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Flashcards in Sentence Completion Practice II Deck (150)
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1
Q

While watching the tree sloths in Ecuador, the field researcher found the assignment very ________ for they moved less than 8-meters a day.

A) tragic

B) presumptious

C) tedious

D) ambrosian

E) fastidious

A

C) tedious

Broad context: job watching tree sloth, which moves so very little during the day. BORING.

2
Q

Cell phones have ________ quickly, from simple phones to advanced smart phones, and every few years there’s a new ________ that replaces the old.

A) evolved…paradigm

B) stratified…model

C) delighted…archetype

D) mollified…ulcer

E) castigated…conundrum

A

A) evolved…paradigm

Clues - from simple to smart, and, new replaces the old

3
Q

Charles Foster Kane, once a social ________, gradually draws back in his castillated mansion, Xanadu, and lives the life of a complete ________.

A) pariah…dilettante

B) demagogue…hermit

C) urbanite…recluse

D) sophist…philanthropist

E) philistine…meglomaniac

A

C) urbanite…recluse

Clues: once, social, draws back

4
Q

Being ________ gold-digger, Susan viewed the financial fortunes of the two men vying for her tender attentions as most ________.

A) a strident…understated

B) an implausible…preceptible

C) a brazen…niggling

D) a fuscane…fabricated

E) an unapologetic…salient

A

E) an unapologetic…salient

Clues: gold-digger, difference

5
Q

Though Donna was extremely attracted to Douglas, his ________ conversational style convinced her she preferred a man with a more lively personality.

A) flambouyant

B) enthralling

C) acerbic

D) vapid

E) esoteric

A

D) vapid

Clues: though extremely attracted, preferred more lively

6
Q

Although raised with good morals in a solid Southern family, Rebecca soon became ________, exposed to the depravity of the bar scene in Wooster.

A) a liberal

B) a provocateur

C) an asp

D) a wanton

E) an altruist

A

D) a wanton

Clues: although good morals, exposed to depravity

7
Q

With a good teacher, the ________ becomes comprehensible, while the simple becomes ________ with a bad teacher.

A) insatiable. disgestible

B) abstruse. inscrutable

C) pedantic. opaque

D) didactic. rigorous

E) erudite. eclectic

A

B) abstruse…inscrutable

Clues: good teacher, comprehensible, bad teacher, simple

8
Q

To select the piano, Lord Aston ________ his wife’s opinion, since she had studied at the conservatory.

A) relished in

B) denigrated

C) empathized with

D) touted

E) deferred to

A

E) deferred to

Clues: conservatory – she knew more about music

9
Q

Sen. Gearing was such a ________ politician that even his political opponents would often succumb to his powers of persuasion and support his position.

A) deft

B) resentful

C) bogus

D) compromising

E) enfranchised

A

A) deft

Clues: powers of persuasion

10
Q

Prince Pietro’s reputation for being ________ led to his kitchen staff to prepare extra meals for him in case he declared his food inedible.

A) fastidious

B) nonchalant

C) prominent

D) egocentric

E) sycophantic

A

A) fastidious

Clues: extra meals, declared his food inedible

11
Q

The ________ soil only needed competent management and reasonable rainfall, and it would produce enough yield for the community’s needs.

A) garish

B) impoverished

C) fecund

D) paltry

E) capacious

A

C) fecund

Clues: soil, produce yield

12
Q

Danny went from committing petty ______ from the convenience stores in the neighborhood to finally a conviction for grand theft auto.

A) acrimony

B) larceny

C) baubles

D) sundry

E) serendipity

A

B) larceny

Clues: went from, finally grand theft

13
Q

Dr. Walker preferred working with colleagues on an equal footing rather than working with ________ assistants who admired his abilities too much.

A) impermanent

B) interminable

C) moronic

D) obsequious

E) dependent

A

D) obsequious

Clues: equal footing, admired him too much

14
Q

The sergeant turned every ________ duty into the most serious ________, for which, if neglected, his men would face dire punishment.

A) trifling…imperative

B) paramount…endeavor

C) incontinent…evacuation

D) sequential…hodge-podge

E) odious…circumspection

A

A) trifling…imperative

Clues: sergeant made every, dire punishment

15
Q

The _______ of promising junior executives in the corporation caused management to seek talent from outside the company.

A) inequities

B) overabundance

C) quandary

D) foundation

E) paucity

A

E) paucity

Clues: seek talent from outside

16
Q

With the housing market crash, ________ furor has given way to ________ inactivity, as homes remain on the market for tens of months without any offers on them.

A) investment…elated

B) spurious…depressed

C) redoubtable…acoustic

D) wagering…vacillating

E) speculative…chary

A

E) speculative…chary

Clues: market crash, furor, inactivity

17
Q

At the ________ Julius Caesar, Marc Anthony uses such ________ language that the plebeians are moved to tears and then to riot against Marcus Brutus.

A) elegy for…billious

B) ode to…ominous

C) eulogy for…eloquent

D) tributary of…affecting

E) promenade of…articulate

A

C) eulogy for…eloquent

Clues: Julius Caesar, moved to tears, riot

18
Q

After the drought and widespread famine, the relief workers approached a scene of horror in which few were left alive among the ________ corpses.

A) mangled

B) emaciated

C) purged

D) sanctified

E) haggard

A

B) emaciated

Clues: drought, famine, corpses

19
Q

After being gutted by the fire, the church had to be ________, because the damage was too extensive.

A) razed

B) expurgated

C) euthanized

D) upgraded

E) renovated

A

A) razed

Clues: damage was too extensive

20
Q

Although she feels Charlie isn’t sorry enough for what he did, Marion greets him as a ________ member of the family rather than a menacing ________.

