B) deference

C) rapport

D) ingenue

E) verisimilitude

A

C) rapport

Clues: successful teacher, maintain, good understand and trust

12
Q

When Jarmel found the Mirror of Happenstance, he could see all the moments of his day at rising and avoid those ________ that would bring him unhappiness.

A) serendipities

B) vicissitudes

C) carnivores

D) blandishments

E) probabilities

A

B) vicissitudes

Clues: see all moments of the day, avoid

13
Q

Skipper and Brick shared ________ each other that Maggie found threatening to her marriage.

A) an ambivalence for

B) a symbiosis with

C) an affinity for

D) an animosity for

E) a bathyshpere with

A

C) an affinity for

Clues: each other, found threatening, marriage

14
Q

Without a doubt, the ________ of his life occurred when his drug addiction caused in rapid ________ the loss of his business, his marriage, and, from an overdose, almost his life.

A) prophecy…sequence

B) nadir…succession

C) apex…confluence

D) perogee…momentum

E) stasis…episodes

A

B) nadir…succession

Clues: loss, business, marriage, overdose, life

15
Q

The witch, instead of being a ________ crone, was a striking beauty, and Bernard thought that maybe he’d been totally misled as to the nature of the ________.

A) wizened…species

B) grotesque…genre

C) sagacious…breed

D) defaced…genus

E) unsightly…spectre

A

A) wizened…species

Clues: witch, instead, beauty, nature

16
Q

Convinced that her children had robbed her of a career on Broadway, Sylvia began to display an open _______ toward those whom she should naturally love and nurture.

A) ambivalence

B) antipathy

C) disregard

D) neglect

E) apathy

A

B) antipathy

Clues: robbed her, should, love and nuture

17
Q

Dr. Kolsky’s ________ manner demonstrated his wide knowledge of physics as well as metaphysical philosophy, and made him a well-respected member of the prestigious university’s faculty.

A) opulent

B) equestrian

C) respective

D) erudite

E) cantankerous

A

D) erudite

Clues: wide knowledge, member prestigious, faculty

18
Q

Having just won the highest ________ in acting, with offers on the table for movies that paid really well and gave her a chance to work with the best directors, she was at the ________ of her career.

A) notoriety…pinnacle

B) accolade….zenith

C) bauble…nadir

D) commendation…midpoint

E) demerit…apex

A

B) accolade…zenith

Clues: highest, offers, paid well, best directors

19
Q

Though Miquel had excellent skills in soccer, his constant boasting, _________ and other _________ behaviors convinced the coaches that he threatened team chemistry and kept him off the varsity squad.

A) harranging…mature

B) bellowing…infantile

C) bragging…competitive

D) grousing…fractious

E) bleating…amusing

A

D) grousing…fractious

Clues: boasting, kept him off the squad

20
Q

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once ________ upon hearing his friend, Ralph Abernathy, introduce him that it was so ________ he wondered who he was talking about.

A) gesticulated…cross

B) joked…laudatory

C) punned…laborious

D) quipped…enamored

E) posited…confused

A

B) joked…laudatory

Clues: introduce him, wondered who he was talking about

21
Q

Hester Prynne runs afoul of the ________ edict against adultery and thus is sentenced to wear the red letter.

A) pelted

B) ornery

C) proscribed

D) antiquated

E) concomitant

A

C) proscribed

Clues: edict

22
Q

George’s natural modesty meant that all ________ he perceived as undeserved.

A) criticism

B) promises

C) platitudes

D) superlatives

E) adulation

A

E) adulation

Clues: modesty, undeserved

23
Q

Roderick Usher, much ________ by the illness of his sister, Madeleine, retired to his room for the afternoon and returned to me at dinner somewhat ________.

A) enervated…refreshed

B) dilapidated…dismal

C) mollified…rejuvenated

D) frayed…glutted

E) anxious…fatigued

A

A) enervated…refreshed

Clues: illness of his sister, retired to his room

24
Q

While Jared’s eyes rolled throughout the ________ movie, he wondered at the taste of his friend, Luna, as she sat dabbing her eyes at the sentimental ________.

A) maudlin…hoke

B) insipid…protagonist

C) dramatic…schlock

D) riveting…drivel

E) caustic…plot

A

A) maudlin…hoke

Clues: rolled his eyes, wondered at taste, dabbing her eyes, sentimental

25
Q

Members of the media took immediate ________ at the use of word “legitimate” in that context, though the junior representative explained that within the context that he did not mean to insult anyone.

A) enervation

B) braggadocio

C) umbrage

D) salutation

E) somnolence

A

C) umbrage

Clues: many took, insult

26
Q

The professor couldn’t hide his surprise that his students were so ________ toward learning beyond scoring high on the tests.

A) apathetic

B) fatalistic

C) punctilious

D) trenchant

E) myopic

A

A) apathetic

Clues: surprised, toward learning, beyond, tests

27
Q

Theresa rescued ________ cats that she found in a small ________ outside her home, but, when she got them home, they attacked her domesticated cats and finally bolted out an open window.

A) salvage…hedge

B) dehydrated…thicket

C) famished…dale

D) feral…copse

E) endangered…arboretum

A

D) feral…copse

Clues: rescued, outside her home, domesticated

28
Q

My boss has an annoying tendency to ________ on big decisions, which he calls “giving everything careful thought”, but it leaves the team less time to actually execute the decision.

