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. 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.
erudite
ostentatious
implement
retract
2. 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.
prolific
autonomous
debunk
lavish
3. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
ostentatious
redundant
discrepancy
furtive
4. Violently disagreeing with the referees' ruling - Coach Ben became so _____ that they threw him out of the game.
feasible
contentious
guile
undermine
5. We made an _____ choice to eat at the first restaurant we saw.
gravity
substantiate
disseminate
arbitrary
6. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.
verbose
ascetic
volatile
malicious
7. In Tibet today - the common people still _____ their traditional spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.
venerate
recount
presumptuous
apathy
8. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
divergent
benign
succinct
anarchy
9. The conceited rap star relished the _____ he received from his groupies and yes-men.
censure
adulation
benign
cursory
10. When the boys first met their new stepmother - they felt some _____ - but eventually they lost that initial awkwardness and talked with her comfortably.
constraint
oblivion
deprecate
partisan
11. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.
impeccable
obdurate
nonchalance
delineate
12. Politicians of both the extreme right and left annoy me because they do not sound like people but parrots mindlessly repeating _____ clich
buttress
dogmatic
vacillate
reticent
13. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
belie
divergent
impeccable
guile
14. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.
ephemeral
indifferent
superficial
hyperbole
15. The Head Start program attempts to _____ prekindergarten children so that they will do well when they enter elementary school.
succinct
abstract
nurture
renounce
16. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
furtive
inane
conciliatory
volatile
17. Blind people sometimes develop a compensatory ability to sense the _____ of objects around them.
proximity
fallacious
brevity
cursory
18. Though Aunt Bea at times had to _____ Opie for inattention in church - she believed he was at heart a God-fearing lad.
enhance
reprove
detachment
debilitate
19. The coming trip to France should provide a _____ test of the value of my conversational French class.
jocular
colloquial
pragmatic
proliferation
20. The inquisitors used both physical and psychological _____ to force Joan of Arc to deny that her visions were sent by God.
coercion
proximity
meticulous
exemplary
21. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
derivative
notoriety
anarchy
soporific
22. I am a _____ about the proposed new health plan; I want some proof that it will work.
exacerbate
levity
skeptic
gravity
23. Typically - partygoers are _____; hermits are not.
adversary
gregarious
enhance
predilection
24. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
satirical
disdain
derivative
guile
25. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
alleviate
erudite
coercion
equivocal
26. The doctor assured the boy's parents that his fever would eventually _____.
usurp
adversary
subside
soporific
27. Her wealthy suitors wooed her with _____ gifts.
esoteric
presumptuous
surpass
lavish
28. 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.
discrepancy
guile
laconic
endorse
29. In a brief essay - describe a person you admire - someone whose virtues and achievements you would like to _____.
emulate
esoteric
document
anarchy
30. Government agents have been known to use wiretapping and other _____ methods to spy on suspected terrorists.
abridge
disseminate
superficial
surreptitious
31. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
zealot
verbose
peripheral
fallacious
32. Noticing the _____ glance the customer gave the diamond bracelet on the counter - the clerk wondered whether he had a potential shoplifter in the store.
prevalent
furtive
allusion
instigate
33. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied; be _____ about what's bothering you.
inherent
explicit
homogeneous
advocate
34. Their _____ in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
disparity
extol
expedient
exemplary
35. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
specious
impair
jocular
placate
36. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
gregarious
malicious
indifferent
strident
37. Is an old-fashioned hairstyle an apt _____ for being out of step with the times and in need of change?
metaphor
interpid
divergent
relegate
38. Instead of delivering a spoken _____ at Genny's memorial service - Jeff sang a song he had written in her honor.
eulogy
cryptic
aesthetic
cursory
39. Please try not to include so many _____ details in your report; the bare facts are all I need.
mundane
superfluous
induce
ostentatious
40. Tina was still angry despite Tony's soft and _____ words.
reprove
mollify
conciliatory
explicit
41. 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.
mitigate
debunk
eulogy
capricious
42. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class - she was terrified that she would receive a harsh _____ from Miss Minchin.
reprimand
conciliatory
vacillate
juxtaposition
43. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
extricate
presumptuous
prevalent
prudent
44. 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.
advocate
rebuttal
cursory
elucidate
45. 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.
renounce
profane
guile
ascetic
46. With its worn-out dialogue and predictable plot - the sitcom struck me as unbearably _____.
erudite
belie
fervor
banal
47. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
opportunist
adversity
austere
laconic
48. The winter storm was ______; it changed course constantly.
capricious
turbulent
innocuous
disdain
49. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.
garrulous
zealot
mollify
disparage
50. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.
censure
constraint
reticent
sporadic