A) obstinate…pariah

B) reclusive…heir

C) blithe…stranger

D) unrepentant…patriarch

E) recalcitrant…outsider

A

E) recalcitrant…outsider

Clues: Although, isn’t sorry, member of the family,

21
Q

Despite ________ criticisms that presidents endure during their administrations, many have a gradual resurgence in their popularity after political life.

A) deserved

B) measured

C) scathing

D) bogus

E) austere

A

C) scathing

Clues: despite, criticisms, endure

22
Q

In order to protect his public image, he ________ settlement terms that he considered outrageous.

A) acquiesced to

B) colluded with

C) bellowed at

D) protested over

E) advocated for

A

A) acquiesced to

Clues: though, outrageous, protect his image

23
Q

At the castle, the ________ fields strewn with decaying corpses add to the misery of the starving inhabitants and their ________ future.

A) fertile…pessimistic

B) blasted…upbeat

C) fetid…bleak

D) barren…bombastic

E) arid…copious

A

C) fetid…bleak

Clues: decaying corpses, misery, poor

24
Q

Certain comedies are so ________ that, though appealing at first, the material becomes flatly unamusing on the second viewing.

A) sacrosanct

B) vulgar

C) profane

D) inane

E) ribald

A

D) inane

Clues: comedies, appealling, flatly unamusing

25
Q

The principal punished the students for their ________ behavior during exams, since everyone had been ________ told to maintain quiet in the halls.

A) odious…aggressively

B) innocuous…indirectly

C) malignant…obliviously

D) surreptitious…passively

E) obstreperous…expressly

A

E) obstreperous…expressly

Clues: punished, during exams, told

26
Q

Blanche found the rich man she married so ________ that she despaired of ever being ________ money for travel, fashion, or refined amusements.

A) rarefied…bestowed

B) penurious…allotted

C) stingy…bereft

D) parsimonious…transfered

E) ostentatious…compensated

A

B) penurious…allotted

Clues: rich, despaired

27
Q

The ________ desire for only locally grown organic food in the world’s food supply, thinking demographically, can only lead to hundreds of millions of starving people.

A) quixotic

B) probative

C) imaginary

D) insincere

E) insubstantial

A

A) quixotic

Clues: desire, thinking demographically

28
Q

Dexter couldn’t wait to end the day’s work among those ________, boring suits to mingle with the ________ smiles and evening gowns of the night.

A) corpulent…enchanting

B) insignificant…enthralling

C) stodgy…winsome

D) fecund…scintallating

E) tailored…deceptive

A

C) stodgy…winsome

Clues: couldn’t wait, boring, smiles

29
Q

When coach Herb Brooks first ________ his ________ hockey style to the 1980 USA Olympic Team, his players had no idea how he wanted them to play.

A) adumbrated…hybrid

B) related…regimented

C) unveiled…ecletic

D) deseminated…abstract

E) expounded…lacrymous

A

A) adumbrated…hybrid

Clues: first, style, no idea

30
Q

They were forced to pledge the family farm in Marthasville as ________ for the loan to pay the legal expenses.

A) assistance

B) behemoth

C) deliberation

D) collateral

E) demarcation

A

D) collateral

Clues - pledge, farm, loan

31
Q

The jewelry store heist was done so ________ that only the boss knew the names of the nine professional thieves involved.

A) stealthily

B) artfully

C) robustly

D) clandestinely

E) manifestly

A

D) clandestinely

Clues: heist, only the boss knew

32
Q

The jury was given ________ time to ________ upon the verdict, so the judge declared a hung jury, and ordered a retrial.

A) inadequate…ruminate

B) ample…deliberate

C) fortunate…delineate

D) insufficient…decide

E) egotistical…ponder

A

B) ample…deliberate

Clues - jury, verdict, hung jury, retrial

33
Q

The two men in Lee’s life were such opposites: one ________, cynical rebel, and the other a ________, optismistic placater.

A) an idealistic…billowing

B) an irrascible…gloomy

C) an acerbic…cloying

D) an acrid…partisan

E) a rippling…castigating

A

C) an acerbic…cloying

Clues: cynical rebel, optimistic placater

34
Q

Keeping the repressive and corrupt though mildly effective dictator in charge is preferable to supporting ________ government.

A) an inchoate

B) a representitive

C) a decrepit

D) a delinquent

E) an insecure

A

A) an inchoate

Clues: mildly effective dictator

35
Q

With numerous detentions and three suspensions on his record, the ________ boy faced the disciplinarian and principal who considered ________.

A) incarcerated…deportation

B) enamored…expurgation

C) delinquent…ossification

D) incorrigible…expulsion

E) degraded…admonishment

A

D) incorrigible…expulsion

Clues: numerous detentions, suspensions, principal

36
Q

Generally, political independence is rewarded at the polls, because the voters seem to prefer a ________ to a wonk when it comes to decision making.

A) maverick

B) pedestrian

C) mavin

D) cog

E) neophyte

A

A) maverick

Clues: independence

37
Q

Mr. Collins had hoped that Elizabeth would ________ her ________ opinions while visiting Lady Catherine Du Bourg who liked flattering agreement.

A) alienate…dissociative

B) litigate…inglorious

C) appreciate…ingenious

D) tolerate…august

E) suppress…pert

A

E) suppress…pert

Clues: flattering agreement

38
Q

Due to his chronic toothache, Grandpa’s tolerance and patience toward the baby was replaced with ________.

A) reticence

B) intransigence

C) petulance

D) credence

E) hesitance

A

C) petulance

Clues: toothache, tolerance and patience, replaced

39
Q

Once she got going on a pet peeve, it was dangerous to try to stop her in the middle of her ________ until she ran out of either breath or ________.