A) ponder

B) vacillate

C) cogitate

D) pontificate

E) litigate

A

B) vacillate

Clues: annoying, decisions, calls “giving careful thought”, less time

29
Q

With all the ________ of cancer weighing down his soul, the patient waited for the tumor to be tested to see if the growth was malignant or ________.

A) anxiety…frivolous

B) tension…trivial

C) laxity…palliative

D) fragility…threatening

E) apprehension…benign

A

E) apprehension…benign

Clues: cancer, weighing down, tumor, malignant

30
Q

Her neighbor was so ________ a simple moment’s “hello” in the grocery could lengthen into ________ 25 minute gab session.

A) unguarded…an extended

B) noisome…a prolonged

C) loquacious…a truncated

D) garrulous…an interminable

E) contentious…an atrophied

A

D) garrulous…an interminable

clues - so, moment’s hello, lengthen

31
Q

The spy, code-named “the Blank”, had ________ features and passed unrecognized through heavy surveillance areas.

A) hideous

B) pallid

C) disgruntled

D) nondescript

E) adamant

A

D) nondescript

Clues: passed unrecognized

32
Q

In an age in which the rich seem to need to ________ their wealth, Warren Buffet maintains a lifestyle almost devoid of ________ trappings.

A) flaunt…affluent

B) understate…pricey

C) infuse…luxuriant

D) ply…influential

E) augment…tasteful

A

A) flaunt…affluent

Clues: rich, lifestyle, devoid of,

33
Q

The price to buy into the condominium was fairly low, because residents were ________ by ________ service and ground management fees.

A) bilked…minuscule

B) flim-flammed…piddling

C) burdened…exorbitant

D) encumbered…measly

E) succoured…munificent

A

C) burdened…exorbitant

Clues: fairly low, but, fees

34
Q

Benedick was sure he would be ridiculed for ________ he was in love for he had ________ for so long against marriage.

A) declaring…palavered

B) denying…bantered

C) signifying…sallied

D) proclaiming…railed

E) billowing…decried

A

D) proclaiming…railed

Clues: sure, be ridiculed, in love, against marriage

35
Q

During the business pitch, she ________ all of the positives aspects of her firm’s service and ________ all the negative aspects.

A) accentuated…downplayed

B) emphasized…highlighted

C) glossed over…ran down

D) polished…buffed out

E) glitzed up…intensified

A

A) accentuated…downplayed

Clues: positive aspect’s, her, negative aspects

36
Q

While other Supreme Court Justices ________ their decisions in legalese, Justice Parker wrote ________ opinions that most non-lawyers could readily understand.

A) inculcated…salient

B) couched…lucid

C) ensconced…various

D) founded…oblique

E) based…straightforward

A

B) couched…lucid

Clues: while others, legalese, most non-lawyers understand

37
Q

The ________ between the two sisters, perhaps began long ago in some forgotten sibling ________, but it surfaced at the reading of their father’s will.

A) empathy…satiety

B) antipahty…harmony

C) acrimony…rivalry

D) aversion…cacophony

E) insipidity…rancor

A

C) acrimony…rivalry

Clues: between sister, surfaced, father’s will

38
Q

Despite the school being hard on newbies, Charles was so _______ that he melted every cold shoulder aimed at him.

A) sedentary

B) cloistered

C) tempermental

D) caustic

E) amiable

A

E) amiable

Clues: despite, hard, newbies, melted cold shoulder

39
Q

Don Quixote begged a ________ of the innkeeper that the host would officially knight him.

A) compensation

B) credit

C) boon

D) inquest

E) charlatan

A

C) boon

Clues: begged, host would

40
Q

Because the conman always sounded so polite and ________ to everyone, he was able to convince them all that he could never do anything ________ with their investment money.

A) guiless…scrupulous

B) credulous…nefarious

C) amiable…advantageous

D) dubious…deceptive

E) genuine…untoward

A

E) genuine…untoward

Clues: because, conman, polite and, could never do, with money

41
Q

Once, cellular phones were ________, but now they are so ________ one can find them in the hands of even young children.

A) rarefied…casual

B) common…prevalent

C) dormant…lively

D) dull…prominent

E) rare…ubiquitous

A

E) rare…ubiquitous

Clues: once, cell phones, one can find, even

42
Q

By _________ billing records, the firm of Bendini, Lambert and Locke intentionally ________ their clients out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A) recreating…gored

B) falsifying…bilked

C) coining…mothballed

D) amalgamating…grated

E) disseminating…embezzled

A

B) falsifying…bilked

Clues:billing, intentionally, out of, dollars

43
Q

The ________ over the new formula, which tested very well in all the sample markets, nearly destroyed the company until the _________ of the old recipe brought back many who had abandoned the brand.

A) debacle…reintroduction

B) confusion…rediscovery

C) fiasco…redressing

D) hoopla…reintegration

D) hullabaloo…reconception

A

A) debacle…reintroduction

Clues: new formula, nearly destroyed, old recipe

44
Q

Abraham Lincoln suggested that Senator Douglass possessed a political ________ that could have only come from the devil himself.

A) aplomp

B) gumption

C) serum

D) guile

E) bedlam

A

D) guile

Clues: from the devil

45
Q

The scene at the mine turned from apprehensive and ________ to relieved and ________, when one-by-one all thirty-three men were rescued.

