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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. Flat prose and flat ginger are equally _____; both lack sparkle.
fastidious
transient
insipid
surpass
2. Mother was a _____ housekeeper - unwilling to allow a single speck of dirt to mar her perfect home.
meticulous
venerate
adulation
prudent
3. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
adversary
undermine
gregarious
brevity
4. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
satirical
ambiguous
verbose
prolific
5. We made an _____ choice to eat at the first restaurant we saw.
arbitrary
vacillate
contentious
predilection
6. 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.
cursory
ambiguous
impair
feasible
7. The legendary athlete Jim Thorpe - who _____ all his competitors at the 1912 Olympic Games - made a name for himself in baseball - football - and track.
surpass
proliferation
affirmation
austere
8. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
derivative
notoriety
elusive
pervasive
9. To be low man on the totem pole is to have a decidedly inferior place in the _____.
insipid
advocate
hierarchy
garrulous
10. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
altruistic
abstract
hierarchy
credulity
11. It is _____ that his success came when he least wanted it.
elusive
assumption
ironic
scrupulous
12. No matter how hard Darnell tried to lure the trout into taking the bait - the fish was too _____ to catch.
elusive
abridge
malicious
presumptuous
13. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
preclude
meticulous
expedient
disdain
14. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
ambivalence
adversary
ambiguous
profound
15. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
innocuous
levity
esoteric
extricate
16. On certain issues of principle - the senator refused to take a _____ stand - but let her conscience be her guide.
gregarious
partisan
extol
debilitate
17. The costume designer _____ the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.
deprecate
levity
embellish
ironic
18. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
alleviate
divergent
predilection
inherent
19. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's _____ sense.
taciturn
skeptic
aesthetic
contentious
20. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions - Max talked only of _____ matters - such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
autonomous
mundane
adulation
gravity
21. When Elizabeth realized that Darcy considered himself too good to dance with his inferiors - she took great offense at his _____.
document
proximity
resolution
haughtiness
22. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
belie
whimsical
rebuttal
redundant
23. Although you can still hear _____ outbursts of laughter and signing outside - the Halloween parade has passed; the party is over till next year.
sporadic
anarchy
nurture
compliance
24. The glitter and _____ of the ballroom took Cinderella's breath away.
cursory
homogeneous
opulence
transient
25. 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.
allusion
levity
sporadic
adversary
26. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
placate
rectify
whimsical
advocate
27. No wonder Ted doesn't think straight! His mind is so cluttered with _____ information that he can't concentrate on the essentials.
induce
superfluous
vacillate
extraneous
28. 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.
altruistic
gregarious
lethargic
turbulent
29. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
proximity
strident
criterion
elucidate
30. Othello's false friend lago uses considerable _____ to trick Othello into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him
cryptic
flagrant
reprimand
guile
31. As far as I'm concerned - Apple's claims about its new computer are pure _____; no machine is that good!
resolution
hyperbole
partisan
haughtiness
32. The wealthy - self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict - _____ lifestyle practiced by members of some monastic orders.
immutable
zealot
ascetic
abridge
33. In Tibet today - the common people still _____ their traditional spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.
embellish
venerate
jocular
succinct
34. 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
buttress
constraint
mollify
35. Stop giggling and wriggling around in the pew; such _____ is improper in church.
cryptic
heresy
prolific
levity
36. 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.
partisan
enhance
guile
reserve
37. We could tell we were in serious trouble from the _____ of the principal's expression.
gravity
dogmatic
rectify
constraint
38. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
aesthetic
lethargic
quandary
predilection
39. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
guile
debilitate
disdain
peripheral
40. A born storyteller - my father loved to _____ anecdotes about his early years in New York.
opportunist
digression
profound
recount
41. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
terse
succinct
scrupulous
belie
42. Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for city council the mayor would _____.
endorse
colloquial
enhance
eclectic
43. In a fiery speech - Mario _____ his fellow students to go out on strike to protest the university's anti-affirmative action stand.
derision
nonchalance
incite
gravity
44. 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.
hyperbole
transient
discrepancy
reprimand
45. The architect realized that her design for the new school had to be in _____ with the local building code.
ostentatious
compliance
scrutiny
fastidious
46. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.
predilection
flagrant
astute
corroborate
47. A firm believer in democratic government - she could not understand the _____ of people who never bothered to vote.
opulence
apathy
insipid
obdurate
48. The Head Start program attempts to _____ prekindergarten children so that they will do well when they enter elementary school.
apathy
nurture
implement
scrutiny
49. Politicians of both the extreme right and left annoy me because they do not sound like people but parrots mindlessly repeating _____ clich
dogmatic
notoriety
specious
conciliatory
50. Although the movie star was no genius - she was sufficiently _____ to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.
haughtiness
mundane
discerning
dogmatic