A) harangue…accolades

B) diatribe…admissions

C) triptych…maledictions

D) tirade…expletives

E) cascade…profanities

A

D) tirade…expletives

Clues: got going, pet peeve, ran out of breath

40
Q

Henry V, fearful of God’s just punishment because his father ________ the throne from Richard II, falls to his knees and begs for forgiveness and deliverance.

A) usurped

B) abdicated

C) replicated

D) infiltrated

E) expurgated

A

A) usurped

Clues: throne from, forgiveness

41
Q

Looking at the canvases spanning his whole career, anyone would see the artist underwent ________ change after his struggle with cancer.

A) an internal

B) an immutable

C) a propitious

D) an idealistic

E) an asthetic

A

E) an asthetic

Clues: canvases, artist

42
Q

Napoleon Bonaparte ________ the Grande Armée first in an effort to invade England but shifted its focus to meet the threats of Austria and Russia.

A) aggregated

B) confusticated

C) dilated

D) interpreted

E) complicated

A

A) aggregated

Clues: Napoleon, Armée

43
Q

Though certainly not religious like his parents, nor anti-religious like his Uncle Roy, William remained a skeptical ________.

A) atheist

B) spiritualist

C) pagan

D) agnostic

E) druid

A

D) agnostic

Clues: not religious, not anti-religious

44
Q

The judge rendered the ________ confession inadmissible, since the record indicated that the inspector had made ________ threats against the defendant’s family.

A) airtight…deliberate

B) pressured…innocuous

C) previous…stalwart

D) coerced…veiled

E) animated…insinuated

A

D) coerced…veiled

Clues: judge, inadmissible

45
Q

Shakespeare understood that the actors and stagecraft of his theater needed the ________ of a willing audience whose imagination made the ________ believable.

A) attention…façade

B) presence…battles

C) interpretation…farce

D) collusion…illusion

E) circumspection…plots

A

D) collusion…illusion

Clues: actors and stagecraft, needed, imagination, believable

46
Q

At first, the new kid from Lithuania was ________ for his ________ and clothing, but, when he played soccer with the other boys, the ridicule was replaced by respect.

A) derided…accent

B) aped…dialect

C) pestered…customs

D) toasted…habits

E) chided…idioms

A

A) derided…accent

Clues: new kid from Lithuania

47
Q

In the dusty bedroom of Emily Grearson, we found the ________ corpse of Homer Baron who had disappeared years ago.

A) horrified

B) desiccated

C) whelped

D) taciturn

E) florid

A

B) desiccated

Clues: corpse, years ago

48
Q

The soldiers, ________ by as much as 60 pounds of gear, faced a ________ assault as they made their way through the rising tide.

A) laden…heartening

B) encumbered…withering

C) repressed…tenacious

D) tortured…lenient

E) segmented…relentless

A

B) encumbered…withering

Clues: soldiers, gear, assault

49
Q

Farmer Hoggett was not trying to ________ the conventions by entering his pig in the sheep dog competition, though he understood why the committee felt ________.

A) countermand…elated

B) disregard…revered

C) circumvent…sanguine

D) flout…indignant

E) adhere to…slighted

A

D) flout…indignant

Clues: conventions, pig in sheep dog competition

50
Q

Some maintain that charitable organizations were more effective at serving the ________ population than governments were.

A) apoplectic

B) indigent

C) disenfranchised

D) circumspect

E) conscripted

A

B) indigent

Clues: charitable organizations, serving

51
Q

The farmers of Sleepy Hollow were ________ to find the boarding of a schoolmaster in their own homes ________.

A) liable…prolonged

B) credible…reassuring

C) predicted…bracing

D) undoubtedly…pragmatic

E) apt…onerous

A

E) apt…onerous

Clues: boarding of a schoolmaster, own

52
Q

In a ________ of uncanny ________, he leafed through the book that he found on the subway bench and discovered that it contained a valid winning lottery ticket.

A) moment…surety

B) fever…prepossession

C) parcel…determination

D) stroke…serendipity

E) condition…rumination

A

D) stroke…serendipity

Clues: found winning lottery ticket

53
Q

The student ________ that the ________ he used for art history would be equally serviceable as a murder weapon if dropped a short distance onto someone’s head.

A) quipped…tome

B) suggested…quagmire

C) mentioned…pamphlet

D) argued…bludgeon

E) reiterated…kerfuffle

A

A) quipped…tome

Clues: used for art history, equally serviceable, murder weapon, dropped on head

54
Q

After acing the first four tests, Bradley’s ________ assured a lack of effort on the midterm, which he subsequently barely passed.

A) estuary

B) overestimation

C) speculation

D) veracity

E) complacency

A

E) complacency

Clues: acing tests, lack of effort

55
Q

With the coming of the Dust Bowl conditions, many “Okies” who tried to make successful farms were ________ and had to ________ to California.

A) prosperous…abscond
B) impoverished…retreat

C) desitute…migrate

D) boisterous…flee

E) unscathed…hasten

A

C) destitute…migrate

Clue: tried to make successful farms

56
Q

Many top athletes who find themselves bankrupt after retirement can attest to the ________ nature of glory.

A) rejuvenating

B) gruelling

C) ephemeral

D) dissipating

E) perspicacious

A

C) ephemeral

57
Q

Minister Higdon showed remarkable ________ during his twenty years of indignities suffered at the hands of the Bolger family.

A) pliancy

B) forebearance

C) comeliness

D) lassitude

E) aplomb

A

B) forebearance

Clues: twenty years of indignities

58
Q

Lady Henry decided to ________ the ________ groundskeeper, whom she always seemed to find leaning on his tools.