A) procreative…relaxed

B) exurberant…gracious

C) chary…noncommittal

D) steadfast…overjoyed

E) expectant…jubilant

A

E) expectant…jubilant

Clues: at the mine, apprehensive, relieved, all were rescued

46
Q

He faced his personal ________with dread, because he could either share his feelings with Stephanie and ________ his best friend, Mark, or not tell anyone and continue to suffer not eating or sleeping.

A) dilemma…denote

B) foibles…inure

C) quandary…alienate

D) opportunity…betray

E) decision…rectify

A

C) quandary…alienate

Clues: personal, either share feelings, and, best friend

47
Q

Many green soldiers are so ________ at the first sight of battle that it is almost unimaginable that they eventually become brave ________.

A) initiated…neophytes

B) elated…warriors

C) timorous…veterans

D) verdant…specialists

E) raw…cadets

A

C) timorous…veterans

Clues: green, first sight of battle

48
Q

Despite his campaign ________ and the pressures of his own party to end the war, Barack Obama was ________ that the mission should end honorably and acceptably.

A) position…lachrymose

B) utterances…dissuaded

C) rhetoric…adamant

D) orations…stultified

E) expenditures…resigned

A

C) rhetoric…adamant

Clues: despite, campaign, pressures, should

49
Q

Surviving such a ______ ordeal as the fire that consumed her house, Regina was quite shaken and ________.

A) terrifying…illuminated

B) harrowing…forlorn

C) dramatic…reticent

D) fortuitous…unnerved

E) perfidious…inebriated

A

B) harrowing…forlorn

Clues: fire, shaken

50
Q

Wallace had ________ cheese, though Grommit didn’t share his enthusiasm for fermented curd.

A) a kinship with

B) a penchant for

C) a regard for

D) a disinclination for

E) a regimen of

A

B) a penchant for

Clues: cheese, enthusiam

51
Q

The detective didn’t rely upon ________ answers to the ________ of crimes, because he knew how often there were hidden reasons why people cross the line.

A) common…actions

B) unidimensional…indiosyncracies

C) redemptive…rationale

D) pedestrian…forensics

E) patent…motivations

A

E) patent…motivations

Clues: rely, hidden reasons why, cross the line

52
Q

Shooting stars, which are ________ often for less than one second, are the most ________ of all attractions in the night sky.

A) exigent…momentary

B) transparent…fleeting

C) visible…transient

D) intense…emphemeral

E) present…scintallating

A

C) visible…transient

Clues: shooting stars, less than one second

53
Q

When the financially ________ car company hired a man who had been fired for a debacle at a rival corporation, it did little to ________ the stockholder’s fears about the future.

A) brankrupt…assuage

B) posited…readjust

C) corroded…palliate

D) strapped…allay

E) solvent…shatter

A

D) strapped…allay

Clues: financially, had been fired, little

54
Q

Sarah saw too many of her close friends transform from strong-willed and decisive to utterly ________ as soon as they had serious boyfriends.

A) compliant

B) adamant

C) flexible

D) tempermental

E) captivated

A

A) compliant

Clues: transform, strong-willed and decisive

55
Q

Mr. Darcy declares that his temperament is ________ enough to be called ________; he said that once he has lost a good opinion of someone he has lost it forever.

A) rigid…nascent

B) optimistic…ebullient

C) discursive…regressive

D) inculcated…embedded

E) implacable…resentful

A

E) implacable…resentful

Clues: temperament, lost his good opinion, forever

56
Q

The ________ believe that the voters are unwilling to select such ________ in foreign policy matters, suggesting that youth, character, education, and energy and no match for experience.

A) realists… an expert

B) pundits…a neophyte

C) veterans…a soldier

D) constituents…a dilettante

E) incredulous…a greenhorn

A

B) pundits…neophyte

Clues: the voters, unwilling, suggesting, experience

57
Q

Joe’s sensible but slightly overprotective mother ________ him for not wearing his helmet and pads while skateboarding in the neighborhood.

A) exhausted

B) pressured

C) admonished

D) castigated

E) censured

A

C) admonished

Clues: sensible, overprotective, not wearing

58
Q

News and especially rumors of violence ________ by pro-government militias ________ the situation in the square and brought about calls to abandon peaceful demonstrations.

A) committed…quelled

B) condoned…rallied

C) exculpated…intensified

D) perpetrated…exacerbated

E) mortified…degraded

A

D) perpetrated…exacerbated

Clues: violence, by militias, situation, abandon peaceful

59
Q

Over the course of thirty years, the castle grew by ________ as the ________ could gather and shape stone enough to continue the project.

A) morsels…subjects

B) increments…masons

C) phases…artisans

D) pelts…engineers

E) design…adjuncts

A

B) increments…masons

Clues: thirty years, grew by, shape stone

60
Q

Without a ________ of tact, the waiter pointed out the blood stain on the woman’s skirt, ________ her.

A) smidgen…gratifying

B) whiff…embarassing

C) trace…edifying

D) plethora…beleaguering

E) modicum…mortifying

A

E) modicum…mortifying

Clues: tact, pointed out, stain on skirt

61
Q

After the incident of ________, the captain ________ the chief, who once commanded the crew of the hangar deck, to the duties of the engineer’s mate.

