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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. Paradoxically - _____ reasoning does not always produce incorrect results; even though your logic may be flawed - the conclusion you reach may still be correct.
reticent
fallacious
refute
volatile
2. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
volatile
cryptic
dogmatic
homogeneous
3. Although you can still hear _____ outbursts of laughter and signing outside - the Halloween parade has passed; the party is over till next year.
sporadic
reprimand
concise
profound
4. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
disparity
hypothetical
belie
abstract
5. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
elusive
placate
arbitrary
abridge
6. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
insipid
elusive
divergent
exemplary
7. Although Nancy enjoyed Bill's _____ - lighthearted companionship - she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.
frivolous
impair
emulate
reprimand
8. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.
indifferent
astute
incongruous
profound
9. Galileo's assertion that the earth moved around the sun directly contradicted the religious teachings of his day; as a result - he was tried for _____.
heresy
predilection
usurp
contentious
10. The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to _____ the lying testimony of the prosecution's sole witness.
scrutiny
prudent
refute
abridge
11. The senator was _____ for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.
censure
mundane
lethargic
adulation
12. The young princess made the foolish _____ that the regent would not object to her taking the reins of power.
elucidate
assumption
extricate
coercion
13. As far as I'm concerned - Apple's claims about its new computer are pure _____; no machine is that good!
fallacious
exuberance
malicious
hyperbole
14. Blind people sometimes develop a compensatory ability to sense the _____ of objects around them.
cryptic
proximity
ostentatious
derivative
15. Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for city council the mayor would _____.
extraneous
endorse
reserve
turbulent
16. I am a _____ about the proposed new health plan; I want some proof that it will work.
skeptic
altruistic
jocular
sporadic
17. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
incorrigible
aesthetic
prevalent
quandary
18. Mother was a _____ housekeeper - unwilling to allow a single speck of dirt to mar her perfect home.
meticulous
dogmatic
succinct
mundane
19. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.
proliferation
disparage
reserve
surreptitious
20. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
partisan
ostentatious
concise
lavish
21. Nothing could shake his _____ that his children would get the best education that money could buy.
contentious
delineate
resolution
inane
22. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
extol
scrutiny
impede
derision
23. You can _____ your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well.
scrupulous
incite
profane
enhance
24. These endorsements written by satisfied customers _____ our claim that Barron's SAT is the best SAT-prep book on the market.
ambivalence
scrupulous
gravity
substantiate
25. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
colloquial
fastidious
mitigate
profound
26. 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.
elucidate
benign
recount
juxtaposition
27. 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
banal
gregarious
divergent
28. Although the movie star was no genius - she was sufficiently _____ to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.
credulity
corroborate
discerning
banal
29. In Tibet today - the common people still _____ their traditional spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.
venerate
zealot
credulity
impede
30. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
adversity
guile
extol
conciliatory
31. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.
superficial
eclectic
derision
indifferent
32. The classic cowboy hero is a _____ figure - someone generally described as the strong - silent type.
disparage
impeccable
abridge
laconic
33. 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.
ascetic
assumption
ambivalence
presumptuous
34. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
interpid
repudiate
eclectic
endorse
35. What _____ did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner?
criterion
exuberance
rancor
taciturn
36. Jealous of Cinderella's beauty - her _____ stepsisters expressed their spite by forcing her to do menial tasks.
malicious
taciturn
immutable
disparage
37. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
discrepancy
frivolous
rebuttal
ascetic
38. Stop giggling and wriggling around in the pew; such _____ is improper in church.
contentious
levity
elucidate
ambivalence
39. Although defeat appeared inevitable - the general was _____ in his refusal to surrender.
instigate
divergent
obdurate
discrepancy
40. In the film Funny Face - the bookish heroine _____ fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests.
instigate
anecdote
fastidious
disdain
41. The wealthy - self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict - _____ lifestyle practiced by members of some monastic orders.
aesthetic
frivolous
prudent
ascetic
42. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied; be _____ about what's bothering you.
explicit
vacillate
gravity
indifferent
43. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.
cryptic
rebuttal
flagrant
exemplary
44. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
delineate
esoteric
disdain
inadvertently
45. His coarse - hard-bitten exterior _____ his inner sensitivity.
belie
prolific
prevalent
predilection
46. The costume designer _____ the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.
embellish
exuberance
buttress
nonchalance
47. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
scrupulous
affirmation
profound
opportunist
48. The Beatles expressed themselves through capricious - flip humor and _____ displays of carefree abandon.
superficial
meticulous
whimsical
disparity
49. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
delineate
renounce
ambiguous
alleviate
50. You had better _____ your accounting errors before the auditors arrive.
rectify
surpass
presumptuous
juxtaposition