A) examine…histrionic

B) plunder…lackadasical

C) sack…exemplary

D) reprimand…assiduous

E) discharge…indolent

A

E) discharge…indolent

Clues: leaning on tools

59
Q

Morgan Grant, a master of physical and psychological description, came very close to expressing the _________experience of parachuting behind enemy lines on D-Day.

A) ineffable

B) banal

C) excisable

D) elusive

E) predictable

A

A) ineffable

Clues: master, description, came very close, parachuting

60
Q

Compared to the _________, the barely competent appears to be the deft ________.

A) decrepit…veteran

B) uninitiated…clinician

C) polemic…evaluator

D) inept…afficionado

E) sychophant…logician

A

D) inept…afficionado

Clues: compared to, barely competent, appears, deft

61
Q

Though finally alone with Serena on whom he secretly had a crush, George acted ________ and conversed easily.

A) cantankerous

B) nonchalant

C) pompous

D) locquacious

E) timorous

A

B) nonchalant

Clues: though, secretly , crush, acted, conversed

62
Q

Logan thought her candidate delivered an inspiring and original speech, while his opponent’s oration was ________ empty ________.

A) glutted…vissitudes

B) replete with…platitudes

C) innundated with…pedestrianisms

D) devoid of…polemics

E) shy of…conundrums

A

B) replete with…platitudes

Clues: inspiring and original, while, empty

63
Q

Henry Miller’s book was so ________ with vulgarity and _________ that the courts declared it pornography.

A) rife…obscenity

B) complete…pecularity

C) infantile…indecency

D) juvenile…ascetics

E) decadent…rectitude

A

A) rife…obscenity

Clues: vulgarity, pornography

64
Q

Although they were saddened by the death of their uncle Milton, the inheritance of his estate ________ their own financial crisis.

A) villified

B) capsized

C) tantalized

D) exterminated

E) ameliorated

A

E) ameliorated

Clues: although saddened, inheritance, financial crisis

65
Q

Richard Jewel, who alerted police to evacuate the park, became a public ________ when he was falsely accused of planting the bomb.

A) hypocrite

B) anathema

C) oddity

D) specimen

E) iconoclast

A

B) anathema

Clues: accused of planting the bomb

66
Q

With an imposing honey-drawl at his command, Lyndon Johnson could often ________ a member of Congress into voting for his legislation.

A) blandish

B) winnow

C) gestate

D) scrutinize

E) wallow

A

A) blandish

Clues: imposing, honey-drawl, into voting

67
Q

The two sisters couldn’t be more different: one is ________ and overbearing, the other ________ and deferential.

A) malodorous…noisome

B) gauche…deliberate

C) optimistic…convivial

D) brash…diffident

E) erratic…audacious

A

D) brash…diffident

Clues: different, overbearing, deferential

68
Q

The editor published ________ letter attacking the hate speech code and defending ________ free speech to her readers on campus.

A) a balanced…unrestricted

B) a polemic…unbridled

C) an elegant…partial

D) an equivocating…toxic

E) an extreme…curtailing

A

B) a polemic…unbridled

Clues: attacking, defending

69
Q

The mining company soon built a reputation for, not only being hostile to unions, but also ________ both regulations and worker safety.

A) scruplous toward

B) insistant upon

C) inimical to

D) divergent of

E) disciplined about

A

C) inimical to

Clues: not only hostile, but also, regulations, safety

70
Q

Despite the ________ appearance, the gelatin contained a colony of bacterium capable of ________ a national population.

A) disheveled…invigorating

B) compliant…threatening

C) toxic…exterminating

D) prophylactic…protecting

E) innocuous…decimating

A

E) innocuous…decimating

Clues: despite, appearance , bacterium, population

71
Q

The cowboy offered a horse to ______ the ill-feelings created by his drunken rampage of a week before.

A) provoke

B) amplify

C) discredit

D) litigate

E) mitigate

A

E) mitigate

Clues: ill-feelings, rampage

72
Q

A few months of ________ knitting of handsome and ________ accessories for ladies had provided Mrs. Smith with a sufficient income.

A) articulate…lucrative

B) fustian…cunning

C) meticulous…intricate

D) superfluous…fashionable

E) interminable…utilitarian

A

C) meticulous…intricate

Clues: knitting, accessories

73
Q

I played chess and lost to a most ________ eight-year-old who told me she was doing advanced physics and calculus at her ________ school.

A) erudite…efficient

B) cerebral…efficacious

C) precocious…accelerated

D) savvy…elevated

E) imbecilic…advanced

A

C) precocious…accelerated

Clues: eight, physics, calculus

74
Q

The ________ radio transmission lasted until the tower repairs were completed, while online streaming continued ________.

A) hiatus in…unabated

B) suspension of…terminally

C) continuation of…brazenly

D) sequestration of…predominantly

E) revitalization of…courageously

A

A) hiatus in…unabated

Clues: repairs, online streaming

75
Q

Universities have, on occasion, been known to ________ degrees earned through academic ________.

A) confer…inferrence

B) bestow…competence

C) deny…endowments

D) ignore…malfeasance

E) rescind…fraud

A

E) rescind…fraud

Clues: on occasion, degrees, academic

76
Q

The football player made ________ argument that he had a cheatsheet but wasn’t cheating, and it was enough to sway the administrator who was also a coach.

A) a cunning

B) an airtight

C) a prudish

D) a reflexive

E) a spurious

A

E) spurious

Clues: had a cheatsheet, enough to sway

77
Q

Though he usually enjoyed the energy and ________ talent of high school productions, they sometimes degraded into sad ________ of the original glory.

