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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. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
ironic
extricate
strident
elucidate
2. Paradoxically - _____ reasoning does not always produce incorrect results; even though your logic may be flawed - the conclusion you reach may still be correct.
fallacious
surreptitious
quandary
prolific
3. Is an old-fashioned hairstyle an apt _____ for being out of step with the times and in need of change?
metaphor
hypothetical
debunk
juxtaposition
4. 'Any publicity is good publicity - 'said the starlet. 'If I can't have a good reputation - I'll settle for _____.'
notoriety
disdain
garrulous
debunk
5. 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.
anecdote
cursory
coercion
juxtaposition
6. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
allusion
concise
profound
specious
7. Though Aunt Bea at times had to _____ Opie for inattention in church - she believed he was at heart a God-fearing lad.
autonomous
ephemeral
reprove
scrutiny
8. A radical committed to social change - Reed had no patience with the conservative views _____ in the America of his day.
prevalent
scrutiny
soporific
eulogy
9. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
proliferation
succinct
capricious
exacerbate
10. In providing college scholarships for economically disadvantaged youths - Eugene Lang performed a truly _____ deed.
succinct
altruistic
strident
resolution
11. Please try not to include so many _____ details in your report; the bare facts are all I need.
prevalent
laconic
superfluous
extricate
12. Psychoanalysts must maintain their professional _____ and stay uninvolved with their patients' personal lives.
adversary
detachment
rhetorical
dismiss
13. Katya's _____ love of justice moved her to champion the cause of anyone she considered unfairly treated by society.
abstract
corroborate
resolution
inherent
14. According to Sherlock Homes - the very point that appears to complicate a case - when duly considered and scientifically handled - is the one most likely to _____ it.
rebuttal
elucidate
presumptuous
divergent
15. What _____ did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner?
laconic
gravity
levity
criterion
16. It is _____ that his success came when he least wanted it.
malicious
ironic
homogeneous
arbitrary
17. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.
nonchalance
terse
verbose
ambiguous
18. His coarse - hard-bitten exterior _____ his inner sensitivity.
abstract
coercion
belie
inane
19. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
fastidious
adversary
buttress
insipid
20. 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.
astute
acclaim
volatile
allusion
21. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
divergent
immutable
inherent
austere
22. Though Widow Douglas had hopes of reforming Huck - Miss Watson considered him _____ and swore he would come to no good end.
cryptic
incorrigible
incongruous
arbitrary
23. Without additional funding - it may not be _____ to build a new stadium for the team on the city's highly developed West Side.
feasible
induce
cryptic
heresy
24. When the boys first met their new stepmother - they felt some _____ - but eventually they lost that initial awkwardness and talked with her comfortably.
induce
constraint
banal
feasible
25. The stereotypical cowboy is a _____ soul - answering lengthy questions with a simple 'yep' or 'nope.'
deprecate
extricate
taciturn
extraneous
26. Pointing out that the candidate consistently had voted against strengthening antipollution legislation - the reporter _____ her claim that she was a fervent environmentalist.
sporadic
satirical
debunk
hypothetical
27. No matter how hard Darnell tried to lure the trout into taking the bait - the fish was too _____ to catch.
abridge
jocular
acclaim
elusive
28. Stop giggling and wriggling around in the pew; such _____ is improper in church.
capricious
levity
partisan
explicit
29. The architect realized that her design for the new school had to be in _____ with the local building code.
superfluous
concise
acclaim
compliance
30. You can _____ your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well.
zealot
disdain
enhance
rancor
31. Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for city council the mayor would _____.
guile
endorse
extraneous
assumption
32. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
redundant
peripheral
opportunist
nurture
33. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.
extol
hierarchy
exemplary
prolific
34. 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.
oblivion
rebuttal
incorrigible
lethargic
35. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
nonchalance
credulity
ephemeral
undermine
36. My editors must assume I'm a _____ writer; they expect me to revise six books this year.
transient
guile
prolific
opportunist
37. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
heresy
divergent
malicious
extricate
38. Covering the Olympic Games - the sportscasters _____ every American victory and grumbled about every American defeat.
acclaim
zealot
colloquial
censure
39. Michael's severe bout of the flue _____ him so much that for a week he was too tired to go back to work.
resolution
discrepancy
presumptuous
debilitate
40. The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to _____ the lying testimony of the prosecution's sole witness.
superfluous
enhance
juxtaposition
refute
41. Typically - partygoers are _____; hermits are not.
extraneous
vacillate
gregarious
cryptic
42. Historically - traders and missionaries often proved themselves to be _____ explorers - bravely venturing into new territories despite the dangers involved.
homogeneous
belie
interpid
lethargic
43. Although Eric knew the boss had no sense of humor - he couldn't resist making one _____ remark.
astute
decorum
jocular
explicit
44. The president _____ the astronauts - whom he called 'the pioneers of the Space Age.'
inherent
extol
disdain
allusion
45. Politicians of both the extreme right and left annoy me because they do not sound like people but parrots mindlessly repeating _____ clich
ostentatious
digression
discerning
dogmatic
46. Instead of delivering a spoken _____ at Genny's memorial service - Jeff sang a song he had written in her honor.
eulogy
contentious
altruistic
malicious
47. No wonder Ted doesn't think straight! His mind is so cluttered with _____ information that he can't concentrate on the essentials.
criterion
ambiguous
prudent
extraneous
48. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.
flagrant
whimsical
reprove
reticent
49. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied; be _____ about what's bothering you.
enhance
explicit
debilitate
esoteric
50. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.
jocular
adversary
recluse
reticent