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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. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
instigate
profound
ephemeral
ascetic
2. 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.
enhance
reserve
astute
succinct
3. In a brief essay - describe a person you admire - someone whose virtues and achievements you would like to _____.
redundant
deprecate
arbitrary
emulate
4. Government agents have been known to use wiretapping and other _____ methods to spy on suspected terrorists.
surreptitious
resigned
ambivalence
juxtaposition
5. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
adversity
belie
alleviate
profane
6. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
succinct
interpid
exacerbate
enhance
7. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
strident
decorum
rancor
alleviate
8. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
rebuttal
elucidate
opportunist
compliance
9. Although defeat appeared inevitable - the general was _____ in his refusal to surrender.
cursory
incorrigible
flagrant
obdurate
10. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
profound
deprecate
cryptic
reprove
11. 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.
soporific
skeptic
retract
ironic
12. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
anarchy
skeptic
quandary
peripheral
13. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
resigned
austere
instigate
recluse
14. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
document
derision
exacerbate
expedient
15. After a decade of popularity - Hurston's works had fallen into _____; no one bothered to read her novels and short stories any more.
heresy
criterion
usurp
oblivion
16. Warned of _____ weather conditions ahead - the pilot told the passengers to fasten their seat belts.
equivocal
soporific
assumption
turbulent
17. These endorsements written by satisfied customers _____ our claim that Barron's SAT is the best SAT-prep book on the market.
scrutiny
surreptitious
substantiate
coercion
18. Though Aunt Bea at times had to _____ Opie for inattention in church - she believed he was at heart a God-fearing lad.
quandary
disparage
reprove
nonchalance
19. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
decorum
enhance
equivocal
expedient
20. Some of the newer - less formal passages on the SAT have a _____ tone that is intended to make them more appealing to students.
colloquial
dismiss
incite
autonomous
21. Othello's false friend lago uses considerable _____ to trick Othello into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him
inadvertently
guile
exemplary
renounce
22. Nobody minded when Professor Renoir's lectures wandered away from their official them; his _____ were always more fascinating than the topic of the day.
digression
austere
insipid
elucidate
23. The legendary athlete Jim Thorpe - who _____ all his competitors at the 1912 Olympic Games - made a name for himself in baseball - football - and track.
resolution
altruistic
surpass
buttress
24. The coming trip to France should provide a _____ test of the value of my conversational French class.
pragmatic
exacerbate
extraneous
equivocal
25. Although you can still hear _____ outbursts of laughter and signing outside - the Halloween parade has passed; the party is over till next year.
verbose
indifferent
anecdote
sporadic
26. Please try not to include so many _____ details in your report; the bare facts are all I need.
ambiguous
explicit
superfluous
extol
27. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
insipid
austere
satirical
superficial
28. The bottle of wine I brought to Sharon's party was certainly _____: how was I to know that Sharon owned a winery?
redundant
whimsical
hypothetical
elusive
29. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
extricate
guile
concise
vacillate
30. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
surpass
subside
ambiguous
endorse
31. I am a _____ about the proposed new health plan; I want some proof that it will work.
renounce
insipid
skeptic
credulity
32. Historically - traders and missionaries often proved themselves to be _____ explorers - bravely venturing into new territories despite the dangers involved.
feasible
incite
interpid
ironic
33. Katya's _____ love of justice moved her to champion the cause of anyone she considered unfairly treated by society.
notoriety
inherent
adversity
flagrant
34. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
corroborate
impede
abstract
altruistic
35. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
levity
vacillate
corroborate
ambiguous
36. She kept all the receipts form her business trip in order to _____ her expenses for the Internal Revenue Service.
document
scrupulous
abridge
expedient
37. To win his audience - the speaker used every _____ trick in the book.
impair
exuberance
rhetorical
credulity
38. Drinking alcohol can _____ your ability to drive safely; if you're going to drink - don't drive.
impair
whimsical
incorrigible
pragmatic
39. The classic cowboy hero is a _____ figure - someone generally described as the strong - silent type.
fervor
nurture
laconic
resigned
40. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
relegate
advocate
abridge
lavish
41. Michael's severe bout of the flue _____ him so much that for a week he was too tired to go back to work.
mollify
capricious
derivative
debilitate
42. As far as I'm concerned - Apple's claims about its new computer are pure _____; no machine is that good!
hyperbole
concise
corroborate
gravity
43. At the protest rally - the students cheered the strikers and booed the dean with equal _____.
abstract
apathy
immutable
fervor
44. When Elizabeth realized that Darcy considered himself too good to dance with his inferiors - she took great offense at his _____.
strident
flagrant
fallacious
haughtiness
45. 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.
resolution
turbulent
guile
allusion
46. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied; be _____ about what's bothering you.
superfluous
hypothetical
explicit
extol
47. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
eclectic
dogmatic
hypothetical
soporific
48. In Tibet today - the common people still _____ their traditional spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.
satirical
venerate
elusive
disseminate
49. Judy's great fear was that she might _____ omit a question on the exam and mismark her entire answer sheet.
venerate
inadvertently
ephemeral
homogeneous
50. The senator was _____ for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.
censure
eclectic
austere
exacerbate