A) raw…altitudes

B) unrefined…proclivites

C) inculcated…sham

D) burgeoning…travesties

E) nascent…allegories

A

D) burgeoning…travesties

Clues: enjoyed, high school productions, degraded

78
Q

Hamlet reasons that, since the lands are not ________, the Polacks will never defend a wasteland.

A) blemished

B) seasoned

C) harvested

D) arable

E) contested

A

D) arable

Clues: will never defend, wasteland

79
Q

Party politics used to require a candidate to secure the support of certain ________, like labor leaders, or newspaper editors to endorse him.

A) rivals

B) agitators

C) constituents

D) neophytes

E) creditors

A

C) constituents

Clues: candidates, support, labor leaders

80
Q

The pitchmen ________ the approach of their competitors, which made their own campaign seem like a ________.

A) augmented…retread

B) demystified…sequel

C) disparaged…remedy

D) villified…addiction

E) varied…monolith

A

C) disparaged…remedy

Clues: pitchmem, competitors, own campaign

81
Q

Martha refused to look at her accusers during the witch trials, claiming that she thought her victims would ________ and _________ suffering.

A) witness…endure

B) dissemble…feign

C) testify…incur

D) blandish…avoid

E) evade…deflect

A

B) dissemble…feign

Clues: witch trial, claiming, suffering

82
Q

It showed the difference between a loyal ________ in a democracy and an obstructionist will to ________ the clear mandate of the people.

A) opposition…appease

B) dissent…thwart

C) intention…abrogate

D) misdirection…placate

E) pretense…impair

A

B) dissent…thwart

Clues: difference, loyal, obstructionist, mandate

83
Q

The diet shake was so ________ that Inga couldn’t finish the first week’s supply.

A) toxic

B) execrable

C) tonic

D) rancid

E) palatable

A

B) execrable

Clues: diet, couldn’t finish

84
Q

The Medical Corps has worked to streamline ________, triage, and treatment for ________ battlefield wounds.

A) ambulance…unexpected

B) diagnosis…pulminary

C) evacuation…exigent

D) ingress…countless

E) attendance…emergency

A

C) evacuation…exigent

Clues: triage, treatment, battlefield

85
Q

When important events are happening within minutes of going to air, a TV newsroom becomes ________, almost chaotic.

A) salacious

B) maladroit

C) incendiary

D) undignified

E) frenetic

A

E) frenetic

Clues: chaotic

86
Q

The scandal didn’t merely ________ lower officers of the organization, but it reached up into the _________ of the corporate leadership.

A) taint…elevation

B) incriminate…stratospheres

C) implicate…hierarchy

D) regress…regions

E) stained…peons

A

C) implicate…hierarchy

Clues: scandal, reached up, leadership

87
Q

Though wrecking nothing themselves, a small group of anarchists ________ the riot that caused tens of millions of dollars of damage.

A) executed

B) subverted

C) mollified

D) compensated

E) instigated

A

E) instigated

Clues: wrecking nothing, anarchists, riot

88
Q

With Audrey’s ________ of waning trust in her own husband’s fidelity, Abigail’s concern for her friend ________ exponentially.

A) innuendo…multiplied

B) notion…augmented

C) intimation…waxed

D) discrediting…sprouted

E) secret…compounded

A

C) intimation…waxed

Clues: trust, fidelity, exponentially

89
Q

Entrepeneurs suffer trying to do business in a ________environment like New York or Los Angeles where one can be sued ________.

A) lawful…legally

B) legislative…easily

C) pugnacious…violently

D) belligerent…parenthetically

E) litigious…frivolously

A

E) litigious…frivolously

Clues: suffer to do business, sued

90
Q

The path leads through saturated ground with a ________ so thick that only a rope pulled by several men could ________ a man who got stuck in it.

A) quagmire…ingress

B) swamp…disseminate

C) billow…liberate

D) morass…extricate

E) bog…verify

A

D) morass…extricate

Clues: saturated ground, rope, stuck

91
Q

The collapse of the building produced a ________ cloud that threatened the health of the workers during rescue and cleanup efforts.

A) noxious

B) nebulous

C) unctuous

D) plausible

E) monastic

A

A) noxious

Clues: collapse, building, threatened the health

92
Q

Because the large fan in the gymnasium wouldn’t ________, only a ________ of parents in attendance felt any relief from the heat.

A) operate…portion

B) irrigate…partition

C) rotate…sampling

D) oscillate…swath

E) ignite…shovelful

A

D) oscillate…swath

Clues: felt any relief

93
Q

Though some hinted at ________ motives, ________, the principal excised two pages from the school newspaper out of liability concerns.

A) personal…accordingly

B) alterior…ostensibly

C) inglorious…pretensiously

D) devious…willingfully

E) shadowy…clearly

A

B) alterior…ostensibly

Clues: though, hinted, motives

94
Q

Desmond Tutu, a man of unimpeachable ________, was chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the end of Apartheid.

A) temerity

B) sobriety

C) probity

D) verisimilitude

E) quiessence

A

C) probity

Clues: unimpeachable, chairman, Truth

95
Q

The boy’s natural _______ in art was not ________ much by trips to museums, but he learned much by searching the internet.

A) ribaldry…fostered

B) tenacity…transformed

C) taste…interrupted

D) agility…shaped

E) proclivity…nurtured

A

E) proclivity…nurtured

Clues: natural, in art, he learned

96
Q

Shamed by personal failures Truman indulged in hedonistic pursuits, living a most ______ lifestyle among ________ associates, who drained his legacy in no time.