A) insubordination..relegated

B) incompetence…remonstrated

C) negligence…hindered

D) inebriation…reassigned

E) noncompliance…relocated

A

A) insubordination…relegated

Clues: once commanded the crew, mate

62
Q

Tailgating in Norman on the lot before the Texas-Oklahoma game, the fans will ________ themselves with sausages, meatballs and barbeque.

A) satiate

B) irrigate

C) confuscate

D) lacerate

E) mitigate

A

A) satiate

Clues: tailgating, sausages, meatballs, barbeque

63
Q

Darlene, reserved and demure, was the ________ to her sister Peggy, free-spirited and ________.

A) prototype…austere

B) antithesis…assertive

C) ying…humble

D) ingenue…successive

E) paragon…corpulent

A

B) antithesis…assertive

Clues: reserved and demure, free-spirited

64
Q

Some coaches rely on praise to motivate their players and rarely ________ them for mistakes.

A) address

B) berate

C) commend

D) ostracize

E) ignore

A

B) berate

Clues: rely on praise, and rarely, for mistakes

65
Q

Agatha Christie’s critically unsuccessful last novel that she wrote at 82 years-old is more artifact of the ________ condition of her aged mind than an entertaining mystery.

A) tasteless

B) unimaginative

C) formulaic

D) biased

E) diffuse

A

E) diffuse

Clues: unsuccessful novel, 82, artifact, condition of aged mind

66
Q

Prof. Heath, fully ________ of the many students who were plagiarising their assignments from internet sources, ________ the cheating policy and gave a one-time amnesty to those students who confessed.

A) reliant on…tightened

B) despairing of…abrogated

C) cognizant of…reiterated

D) candescent of…abandoned

E) infuriated by…disseminated

A

C) cognizant of…reiterated

Clues: Prof., plagiarising their assignments, cheating policy

67
Q

When the drake smelled the human scent upon her eggs, her instinct ________ her to ________ the nest completely.

A) repulsed..abandon

B) persauded…brood over

C) threatened…dismiss

D) motivated…purify

E) compelled…forsake

A

E) compelled…forsake

Clues: smelled human scent, instinct, the nest

68
Q

Even with his voice disguised digitally, his friends all recognized him by the ________ phrases which were singularly ________ by his linguistic background.

A) idiosyncratic…convoluted

B) ornate…overlayed

C) grandeloquent…stagnated

D) rarefied…combined

E) inept…conjured

A

A) idiosyncratic…convoluted

Clues: Even with, voice disguised, recognized, by phrases, singularly, linquistic

69
Q

The ________ traveler, was forced to take the “Bloody Pass”, so named for its many sharp curves where ________ waited for the unsuspecting.

A) canny…hooligans

B) plighted…devotees

C) ruthless…misfortune

D) hapless…highwaymen

E) craven…desolation

A

D) hapless…highwaymen

Clues: traveler, forced, Bloody Pass, unsuspecting

70
Q

Whereas the Mississippi River is earthen brown so that its depth can only be guessed, the Meramec, a ________, is so ________ one can see clear to the bottom.

A) sustainer…transparent

B) tributary…limpid

C) rivulet…ruddy

D) brook…stagnate

E) beneficiary…diaphanous

A

B) tributary…limpid

Clues: whereas, earthen brown, clear

71
Q

Before the funeral of the old jurist began, with the bell’s last ________, it cracked, never to be rung again.

A) till

B) vibration

C) gong

D) tine

E) knell

A

E) knell

Clues: funeral, bell, rung

72
Q

Eventually, the food that Laura found ________ when she arrived in Indonesia soon became reasonably ________.

A) revolting…nutritious

B) exotic…repugnant

C) bland…seasoned

D) disgusting…palatable

E) gross…negligible

A

D) disgusting…palatable

Clues: eventually, food, became, reasonably

73
Q

With the battlefield still scattered with the casualties of a week before, the already challenging atmosphere in the trenches grew poisonously ________.

A) opaque

B) noisome

C) ruddy

D) adversarial

E) diabolical

A

B) noisome

Clues: battlefield, causualties, trenches, poisonously

74
Q

Many lenders remain ________, ignoring the call of mercy, and foreclose ruthlessly on the property of many unfortunate people.

A) stoical

B) obdurate

C) calumnious

D) impertinent

E) buttressed

A

B) obdurate

Clues: ignoring the call of mercy, ruthlessly

75
Q

Some people believed that the American flag is ________, so they ________ a Flag Desecretion Amendment to the Constitution.

A) emblematic…opposed

B) tainted…supplanted

C) burlesque…interjected

D) credulous…supported

E) sacrosanct…advocated

A

D) sacrosanct…advocate

Clues: American flag, Descretion Amendment

76
Q

The detective trusted none of her statements but checked every detail against eye-witnesses’ statements for ________.

A) veracity

B) security

C) humility

D) infirmity

E) consistency

A

A) veracity

Clues: trusted none, checked every detail

77
Q

For historical fiction, ________ research will help avoid ________ content, which, if noticed, will destroy the verisimilitude and distract the audience.

A) thorough…plagaristic

B) exhaustive…trivial

C) dilatory…inaccurate

D) painstaking…anachronistic

E) fallible…detrimental

A

D) painstaking…anachronistic

Clues: historical, research, avoid, destroy, and distract

78
Q

After the wedding, the families and guests ________ late into the night.

