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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. 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.
disseminate
hyperbole
allusion
proliferation
2. 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.
divergent
allusion
elucidate
inane
3. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
emulate
coercion
equivocal
impeccable
4. Jealous of Cinderella's beauty - her _____ stepsisters expressed their spite by forcing her to do menial tasks.
resolution
renounce
ephemeral
malicious
5. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.
gregarious
eclectic
delineate
derivative
6. Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for city council the mayor would _____.
conciliatory
substantiate
endorse
placate
7. The uncrowned queen of the fashion industry - Diana was famous for her _____ taste.
cursory
impeccable
resolution
condone
8. The winter storm was ______; it changed course constantly.
metaphor
allusion
renounce
capricious
9. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
ironic
impair
profound
laconic
10. Blind people sometimes develop a compensatory ability to sense the _____ of objects around them.
feasible
proximity
disseminate
meticulous
11. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
derivative
substantiate
fallacious
frivolous
12. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
superfluous
succinct
expedient
arbitrary
13. Because Sal once had fallen asleep while reading War and Peace - he thought that all Russian novels were _____.
flagrant
relegate
resigned
soporific
14. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
ambivalence
inane
meticulous
exacerbate
15. Historically - traders and missionaries often proved themselves to be _____ explorers - bravely venturing into new territories despite the dangers involved.
interpid
meticulous
rancor
superfluous
16. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
surreptitious
rebuttal
deprecate
volatile
17. Although Eric knew the boss had no sense of humor - he couldn't resist making one _____ remark.
brevity
disparage
jocular
mundane
18. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
nurture
transient
abstract
preclude
19. The stereotypical cowboy is a _____ soul - answering lengthy questions with a simple 'yep' or 'nope.'
mitigate
allusion
mundane
taciturn
20. 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 _____.
erudite
disparage
notoriety
nurture
21. Violently disagreeing with the referees' ruling - Coach Ben became so _____ that they threw him out of the game.
exuberance
taciturn
contentious
corroborate
22. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
quandary
endorse
esoteric
turbulent
23. There's no point to what you're saying. Why are you bothering to make such _____ remarks?
gravity
inane
detachment
disseminate
24. The Head Start program attempts to _____ prekindergarten children so that they will do well when they enter elementary school.
pervasive
nurture
fastidious
concise
25. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
substantiate
peripheral
verbose
strident
26. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
gravity
hierarchy
extricate
profound
27. Stop giggling and wriggling around in the pew; such _____ is improper in church.
laconic
levity
substantiate
hypothetical
28. A firm believer in democratic government - she could not understand the _____ of people who never bothered to vote.
apathy
ephemeral
profane
recluse
29. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
volatile
discrepancy
gregarious
nonchalance
30. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.
reticent
alleviate
predilection
immutable
31. She kept all the receipts form her business trip in order to _____ her expenses for the Internal Revenue Service.
gregarious
garrulous
erudite
document
32. Disappointed in love - Miss Emily became a _____; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.
corroborate
recluse
strident
equivocal
33. My editors must assume I'm a _____ writer; they expect me to revise six books this year.
mollify
prolific
recluse
taciturn
34. Towering over the nearby houses - the MacMansion looked wholly _____ in the historic neighborhood of small Craftsman bungalows.
fervor
incongruous
credulity
corroborate
35. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied; be _____ about what's bothering you.
delineate
explicit
debunk
censure
36. Thirty years after the war - she could not let go of the past but was still consumed with _____ against the foe.
preclude
incite
lethargic
rancor
37. A pragmatic politician - he was guided more by what was _____ than by what was right.
implement
anarchy
terse
expedient
38. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
placate
pragmatic
immutable
preclude
39. Mother was a _____ housekeeper - unwilling to allow a single speck of dirt to mar her perfect home.
extricate
meticulous
proximity
incongruous
40. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.
elusive
constraint
resigned
undermine
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.
strident
hypothetical
substantiate
usurp
42. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.
satirical
astute
laconic
debunk
43. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
haughtiness
inadvertently
apathy
ephemeral
44. The wealthy - self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict - _____ lifestyle practiced by members of some monastic orders.
ascetic
belie
feasible
ambivalence
45. When you place a phone call from an airplane - _____ is essential; you are charged for every minute.
credulity
lavish
brevity
emulate
46. 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.
reserve
strident
notoriety
surreptitious
47. In the film Funny Face - the bookish heroine _____ fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests.
exemplary
mundane
acclaim
disdain
48. You can _____ your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well.
enhance
garrulous
repudiate
benign
49. 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.
retract
placate
presumptuous
constraint
50. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's _____ sense.
aesthetic
opulence
credulity
levity