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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. Stop giggling and wriggling around in the pew; such _____ is improper in church.
furtive
renounce
terse
levity
2. Torn between loving her parents one minute and hating them the next - she was confused by the _____ of her feelings.
predilection
dogmatic
ambivalence
incongruous
3. Looking for any inconsistency in the testimony that might exonerate his client - the defense lawyer pounced on a _____ between the two witnesses' versions of what had occurred.
rebuttal
lethargic
arbitrary
discrepancy
4. Some of the newer - less formal passages on the SAT have a _____ tone that is intended to make them more appealing to students.
nonchalance
colloquial
skeptic
predilection
5. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
divergent
mollify
quandary
predilection
6. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.
induce
reticent
belie
concise
7. Uncertain which suitor she ought to accept - the princess _____ - first favoring one and then the other.
vacillate
censure
abridge
meticulous
8. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
dogmatic
substantiate
volatile
assumption
9. Although Nancy enjoyed Bill's _____ - lighthearted companionship - she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.
adulation
impede
frivolous
gregarious
10. Violently disagreeing with the referees' ruling - Coach Ben became so _____ that they threw him out of the game.
pragmatic
contentious
deprecate
incongruous
11. The young princess made the foolish _____ that the regent would not object to her taking the reins of power.
flagrant
volatile
assumption
strident
12. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
colloquial
extol
exacerbate
profound
13. When I saw how Fred and his fraternity brothers had trashed the frat house - I decided to _____ my offer to let them use our summer cottage over spring break.
aesthetic
retract
zealot
ostentatious
14. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
reticent
anarchy
rancor
benign
15. When you send a message on Twitter - be _____; a tweet cannot be more than 140 characters long.
hyperbole
colloquial
concise
buttress
16. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions - Max talked only of _____ matters - such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
taciturn
mundane
satirical
allusion
17. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.
debilitate
resigned
flagrant
retract
18. 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.
eulogy
scrupulous
allusion
recluse
19. Although Georgia O'Keeffe painted many subjects over the years - she had a definite _____ for painting flowers.
soporific
pervasive
predilection
decorum
20. The coming trip to France should provide a _____ test of the value of my conversational French class.
haughtiness
document
pragmatic
malicious
21. Even though she knew she would be burned at the stake as a witch - Joan of Arc refused to _____ her belief that her voices came from God.
censure
astute
renounce
extraneous
22. The airline customer service agent tried to _____ the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.
mollify
repudiate
proliferation
surpass
23. 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.
presumptuous
deprecate
peripheral
pragmatic
24. Suppose you are accepted by Harvard - Stanford - and Yale. Which one would you attend? Remember - this is only a _____ situation.
hypothetical
induce
conciliatory
document
25. Michael's severe bout of the flue _____ him so much that for a week he was too tired to go back to work.
profane
extricate
debilitate
detachment
26. What _____ did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner?
criterion
contentious
impair
scrupulous
27. Although her _____ smile and gentle bearing made Miss Marple seem to be a sweet little old lady - in reality she was a tough-minded - shrewd observer of human nature.
transient
equivocal
affirmation
benign
28. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
coercion
extricate
divergent
hyperbole
29. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his formidable _____.
placate
adulation
adversary
incite
30. A pragmatic politician - he was guided more by what was _____ than by what was right.
retract
expedient
reserve
eulogy
31. Government agents have been known to use wiretapping and other _____ methods to spy on suspected terrorists.
detachment
recluse
abstract
surreptitious
32. Thirty years after the war - she could not let go of the past but was still consumed with _____ against the foe.
benign
extricate
discrepancy
rancor
33. The bottle of wine I brought to Sharon's party was certainly _____: how was I to know that Sharon owned a winery?
enhance
redundant
deprecate
disparity
34. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
undermine
discerning
quandary
ostentatious
35. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
embellish
recount
recluse
strident
36. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
instigate
eclectic
relegate
profane
37. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
opulence
impede
mundane
induce
38. Paradoxically - _____ reasoning does not always produce incorrect results; even though your logic may be flawed - the conclusion you reach may still be correct.
proximity
fallacious
autonomous
allusion
39. Because solar energy has the power to reduce greenhouse gases and increase energy efficiency - conversion to the use of solar energy may help _____ the threat of global warming.
aesthetic
pervasive
mitigate
arbitrary
40. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.
exemplary
dogmatic
satirical
notoriety
41. Tina was still angry despite Tony's soft and _____ words.
abstract
reserve
frivolous
conciliatory
42. No wonder Ted doesn't think straight! His mind is so cluttered with _____ information that he can't concentrate on the essentials.
debunk
fallacious
opulence
extraneous
43. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
undermine
ambiguous
apathy
haughtiness
44. Historically - traders and missionaries often proved themselves to be _____ explorers - bravely venturing into new territories despite the dangers involved.
proximity
interpid
garrulous
assumption
45. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
mundane
esoteric
cryptic
divergent
46. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
austere
placate
ostentatious
mollify
47. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
turbulent
satirical
constraint
prudent
48. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
benign
innate
quandary
succinct
49. Rumors of police corruption led the mayor to _____ an investigation into the department's activities.
compliance
instigate
acclaim
inherent
50. Judy's great fear was that she might _____ omit a question on the exam and mismark her entire answer sheet.
endorse
renounce
inadvertently
usurp