A) ravelled

B) caroused

C) gesticulated

D) rallied

E) catewauled

A

B) caroused

Clues: wedding, families, guests

79
Q

The ________ defended his seat in office by ________, turning the voters away from the challenger with falsehoods.

A) veteran…intimidation

B) rascal…legerdemain

C) incumbent…calumny

D) pundit…prestidigitation

E) politician…erudition

A

C) incumbent…calumny

Clues: his seat in office, voters, challenger, falsehoods

80
Q

With his ________ income, Bob was forced to be ________ with his money.

A) copious…parsimonious

B) slender…frugal

C) ample…generous

D) meager…effuse

E) paltry…stingy

A

B) slender…frugal

Clues: income, was forced, with money

81
Q

Laura went from ________ about breaking up with her boyfriend to ________ reading the letter of acceptance from her “wish list” college.

A) despondency…ebullience

B) depression…melancholy

C) insurgency…elation

D) exigency…euphoria

E) pedantry…pinnacle

A

A) despondency…ebullience

Clues: breaking up with boyfriend, reading letter of acceptance

82
Q

Once they discover her unfortunate family connections, Caroline and Louisa Bingley do everything in their power short of slander to ________ their brother’s emotional attachment to Jane Bennett.

A) cogitate

B) eliminate

C) supplicate

D) inhibit

E) denigrate

A

D) inhibit

Clues: unfortunate, short of slander, emotional attachment

83
Q

The quarterback, who ran a dogfighting ring from his property, was convicted of the ________ crime of animal cruelty.

A) serpentine

B) insipid

C) heinous

D) arduous

E) malodorous

A

C) heinous

Clues: dogfighting ring, animal cruelty

84
Q

The demolition expert used a ________ putty explosive for the bridge job.

A) manipulative

B) inconsistent

C) malleable

D) nebulous

E) truncated

A

C) malleable

Clues: demolition, putty

85
Q

Pollution from the silver mine made the once ________ mountain spring no longer good for hikers to fill their canteens.

A) brackish

B) pellucid

C) bilious

D) purified

E) potable

A

E) potable

Clues: pollution, made once, mountain spring, no long good

86
Q

Cher made several arguments to Mr. Hall regarding her marking period grade, but, being a debate teacher, he ________ them all.

A) tolerated

B) repudiated

C) ostracized

D) reiterated

E) augmented

A

B) repudiated

Clues: Cher, arguments, debate teacher

87
Q

Gatzby ordered a new dress to ________ for the one torn at the party, but the ________ thought that piece of civility, “suspicious.”

A) amend…penitent

B) replace…innocent

C) remedy…ingrate

D) compensate…reveler

E) appease…snob

A

D) compensate…reveler

Clues: new dress, one torn at the party

88
Q

The customer was so angered at the quality of the service, that nothing, but a full refund, would ________ him.

A) rectify

B) appease

C) satiate

D) irritate

E) appropriate

A

B) appease

Clues: so angered, nothing but refund,

89
Q

The preacher, who staged protest demonstrations against gay marriage at funerals of Gulf War soldiers, created ________ 1st Amendment rights.

A) ambivalence about

B) irony for

C) disinterest in

D) adherence toward

E) respect for

A

A) ambivalence about

Clues: demonstrations, at funerals

90
Q

The steady and ________ man was perfectly suited to the ________ university’s provost position.

A) stolid…rambunctious

B) impassive…unemotional

C) decorous…austere

D) accomplished…charitable

E) fetid…dignified

A

C) decorous…austere

Clues: steady and, perfectly suited, university’s

91
Q

A sizeable portion of the British electorate ________ the public ________ for the royal family.

A) acquiesce to…applause

B) disdain…expenditures

C) equivocate for…regard

D) question…scorn

E) revile…larceny

A

B) disdain…expenditures

Clues: sizable portion, electorate, for royal family

92
Q

The negotiations were at a standstill, mostly because the ________ client wanted a price that jeopardized the ________ of the vendor and would simply hear no argument to the contrary.

A) unwavering…motivation

B) obdurate…reputation

C) commodious…byproducts

D) intransigent…solvency

E) perspicacious…chagrin

A

D) intransigent…solvency

Clues: standstill, client wanted a price, hear no argument

93
Q

Competitive eaters, like Billy “the Hound” Henderson, may seem ________, but, while not competing, they often have small appetites.

A) inedible

B) insatiable

C) gluttonous

D) gelatinous

E) ingratiated

A

B) insatiable

Clues: eaters, but, small appetites

94
Q

Marcus Brutus sees the ghost of Caesar in a ________ moment that predicts the conspirator’s death at Phillipi.

A) prescient

B) languished

C) nascent

D) simultaneous

E) aggravated

A

A) prescient

Clues: predicts

95
Q

Though the wreck was only resting on a sandbar in the rising water of the heavy rain, Huck thought of the ________ of Tom Sawyer and demanded Jim to explore it boldly with him.

A) temerity

B) vainglory

C) remedy

D) accomodations

E) station

A

A) temerity

Clues: Though the wreck was only resting on a sandbar in the rising water = danger, thinking of how Tom Sawyer would face danger, demanded to go into danger

96
Q

Having seen a bubble or two in the markets before, Hugh allowed his ________ to guide him to responsible investments before and after the crash.

