SUBJECTS
|
BROWSE
|
CAREER CENTER
|
POPULAR
|
JOIN
|
LOGIN
Business Skills
|
Soft Skills
|
Basic Literacy
|
Certifications
About
|
Help
|
Privacy
|
Terms
|
Email
Search
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. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
juxtaposition
deprecate
hypothetical
derision
2. We made an _____ choice to eat at the first restaurant we saw.
arbitrary
assumption
benign
nonchalance
3. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
banal
dogmatic
satirical
esoteric
4. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
debilitate
hyperbole
undermine
mundane
5. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
alleviate
adversity
divergent
reserve
6. As far as I'm concerned - Apple's claims about its new computer are pure _____; no machine is that good!
obdurate
inherent
hyperbole
credulity
7. We could tell we were in serious trouble from the _____ of the principal's expression.
adversary
incite
gravity
elusive
8. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.
superficial
adversity
rhetorical
credulity
9. Youth's beauty is _____; it quickly fades with age.
dismiss
compliance
transient
interpid
10. Although the University of California at Berkeley is just one part of the state university system - in many ways - Cal Berkeley is _____ - for it runs several programs that are not subject to state control.
skeptic
autonomous
anarchy
predilection
11. Noticing the _____ glance the customer gave the diamond bracelet on the counter - the clerk wondered whether he had a potential shoplifter in the store.
superficial
furtive
specious
document
12. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied; be _____ about what's bothering you.
explicit
partisan
presumptuous
reticent
13. The Beatles expressed themselves through capricious - flip humor and _____ displays of carefree abandon.
surreptitious
whimsical
concise
guile
14. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
surreptitious
ambiguous
homogeneous
capricious
15. The inquisitors used both physical and psychological _____ to force Joan of Arc to deny that her visions were sent by God.
levity
coercion
inherent
recount
16. Othello's false friend lago uses considerable _____ to trick Othello into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him
guile
rebuttal
laconic
reprimand
17. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the _____ of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
proliferation
garrulous
redundant
cryptic
18. After separating from Tony - Tina announced that she would _____ all debts incurred by her soon-to-be-ex-husband.
repudiate
ascetic
frivolous
preclude
19. In a fiery speech - Mario _____ his fellow students to go out on strike to protest the university's anti-affirmative action stand.
condone
implement
incite
apathy
20. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.
pervasive
guile
volatile
banal
21. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
conciliatory
induce
scrupulous
exemplary
22. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
corroborate
eulogy
peripheral
homogeneous
23. There is a fine line between speech that is _____ and to the point and speech so abrupt that it verges on rudeness.
fallacious
disparage
terse
capricious
24. Thirty years after the war - she could not let go of the past but was still consumed with _____ against the foe.
transient
impair
proliferation
rancor
25. No matter how hard Darnell tried to lure the trout into taking the bait - the fish was too _____ to catch.
proximity
subside
elusive
scrutiny
26. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
dismiss
incorrigible
ephemeral
constraint
27. Suppose you are accepted by Harvard - Stanford - and Yale. Which one would you attend? Remember - this is only a _____ situation.
concise
peripheral
mundane
hypothetical
28. A radical committed to social change - Reed had no patience with the conservative views _____ in the America of his day.
scrupulous
predilection
presumptuous
prevalent
29. Typically - partygoers are _____; hermits are not.
recount
emulate
gregarious
rectify
30. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
hierarchy
ostentatious
prevalent
eclectic
31. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
profound
conciliatory
derivative
debunk
32. The president _____ the astronauts - whom he called 'the pioneers of the Space Age.'
malicious
extol
condone
haughtiness
33. Flat prose and flat ginger are equally _____; both lack sparkle.
insipid
venerate
ostentatious
impede
34. The wealthy - self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict - _____ lifestyle practiced by members of some monastic orders.
instigate
incorrigible
ascetic
ostentatious
35. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
incongruous
enhance
redundant
strident
36. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
juxtaposition
usurp
elucidate
compliance
37. The costume designer _____ the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.
nonchalance
reprimand
embellish
succinct
38. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
banal
affirmation
preclude
rebuttal
39. The doctor assured the boy's parents that his fever would eventually _____.
coercion
partisan
enhance
subside
40. Although Georgia O'Keeffe painted subjects over the years - she had a definite _____ for painting flowers.
scrutiny
predilection
compliance
censure
41. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
resigned
arbitrary
quandary
lavish
42. When Amanda said to the ticket scalper - 'One hundred bucks? What do you want - a pound of flesh?' she was making an _____ to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
allusion
recluse
digression
heresy
43. The airline customer service agent tried to _____ the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.
impede
soporific
mitigate
mollify
44. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his formidable _____.
elusive
adversary
discrepancy
refute
45. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
anarchy
profound
expedient
substantiate
46. The infant Mozart's parents quickly realized that their son had an _____ gift for music.
derision
undermine
innate
skeptic
47. When the boys first met their new stepmother - they felt some _____ - but eventually they lost that initial awkwardness and talked with her comfortably.
colloquial
banal
preclude
constraint
48. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
brevity
levity
eulogy
profound
49. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.
relegate
flagrant
abridge
extricate
50. The uncrowned queen of the fashion industry - Diana was famous for her _____ taste.
document
sporadic
redundant
impeccable