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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. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.
impeccable
innocuous
exemplary
anarchy
2. When the boys first met their new stepmother - they felt some _____ - but eventually they lost that initial awkwardness and talked with her comfortably.
acclaim
constraint
prevalent
juxtaposition
3. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied; be _____ about what's bothering you.
adversity
refute
succinct
explicit
4. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
lavish
credulity
immutable
succinct
5. No wonder Ted doesn't think straight! His mind is so cluttered with _____ information that he can't concentrate on the essentials.
taciturn
extraneous
mitigate
volatile
6. Although some girls were attracted by Mark's air of _____ - Judy was put off by it - for she felt his aloofness indicated a lack of openness.
buttress
debunk
resolution
reserve
7. To be low man on the totem pole is to have a decidedly inferior place in the _____.
heresy
innate
hierarchy
usurp
8. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the _____ of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
specious
profane
ephemeral
proliferation
9. A miser hoards money - not because he is _____ - but because he is stingy.
volatile
recount
resolution
prudent
10. Though Glenn was devout - he was no _____; he never tried to force his beliefs on friends.
zealot
ambivalence
meticulous
conciliatory
11. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.
impeccable
profound
flagrant
benign
12. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
banal
divergent
peripheral
recount
13. She kept all the receipts form her business trip in order to _____ her expenses for the Internal Revenue Service.
divergent
impair
document
discerning
14. To win his audience - the speaker used every _____ trick in the book.
profane
laconic
contentious
rhetorical
15. After a decade of popularity - Hurston's works had fallen into _____; no one bothered to read her novels and short stories any more.
exacerbate
constraint
divergent
oblivion
16. Although the movie star was no genius - she was sufficiently _____ to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.
pragmatic
garrulous
taciturn
discerning
17. Tina was still angry despite Tony's soft and _____ words.
anecdote
impeccable
conciliatory
interpid
18. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
explicit
ostentatious
deprecate
volatile
19. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
superfluous
taciturn
retract
deprecate
20. At evening block inspection - the recruits' bunk room - washroom - and gear come under the inspecting officer's close _____.
anarchy
incorrigible
fallacious
scrutiny
21. Because the student body at their daughter's prep school was so _____ - they decided to send her to a school that offered greater cultural diversity.
furtive
homogeneous
incorrigible
redundant
22. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
subside
ambiguous
superficial
scrupulous
23. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class - she was terrified that she would receive a harsh _____ from Miss Minchin.
banal
arbitrary
reprimand
ambivalence
24. After Ralph dropped his second try of drinks that week - the manager swiftly _____ him to a minor post behind the bar.
renounce
incongruous
extraneous
relegate
25. A pragmatic politician - he was guided more by what was _____ than by what was right.
expedient
reprimand
scrupulous
immutable
26. My editors must assume I'm a _____ writer; they expect me to revise six books this year.
redundant
immutable
prolific
incongruous
27. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
apathy
detachment
satirical
prolific
28. His coarse - hard-bitten exterior _____ his inner sensitivity.
disdain
belie
specious
elusive
29. Judy's great fear was that she might _____ omit a question on the exam and mismark her entire answer sheet.
subside
inadvertently
eulogy
oblivion
30. The boss prefaced his speech by telling a pointless _____ about an encounter he'd had with former President Bush.
equivocal
mollify
peripheral
anecdote
31. No matter how hard Darnell tried to lure the trout into taking the bait - the fish was too _____ to catch.
indifferent
elusive
discrepancy
altruistic
32. Her wealthy suitors wooed her with _____ gifts.
resigned
endorse
lavish
prevalent
33. Their _____ in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
constraint
quandary
prudent
disparity
34. The uncrowned queen of the fashion industry - Diana was famous for her _____ taste.
banal
detachment
impeccable
scrutiny
35. I was bowled over by the _____ of Amy's welcome. What an enthusiastic greeting!
anarchy
proximity
exuberance
corroborate
36. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
placate
contentious
quandary
equivocal
37. Katya's _____ love of justice moved her to champion the cause of anyone she considered unfairly treated by society.
impeccable
inherent
reticent
pervasive
38. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
succinct
recluse
ephemeral
eclectic
39. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
redundant
lavish
impede
hyperbole
40. A firm believer in democratic government - she could not understand the _____ of people who never bothered to vote.
divergent
apathy
renounce
explicit
41. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
recluse
anarchy
nonchalance
strident
42. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.
furtive
fastidious
astute
fervor
43. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
austere
adversary
terse
reserve
44. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
surpass
cryptic
hyperbole
esoteric
45. Pointing out that the candidate consistently had voted against strengthening antipollution legislation - the reporter _____ her claim that she was a fervent environmentalist.
abstract
corroborate
debunk
enhance
46. The museum curator placed the Eskimo-carved wooden totem pole in _____ with two contemporary stone masks from Africa - creating a stunning effect.
placate
juxtaposition
preclude
decorum
47. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
ambivalence
corroborate
reticent
reprimand
48. When Johnny came down with a bad case of poison oak - the doctor recommended calamine lotion to _____ the itching.
detachment
exuberance
alleviate
expedient
49. This alleged fiscal crisis is no crisis at all. it is based on _____ claims about financial institutions and on scare stories about impending economic ruin.
specious
esoteric
whimsical
austere
50. As far as I'm concerned - Apple's claims about its new computer are pure _____; no machine is that good!
constraint
extraneous
ostentatious
hyperbole