A) sanguinity

B) timidity

C) prudence

D) reputation

E) avarice

A

C) prudence

Clues: bubble in the market, responsible, crash

97
Q

Dragged through the rose bush by the dog, the little boy had enough long ________ to make a trip to the emergency room necessary.

A) contusions

B) maledictions

C) lacerations

D) fractures

E) frescos

A

C) lacerations

Clues: rose bush, emergency room

98
Q

Henri Poincare in his analytical paper on the “Three-Body Problem” first ________ the properties of chaotic systems in science.

A) enamored

B) codified

C) elucidated

D) promulgated

E) disseminated

A

C) elucidated

Clues: analytical paper, properties, chaotic systems

99
Q

When Sir Walter Elliot finds his debts unmanageably high, Lady Russell and Mr. Shepherd try at first to convince him to ________ his spending.

A) eliminate

B) accelerate

C) foster

D) loosen

E) curtail

A

E) curtail

Clues: when, debts, high, his spending

100
Q

Though the results are clearly tragic, the source of John Claggart’s ________ towards the man he destroys Melville leaves a mystery.

A) affinity

B) antagonism

C) scruples

D) piety

E) affluence

A

B) antagonism

Clues: tragic, destroys

101
Q

Many master craftsmen of the 17th century ________ their apprentices brutally for failing to attend to work.

A) regulated

B) chided

C) mangled

D) chastised

E) instigated

A

D) chastised

Clues: brutally, failing to attend

102
Q

Knowing that this task was enormous in ________ and complexity, the board chose the most ________ officer to head the project.

A) difficulty…tiresome

B) range…bellicose

C) detail…assiduous

D) serendipity…efficient

E) scope…diligent

A

E) scope…diligent

Clues: enormous, and complexity

103
Q

Unlike laws of society which can be broken or changed on the ________ of those who made them, the laws of physics are ________.

A) whim…immutable

B) vascillation…permeable

C) platitudes…intransitory

D) appetites…mortified

E) inclinations…molded

A

A) whim…immutable

Clues: Unlike, can be broken, those who made them, constant

104
Q

Due to its ________ nature, cleaning “the head” on a naval vessel remains a punishment task for a crewman’s minor ________.

A) noisome…calamity

B) odious…infraction

C) malodorous…commendation

D) unctuous…citation

E) fractious…demerit

A

B) odious…infraction

Clues: Due to, a punishment task

105
Q

Some critics dislike the entire ________ of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, because Petruchio ________ Kate to his will, and destroys her as an interesting character.

A) pastiche…dominates

B) milieu…ossifies

C) tambor…subjugates

D) horizon…meditates

E) orthodoxy…unifies

A

C) tambor…subjugates

Clues: critics dislike, to his will

106
Q

The infant sloth must ________ to its mother because the latter moves high in the canopy and needs both hands free.

A) plunge

B) cleave

C) linger

D) coo

E) skulk

A

B) cleave

Clues: infant, to its mother, moves high, needs both hands free

107
Q

It is ________ the members of the African Union to speak with one voice in support of ________ goals for the continent.

A) located upon…militaristic

B) responsible for…unilateral

C) gratifying to…narcissistic

D) incumbent upon…humanitarian

E) monolithic of…altruistic

A

D) incumbent upon…humanitarian

Clues: to speak with one voice, goals

108
Q

Charles Foster Kane built Xanadu to be his palace, but, though richly adorned, it became his ________ prison.

A) decadent

B) opulent

C) discursive

D) dank

E) vapid

A

B) opulent

Clues: palace, but, though richly adorned, prison

109
Q

The president, to some degree, tried to wrap himself in dignity and treat the accusations of ________ as the ________ attempts by his rivals to smear him.

A) impropriety…scurrilous

B) infamy…arduous

C) larceny…reputable

D) criminality…irreproachable

E) immorality…ponderous

A

A) impropriety…scurrilous

Clues: wrap himself in dignity, treat, rivals, smear him

110
Q

Joseph Merrick, known commonly as the “Elephant Man”, was physically ________ in appearance, but had a ________ and gentle heart.

A) repugnant…wily

B) deformed…belligerent

C) revolting…benevolent

D) monstrous…volpine

E) prestigious…humane

A

C) revolting…benevolent

Clues: in appearance, but, gentle

111
Q

The chairman of the department noted the ________ nature of the new professor’s lectures, so he advised him to try to stay on point.

A) deft

B) predominant

C) anticlimactic

D) discursive

E) lecherous

A

D) discursive

Clues: stay on point

112
Q

Trying to adapt to the changing marketplace was hard for the fairly ________ company that had had too much success with its enormous yearly catalogue in the past to finally decide to stop publishing it.

A) innovative

B) plaintiff

C) orthodox

D) ingenious

E) morbid

A

C) orthodox

Clues: trying to adapt, too much success, catalogue

113
Q

Hugo’s ________ now meant that most chairs would have a fair chance to fail if he tried to sit on them.

A) bounty

B) corpulence

C) plunder

D) buttress

E) gravity

A

B) corpulence

Clues: most chairs, fail

114
Q

The ________ nature of the occupation of the lands as it stood meant the cycle of violence would be very hard to break.

A) intractable

B) unfeasible

C) inactive

D) unallayed

E) disproportionate

A

A) intractable

Clues: occupation of the lands, cycle, hard to break

115
Q

Madam Izzi, through her ________ senses, predicted both his winning the lottery and his ________ heart attack.

