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Test your basic knowledge |
Complete Advanced Sentences
Start Test
Study First
Subjects
:
english
,
grammar
Instructions:
Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can
study here
.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.
This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. To be low man on the totem pole is to have a decidedly inferior place in the _____.
volatile
equivocal
hierarchy
renounce
2. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.
feasible
astute
debilitate
reprove
3. Though his fellow students considered him a gifted scholar - Paul knew he would have to spend many years in serious study before he could consider himself truly _____.
advocate
erudite
peripheral
prudent
4. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
volatile
abstract
cryptic
placate
5. Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for city council the mayor would _____.
assumption
endorse
opportunist
meticulous
6. Towering over the nearby houses - the MacMansion looked wholly _____ in the historic neighborhood of small Craftsman bungalows.
flagrant
incongruous
brevity
extraneous
7. Though Aunt Bea at times had to _____ Opie for inattention in church - she believed he was at heart a God-fearing lad.
renounce
reprove
implement
constraint
8. The museum curator placed the Eskimo-carved wooden totem pole in _____ with two contemporary stone masks from Africa - creating a stunning effect.
juxtaposition
banal
opportunist
disparage
9. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
inherent
equivocal
ambiguous
dismiss
10. The president _____ the astronauts - whom he called 'the pioneers of the Space Age.'
derivative
ambiguous
altruistic
extol
11. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
embellish
extricate
adulation
arbitrary
12. Josh is such a greedy _____ that - as soon as the earthquake struck - he tripled the price of bottled water at his store.
opportunist
subside
ironic
succinct
13. Katya's _____ love of justice moved her to champion the cause of anyone she considered unfairly treated by society.
disparity
inherent
banal
dismiss
14. In class - she tried to stay alert and listen to the professor - but the stuffy room made her _____; she felt as if she were about to nod off.
metaphor
lethargic
disdain
elusive
15. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.
pervasive
profane
incongruous
partisan
16. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
austere
partisan
hyperbole
incongruous
17. When you place a phone call from an airplane - _____ is essential; you are charged for every minute.
allusion
rancor
brevity
esoteric
18. Without additional funding - it may not be _____ to build a new stadium for the team on the city's highly developed West Side.
presumptuous
feasible
expedient
partisan
19. The winter storm was ______; it changed course constantly.
equivocal
venerate
metaphor
capricious
20. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
obdurate
soporific
aesthetic
esoteric
21. No wonder Ted doesn't think straight! His mind is so cluttered with _____ information that he can't concentrate on the essentials.
extraneous
flagrant
profound
notoriety
22. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
elusive
rebuttal
substantiate
malicious
23. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
derivative
colloquial
pervasive
turbulent
24. The inquisitors used both physical and psychological _____ to force Joan of Arc to deny that her visions were sent by God.
pervasive
endorse
instigate
coercion
25. Covering the Olympic Games - the sportscasters _____ every American victory and grumbled about every American defeat.
debunk
hypothetical
disdain
acclaim
26. Though Glenn was devout - he was no _____; he never tried to force his beliefs on friends.
reprimand
turbulent
astute
zealot
27. Although Eric knew the boss had no sense of humor - he couldn't resist making one _____ remark.
succinct
levity
jocular
scrupulous
28. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his formidable _____.
obdurate
anarchy
adversary
transient
29. What _____ did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner?
extol
incongruous
criterion
corroborate
30. Tina was still angry despite Tony's soft and _____ words.
cryptic
banal
conciliatory
surpass
31. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
exemplary
soporific
derision
abstract
32. Although defeat appeared inevitable - the general was _____ in his refusal to surrender.
insipid
rhetorical
obdurate
usurp
33. Matilda thought it was somewhat _____ of the young man to have addressed her without first having been introduced. Perhaps manners were freer here in the New World.
document
advocate
presumptuous
predilection
34. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
emulate
retract
ephemeral
jocular
35. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
undermine
ambiguous
furtive
malicious
36. The costume designer _____ the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.
embellish
nonchalance
decorum
succinct
37. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
soporific
frivolous
succinct
homogeneous
38. You can _____ your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well.
enhance
proliferation
profane
ambiguous
39. When Elizabeth realized that Darcy considered himself too good to dance with his inferiors - she took great offense at his _____.
disdain
haughtiness
rebuttal
relegate
40. Some of the newer - less formal passages on the SAT have a _____ tone that is intended to make them more appealing to students.
colloquial
derision
predilection
innocuous
41. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
decorum
inane
reprimand
usurp
42. Galileo's assertion that the earth moved around the sun directly contradicted the religious teachings of his day; as a result - he was tried for _____.
heresy
discerning
fallacious
reserve
43. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
scrutiny
abridge
insipid
prolific
44. Because a _____ examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson - we believe the insurance agency should undertake a more thorough investigation of the fire's cause.
laconic
surreptitious
cursory
indifferent
45. There is a fine line between speech that is _____ and to the point and speech so abrupt that it verges on rudeness.
terse
hyperbole
exacerbate
expedient
46. The young princess made the foolish _____ that the regent would not object to her taking the reins of power.
notoriety
assumption
derision
rancor
47. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
enhance
interpid
scrupulous
surpass
48. The glitter and _____ of the ballroom took Cinderella's breath away.
inherent
anarchy
opulence
emulate
49. Despite Tom's _____ of innocence - Aunt Polly suspected he had eaten the pie.
implement
impede
innocuous
affirmation
50. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
peripheral
alleviate
preclude
astute