A) degraded…righteous

B) profligate…licentious

C) primrose…libertine

D) dissipative…swarthy

E) menial…frugal

A

B) profligate…licentious

Clues: hedonistic, who drained, legacy

97
Q

In his book, Tom Brokaw ________ the opinion that people who faced the Great Depression and World War II in America were its ‘greatest generation’.

A) deseminated

B) ameliorated

C) proselytized

D) promulgated

E) alleviated

A

D) promulgated

Clues: his book, opinion

98
Q

Mr. Grossmith, a functioning addict in withdrawal, seeks the ________ of his dressing room and its palliative ________ after a dismal rehearsal.

A) respite…contraband

B) comfort…stash

C) haven…mountebank

D) simplicity…medicinals

E) sanctuary…penchants

A

A) respite…contraband

Clues: addict, dismal rehearsal

99
Q

After missing Halloween and tricks-or-treats waiting for the Great Pumpkin, Sally ________ Linus and demands immediate ________for her losses.

A) opines to…compensation

B) brays at…commutation

C) alludes to…repayment

D) bellows at…restitution

E) colludes with…nuptials

A

D) bellows at…restitution

Clues: missing tricks-or-treats, demands, losses

100
Q

The guards at Buckingham Palace remained ________ and at attention despite tourists’ attempts at wit or ________ to bring the slightest change in their facial expressions.

A) frozen…shenanigans

B) staid…raillery

C) yoked…japes

D) terse…mischief

E) oblivious…hilarity

A

B) staid…raillery

Clues: guards, at attention, wit, facial expressions

101
Q

Despite playing an ardent anti-war protestor in her most famous role, the actor was more ________ in her ________ toward causes she supported.

A) stultified…physiognomy

B) stoical…demeanor

C) impervious…appearance

D) placid…role

E) effervescent…intent

A

B) stoical…demeanor

Clues: ardent, anti-war protestor, more

102
Q

After weeping uncontrollably for hours and hours at the news of her son’s sudden death, Lady Agatha’s ________ composure at the funeral showed her remarkable self-control.

A) acrid

B) desiccated

C) morbid

D) morose

E) stolid

A

E) stolid

Clues: weeping uncontollably, son’s death, composure, self-control

103
Q

The weeks leading up to the bar exam, she suffered from doubt and ________, but, as she settled into her seat to take it, she felt confident and easy.

A) temerity

B) austerity

C) intimation

D) adulation

E) trepidation

A

E) trepidation

Clues: exam, doubt, but conifident, easy

104
Q

It took little time for the junta to ________ all the powers that had resided in the legislature before the coup.

A) arrogate

B) stupify

C) interrogate

D) edify

E) quantify

A

A) arrogate

Clues: junta, powers, had resided in legislature, coup

105
Q

The ________ ________ to cleanse the mind of all distracting material comforts, so that a connection to a higher power is strengthened.

A) disciple…adheres

B) meditator…circumscribes

C) botanist…undertakes

D) hedonist…attempts

E) ascetic…endeavors

A

E) ascetic…endeavors

Clues: cleanse the mind, material comforts

106
Q

All the animals, except of course the pigs, work hard for the completion of the mill, but the ________ horse, Boxer, makes the greatest contribution to the project.

A) encumbered

B) lanquid

C) ignominious

D) assiduous

E) vainglorious

A

D) assiduous

Clues: work hard, greatest contribution

107
Q

President Lincoln’s letter did little to ________ the grief of the woman who had lost five sons in the war, but he dutifully ________ to her the thanks of the republic.

A) appease…sanctified

B) inflame…rendered

C) mollify…inducted

D) recognize…ingratiated

E) assuage…tendered

A

E) assuage…tendered

Clues: grief, lost five sons in the war

108
Q

The consultant gave his ________ observation of the organization’s structure and the ________ of resources, and this led to positive reforms.

A) predictable…distribution

B) incisive…depreciation

C) astute…allocation

D) brooding…paucity

E) holistic…reversal

A

C) astute…allocation

Clues: consultant, structure, positive

109
Q

Some come to America seeking opportunity, while others come seeking ________ from _________ in their native lands.

A) haven…serendipity

B) asylum…persecution

C) sanctuary…competition

D) harbor…distemper

E) pandemonium…quietude

A

B) asylum…persecution

Clues: some, opportunity, seeking

110
Q

Though ________ in his communications, Bertram sometimes was so ________ as to give clients the impression that he needed to get on to other business.

A) curt…attentive

B) efficacious..laconic

C) affecting…terse

D) efficient…brusque

E) alarming..pacifying

A

D) efficient…brusque

Clues: communications, needed to get on

111
Q

Though a complete stranger at the Bastille Day soiree in Paris, Edward partied in the ________ atmosphere as though he were an old friend to everyone.

A) convivial

B) emollient

C) nonchalant

D) restive

E) contrite

A

A) convivial

Clues: Though, stranger, partied, as though, old friends

112
Q

Instead of being angry and slamming the door in his face, Uncle Silas ________ a most ________ greeting and opened his home to him.

A) extended…arduous

B) rendered…cordial

C) performed…extemperaneous

D) retracted…extraneous

E) reiterated…unexpected

A

B) rendered…cordial

Clues: instead, angry, opened his home

113
Q

To his surprise, the detective found several credible witnesses to ________his prime suspect’s seemingly weak ________, so he was back to square one.

A) exonerate…defense

B) invalidate…excuse

C) verify…circumstance

D) rivet…dossier

E) corroborate…alibi

A

E) corroborate…alibi

Clues: credible, seemingly weak, square one

114
Q

Red ________ so much over the choice of ice cream that it took more than 20 minutes to serve him.