A) elevated…recent

B) paranormal…concomitant

C) imaginary…concurring

D) clairvoyant…subsequent

E) inordinate…inevitable

A

D) clairvoyant…subsequent

Clues: Madame, senses, predicted, both

116
Q

For King Henry V, the Battle of Agincourt meant the glory of overcoming overwhelming odds to find victory, but, for the French general, Constable Charles d’Albret, it meant ________ defeat.

A) underachieving

B) ignominious

C) serious

D) exasperating

E) undeserved

A

B) ignominious

Clues: For Henry, glory, but for French general

117
Q

The Reverend Mr. Hooper’s sermon, though his most powerful offering from the pulpit, did not meet with much ________ from the congregation who found it a little to close to the bone for ________.

A) satisfaction…dismay

B) condolence…laudation

C) felicity…comprehension

D) concern…adulation

E) approbation…congratulations

A

E) approbation…congratulations

Clues: sermon, powerful, did not meet, congregation, close to the bone

118
Q

As soon as the product was launched, the service center got thousands of angry calls from ________ customers.

A) enamored

B) effusive

C) disgruntled

D) successful

E) nonchalant

A

C) disgruntled

Clues: angry calls

119
Q

Going from a ________ city like San Francisco to Billings, Montana, Erica found the lack of diversity a hard adjustment.

A) heterogeneous

B) famous

C) storied

D) polluted

E) entrepreneurial

A

A) heterogenous

Clues: going from, to lack of diversity

120
Q

Though perhaps essentially well-meaning, Penelope’s advice to his friend on how to handle a girlfriend who has a child was considered ________, and he asked her not to mention it again.

A) specious

B) spurious

C) extraneous

D) capacious

E) officious

A

E) officious

Clues: essentially well-meaning, advice, considered, asked her not to mention it

121
Q

Though Central High School hadn’t beaten Beaumont in basketball in 16 years, the ________ response of the students when it was announced showed how much school spirit had ________ there.

A) perfunctory…waned

B) hearty…diminished

C) lackluster…increased

D) ebullient…plummeted

E) tepid…skyrocketed

A

A) perfunctory…waned

Clues: though, hadn’t beaten, 16 years, response, showed, school spirit

122
Q

After drinking deep of the kegs of Henry Hudson, Rip Van Winkle felt the heavy call for ________ which he took under a spreading tree, only to awaken twenty-years later.

A) concentration

B) meditation

C) restitution

D) repose

E) hibernation

A

D) repose

Clues: drinking, kegs, awaken

123
Q

Some love the performer for her ________ style, while others consider her shamelessly over-the-top.

A) modest

B) brazen

C) musical

D) euphonic

E) uncorrupted

A

B) brazen

Clues: Some love, shamelessly over-the-top

124
Q

He felt nervous watching his daughter approach the ________ to look upon the ________.

A) valley…waterway

B) railing…artwork

C) precipice…gorge

D) fence…llamas

E) placard…battlefield

A

C) precipice…gorge

Clues: nervous, daughter approach

125
Q

Whether he was a truly boring teacher was hard to say, but ________ students grew ________ during his period.

A) impertinent…sedate

B) alert…nubile

C) ocular…beady

D) perky…somnolent

E) dedicated…hapless

A

D) perky…somnolent

Clues: whether boring, but, students, grew

126
Q

A successful business office usually exhibits a spirit of ________ among the employees.

A) kinetics

B) camaraderie

C) chutzpah

D) domesticity

E) paucity

A

B) camaraderie

Clues: successful, spirit

127
Q

After insulting the client, the boss’s son was ________ to work in the mail room.

A) outcast

B) sequestered

C) billeted

D) promoted

E) consigned

A

E) consigned

Clues: after insulting client, mail room

128
Q

The jewel heist called for a plan so ________ that it took a team of nine more than 20 hours of practice to attempt.

A) duplex

B) intimate

C) elaborate

D) covert

E) bestial

A

C) elaborate

Clues: heist, plan, team of nine, 20 hours of practice

129
Q

The unlucky businessman flying overseas could get no sleep because of the ________ crying of the ________ baby on the lap of the woman in the seat next to him.

A) interminable…precocious

B) irritating…pacified

C) gratiating…inconsolable

D) incessant…fussy

E) intermittent…intolerable

A

D) incessant…fussy

Clues: unlucky, get no sleep, crying, baby

130
Q

Holmes meets a village sheriff, whose ________ so ________ him that the famous detective declares that the skill of this parish lawman greatly exceeds his opportunity in such a small and quiet community.

A) acumen…annoys

B) felicity…adjures

C) perspicacity…impresses

D) incisiveness…frustrates

E) liabilities…amazes

A

C) perspicacity…impresses

Clues: the skill of the parish lawman, exceeds, opportunity

131
Q

When his license to practice law was ________, Gerald had to start a new career again at 45.

A) deactivated

B) altered

C) revoked

D) diminished

E) denied

A

C) revoked

Clues: license, start a career

132
Q

Placed in the record’s department where he would never be noticed, he knew his career at that company would ________.

A) percolate

B) stagnate

C) ossify

D) adjudicate

E) truncate

A

B) stagnate

Clues: never be noticed

133
Q

Always selfish as a child, Sophie grew to be ________ by the time she reached college.

A) absessed

B) meglomanical

C) solipsistic

D) incarcerated

E) obsessed

A

C) solipsistic

Clues: Always selfish, grew

134
Q

With a ________ hard drive and super fast processor, the average secretary’s computer is more powerful than the ones NASA used to send a man to the moon.

A) responsive

B) accelerated

C) extensive

D) elongated

E) capacious

A

E) capacious

Clues: hard drive, super fast

135
Q

The assemblymen could see the benefits of allowing gambling on the riverboats but voiced concerns regarding the ________ increase in prostitution and drug abuse.

A) exponential

B) incremental

C) concomitant

D) surreptitious

E) provincial

A

C) concomitant

Clues: gambling,

136
Q

One of the great ________ American history is that a slave-promoting culture clearly also demonstrated a love for freedom.

A) consistencies of

B) dissonances of

C) blemishes on

D) achievements of

E) denotations of

A

B) dissonances of

Clues: slave-promoting, also, love for freedom

137
Q

Unlike most instructions for assembling toys, the Phosberry Company’s were so ________ that it rarely got a complaint from any costumer.

A) inscrutable

B) dictatorial

C) pellucid

D) clairvoyant

E) rectified

A

C) pellucid

Clues: unlike, instructions for assembling, rarely got a complaint

138
Q

One of the great problems of ________ is that having a large body tends to make a person more ________, since normal activities become more challenging.

A) overeating…voracious

B) corpulence…energetic

C) rotundity…circumspect

D) obesity…sedentary

E) gluttony…ravenous

A

D) obesity…sedentary

Clues: large body, activites become challenging

139
Q

For the inexperienced rider, the stable master chooses his most ________ animal, Beauty, to be certain that the young master had no mishaps.

A) tractable

B) amiable

C) admirable

D) spirited

E) attractive

A

A) tractable

Clues: young master, no mishaps

140
Q

The interrogation took hours longer than it should have, but the suspect’s ________ eventually led to a full confession.

A) gesticulations

B) circumlocutions

C) languishing

D) conversions

E) affectations

A

B) circumlocutions

Clues: interrogation, longer, evetually

141
Q

Despite his dark and often disagreeable subjects of his writings, Edgar Allan Poe had a reputation, as a young man, for being socially ________ and lively.

A) congenial

B) maladroit

C) morbid

D) convivial

E) macabre

A

A) congenial

Clues: despite, dark disagreeable, lively

142
Q

Anne could ________ marks of jealousy on the part of Cpt. Wentworth, but he had no ________ of how she really felt toward the attentions of Mr. Elliot.

A) detail…description

B) infer…notion

C) accentuate..awareness

D) recognize…inclination

E) discern…inkling

A

E) discern…inkling

Clues: marks of jealousy, how she really felt

143
Q

Although certainly a legendary actor, Elizabeth Taylor will be remembered most affectionately for her ________ efforts, particularly in fundraising for AIDS research.

A) omniscient

B) egocentric

C) philanthropic

D) gastronomical

E) riveting

A

C) philanthropic

Clues: fundraising for AIDS research

144
Q

Eleanor reminds Mr. Willoughby that despite his explanation and apology, she still regards his behavior toward her sister as ________.

A) irreproachable

B) inconstant

C) fickle

D) fastidious

E) reprehensible

A

E) reprehensible

Clues: despite, softening his guilt

145
Q

The ________ bell-hop simpered around the hotel lobby, bowing and kowtowing to all the guests.

A) immaculate

B) punctilious

C) grandeloquent

D) servile

E) officious

A

D) servile

Clues: bell-hop, bowing, kowtowing

146
Q

Pappy O’Daniel, contradicting the insult that he lacked moral fiber, declared that he practiced ________ and high-mindedness as the foundation of his political career

A) rectitude

B) solvency

C) loftiness

D) lassitude

E) indolence

A

A) rectitude

Clues: contradicting, lacked moral fiber, high-mindedness

147
Q

Horace Blanson was a complete ________ and sociopath and would probably commit many other crimes, but the judge was ________ by the law and could only sentence him to three years.

A) offender…hindered

B) maniac…encouraged

C) reprobate…constrained

D) delinquent…accosted

E) socialite…guided

A

C) reprobate…constrained

Clues: sociopath, commit many other crimes, could only sentence

148
Q

“Moonlight” Graham, itching to get a true crack in the major leagues, displays considerable ________ when he finds himself at Ray Kinsella’s plate facing “Three-fingered” Brown on the mound.

A) acumen

B) compassion

C) ardor

D) psoriasis

E) prowess

A

C) ardor

Clues: itching to, get a crack

149
Q

The late night host’s ________ humor and humbly stuttering persona belie ________ self-image.

A) sardonic…an insecure

B) ironic…a stumbling

C) self-effacing…an incongruous

D) deprecating…an arrogant

E) pompous…a narassistic

A

D) deprecating…an arrogant

Clues: humbly stuttering persona, self-image

150
Q

The dictator had his men scan the video file for the face of the ________ who started the crowd shouting for the ruler’s ________ and would pay with her life for her seditious behavior.

A) rebel…malfeasance

B) incendiary…ouster

C) patriot…impediment

D) malcontent…sacrifice

E) dissident…reduction

A

B) incendiary…ouster

Clues: dictator, started the crowd shouting, pay for, outrage