A) oscillated

B) prolonged

C) escalated

D) exacerbated

E) dithered

A

E) dithered

Clues: choice, 20 minutes

115
Q

The DEA agent ________ the way the product was being smuggled into Laredo and devised ________ strategy.

A) parsed… an interception

B) unlocked…a contradiction

C) puzzled…an intermission

D) divined…an interdiction

E) resolved…a contraption

A

D) divined…interdiction

Clues: DEA agent, smuggled, strategy

116
Q

Knowing that any information might help the enemy discover the identity of other ________ in the field, the agent simply refused to ________ anything.

A) aliases…unveil

B) protocols…reveal

C) procedures…uncover

D) professionals…covert

E) operatives…divulge

A

E) operatives…divulge

Clues: information, help enemy, in the field, agent

117
Q

DNA evidence ________ Henry James after nearly 30 years of ________ in a case of misidentification and matching blood type.

A) convicted…inprisonment

B) expurgated…guilt

C) pardoned…miscarriage

D) purified…confinement

E) exonerated…incarceration

A

E) exonerated…incarceration

Clues: DNA evidence, after, misidentification

118
Q

Promising to give evidence in court, “the Tongue” wanted his entire criminal record ________.

A) reduced

B) accentuated

C) expunged

D) edited

E) truncated

A

C) expunged

Clues: give evidence, entire criminal record

119
Q

Her father thought that Cindy was wasting energy worrying about rumors, ________ and other ________ matters instead of concentrating on her studies.

A) chatter…weighty

B) jibberish…trivial

C) statistics…libellous

D) slanders…pertinent

E) innuendos…frivolous

A

E) innuendos…frivolous

Clues: wasting energy, rumors

120
Q

Facing harsh weather and hidden dangers, the ________ Spanish and French explorers blazed trails into the New World.

A) disoriented

B) intimidated

C) intrepid

D) chastised

E) surmounted

A

C) intrepid

Clues: harsh weather, dangers, blazed trails

121
Q

During the ________, police stations were ________ with calls from “eye-witnesses” to the invasion from outer space.

A) incident…discomforted

B) hoax…inundated

C) climax…awash

D) broadcast…fettered

E) infiltration…satiated

A

B) hoax…inundated

Clues: “eye-witnesses” invasion, outer space

122
Q

Ben Hamper thought he could never be ________ the seemingly chaotic set-up of the assembly line.

A) promoted to

B) recommended for

C) fatigued by

D) welcomed into

E) inured to

A

E) inured

Clues: seemingly chaotic

123
Q

The ________ banquet at the fundraiser was proof enough of the ________ of the Count, and Courtney knew the charitable goal would be reached.

A) meager…parsimony

B) paltry…largess

C) luxurious…panache

D) opulent…equinamity

E) lavish…munificence

A

E) lavish…munificence

Clues: banquet, proof, goal, reached

124
Q

Tom Walker builds a grand mansion from ________ impulse, but leaves it mostly unfinished and unfurnished from his ________ to parsimony.

A) a selfish…disinclination

B) an ostentatious…propensity

C) a robust…leniency

D) an erudite…obstinancy

E) a roguish…aptness

A

B) an ostentatious…propensity

Clues: grand mansion, unfinished, unfurnished

125
Q

We knew Aunt Delia was losing it when we heard the endless ________ she aimed at the pizza guy for taking almost an hour to bring her food.

A) compliments

B) tangents

C) inaugurations

D) invectives

E) implications

A

D) invectives

Clues: losing it, pizza guy late

126
Q

Preferring a dynamic and controversial writer, the editor-in-chief promoted the somewhat lax ________ over the more qualified and accurate, but more ________, reporter.

A) entrepeneur…pedestrian

B) ingenue…banal

C) savant…parochial

D) provocateur…prosaic

E) gourmand…naive

A

D) provocateur…prosaic

Clues: dynamic and controversial

127
Q

Frank Abagnale, Jr., was a ________ adolescent who passed himself off convincingly as a doctor, a pilot, and a lawyer among others, and showed his genius for reinventing himself.

A) doppelganger

B) nemesis

C) protean

D) diaphanous

E) narcissist

A

C) protean

Clues: passed himself off, doctor, pilot, lawyer, reinventing himself

128
Q

Though clearly not the strongest man in the ring, Carl “the Cobra” Connors intimidated his larger opponents with his ________ based on speed and versatility of attack.

A) cachet

B) prowess

C) cadre

D) largess

E) posse

A

B) prowess

Clues: intimidated, speed, versatility

129
Q

Always a ________, the author expected his book to be panned, not ________ as it was, but apparently something about his story stimulated enthusiasm among the readers and critics.

A) cynic…excoriated

B) realist…lauded

C) purest…extolled

D) sensualist…ignored

E) pessimist…rhapsodized

A

E) pessimist…rhapsodized

Clues: expected, panned, enthusiasm

130
Q

The critic wondered at the editing of the movie, since it was long with several ________ scenes that only delayed the story’s progress.

A) fabulous

B) tight

C) superfluous

D) posthumous

E) adroit

A

C) superfluous

Clues: long, delayed, progress

131
Q

With a sudden ________ in his ribs, Lewis ________ his speech enough to confuse and alarm his audience.

A) stitch…truncated

B) wrench…averted

C) stab…abridged

D) needle…pruned

E) dagger…massaged

A

A) stitch…truncated

Clues: sudden, ribs, confuse and alarm

132
Q

Though mentally now fully alert, Bea was so weak from the ________ of the coma that she could not use her spider-thin legs.

A) fatigue

B) atrophy

C) nausea

D) jitters

E) ossification

A

B) atrophy

Clues: coma, spider-thin

133
Q

“William Thompson”, Tom’s alter ego of the moment, shocks Aunt Sally with ________ kiss, and then is ________ that she should have found it so impertinent.

A) a passionate..irked

B) a bellicose…amazed

C) a cloistered…flabbergasted

D) an audacious…astonished

E) a supercilious…amused

A

D) audacious…astonished

Clues: shocks, Aunt, kiss on the mouth, impertinent

134
Q

Once stimulated by the disguised devil’s offer of easy money, Pahom’s ________ began to dominate his thinking and alienate him from his friends.

A) gluttony

B) sloth

C) avarice

D) mores

E) rheumatism

A

C) avarice

Clues: devil’s, easy money, alienate

135
Q

While repairing the header, the carpenters ________ the ceiling by wedging eight two-by-fours under it.

A) imposed

B) propagated

C) blandished

D) pilloried

E) buttressed

A

E) buttressed

Clues: repairing, carpenter, wedging

136
Q

Several important communist hardliners led a ________ against Mikhail Gorbachev’s ________ in August of 1989, holding him under house arrest for almost three days.

A) revolt…disciples

B) rebellion…policies

C) mutiny…vessel

D) coup…regime

E) insurrection…loyalists

A

D) coup…regime

Clues: several, hardliners, house arrest

137
Q

Otis had so little that it was no surprise that he found so many things to ________ that others possessed.

A) filibuster

B) mangle

C) yoke

D) evoke

E) covet

A

E) covet

Clues: had so little, no surprise, others possessed

138
Q

The dwarves’ ________, bordering on senselessness, urged them to enter the dragon’s lair without a plan to destroy the fearful guardian for the sake of its costly bed of treasure.

A) grudge

B) cupidity

C) laxity

D) canniness

E) levity

A

B) cupidity

Clues: bordering on senseless, for the sake, costly

139
Q

The union members were only given time for a ________ review of the collective bargaining agreement before the vote was called.

A) perusing

B) luxuriant

C) cursory

D) holistic

E) comprehensive

A

C) cursory

Clues: only given time, review

140
Q

The volcano, which hadn’t erupted for 700 years, lay ________, but the scientists knew that like a sleeping dragon it could suddenly activate and bring ________ to the communities near it.

A) fallow..calamity

B) dormant…devastation

C) inert…misfortune

D) exigent…disaster

E) curdled…mishap

A

B) dormant…devastation

Clues: hadn’t erupted for, sleeping dragon

141
Q

The ________ police detective dampened the party atmosphere in the hall, as he asked questions regarding the whereabouts of the absent ________.

A) turgid…culprits

B) biased…suspects

C) legendary…evidence

D) misogynistic…roustabouts

E) dour…revellers

A

E) dour…revellers

Clues: dampened the party, absent

142
Q

With the bloody revolt falling apart internally, it becomes necessary to find the ________ members of the ________ royal family to restore the monarchy.

A) leftover…threatened

B) misplaced…exiled

C) scattered…verifiable

D) extant…decimated

E) cloistered…partial

A

D) extant…decimated

Clues: bloody revolt, restore the monarchy

143
Q

The mermaid could not hope to ________ herself from the fishing net.

A) exigent

B) extricate

C) rectify

D) explicate

E) expound

A

B) extricate

Clues: mermaid, fishing net

144
Q

Jerry and Courtney’s “loony” cat was so ________ it would go from gentle purring to ________ its rear claws into your thighs without provocation.

A) noisome…goring

B) didactic…skewering

C) pedantic…digging

D) irascible…gouging

E) moody…molding

A

D) irascible…gouging

Clues: loony, from gentle purring, rear claws

145
Q

While many are repulsed by the ________ details of the serial killer’s story, others are fascinated by the ________ of torture and dismemberment.

A) graphic…residue

B) sordid…vestiges

C) heartening…pathos

D) pungent…facilities

E) lurid…minutiae

A

E) lurid…minutiae

Clues: repulsed, killer’s, fascinated, torture

146
Q

Carrie quickly goes from being a ________ in her new school to the subject of ________ within days of saying grace on her knees before lunch in the cafeteria.

A) kudo…derision

B) curio…ostracism

C) tomboy…ridicule

D) neophyte…admonition

E) fanatic…confabulation

A

B) curio…ostracism

Clues: goes from, saying grace on her knees

147
Q

Paul’s mother found an address for a ________ website on her son’s laptop and ________ to confront him and deny him access to the internet while alone.

A) salacious…exaggerated

B) ribald…conspired

C) prurient…resolved

D) bawdy…alluded

E) debauched…forebore

A

C) prurient…resolved

Clues: website, access to the internet

148
Q

Terry Gilliam searched Hollywood for a young actress of the right ________ to play the Roman goddess of love to recreate the vision of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

A) proportions

B) pulchritude

C) gradation

D) impiety

E) preponderance

A

B) pulchritude

Clues: goddess of love, recreate, vision

149
Q

The Betties, a group of rich ne’er-do-wells, simply detested the ________ fools, as they called them, who volunteered to monitor the halls at school.

A) clandestine

B) opulent

C) sordid

D) ingracious

E) punctilious

A

E) punctilious

Clues: monitor the halls

150
Q

Not wanting to create an expectation for absolute ________ among its customers nor to help cause a greater ________ problem, the restaurant substituted the “All-You-Can-Eat Buffet” with the “All-You-Care-To-Eat Buffet.”

A) surfeit…obesity

B) gorgeousness…gluttony

C) satiety…copacetic

D) aversion…corporeality

E) nourishment…deletorious

A

A) surfeit…obesity

Clues: All-You-Can-Eat