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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. In Tibet today - the common people still _____ their traditional spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.
venerate
abridge
scrutiny
fallacious
2. After a decade of popularity - Hurston's works had fallen into _____; no one bothered to read her novels and short stories any more.
condone
oblivion
cryptic
mitigate
3. Because Sal once had fallen asleep while reading War and Peace - he thought that all Russian novels were _____.
soporific
brevity
assumption
strident
4. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
mitigate
dismiss
frivolous
preclude
5. The architect realized that her design for the new school had to be in _____ with the local building code.
nonchalance
reprove
skeptic
compliance
6. Thoroughly baffled by Holmes's _____ remarks - Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.
recount
sporadic
cryptic
notoriety
7. Flat prose and flat ginger are equally _____; both lack sparkle.
inane
insipid
scrutiny
ambiguous
8. Drinking alcohol can _____ your ability to drive safely; if you're going to drink - don't drive.
impair
undermine
dismiss
subside
9. Although Nancy enjoyed Bill's _____ - lighthearted companionship - she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.
renounce
deprecate
frivolous
refute
10. In a brief essay - describe a person you admire - someone whose virtues and achievements you would like to _____.
emulate
astute
resigned
partisan
11. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
proliferation
placate
jocular
renounce
12. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
rebuttal
mitigate
endorse
frivolous
13. Without additional funding - it may not be _____ to build a new stadium for the team on the city's highly developed West Side.
feasible
verbose
nurture
disseminate
14. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.
exemplary
surpass
transient
inherent
15. 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.
preclude
opulence
lethargic
deprecate
16. Josh is such a greedy _____ that - as soon as the earthquake struck - he tripled the price of bottled water at his store.
reserve
transient
opportunist
reticent
17. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
exacerbate
discerning
specious
volatile
18. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
incorrigible
lethargic
criterion
satirical
19. When the boys first met their new stepmother - they felt some _____ - but eventually they lost that initial awkwardness and talked with her comfortably.
extol
hyperbole
capricious
constraint
20. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
ephemeral
capricious
recluse
fastidious
21. Although the movie star was no genius - she was sufficiently _____ to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.
discerning
criterion
delineate
turbulent
22. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.
verbose
capricious
notoriety
coercion
23. The winter storm was ______; it changed course constantly.
pragmatic
brevity
capricious
exacerbate
24. The boss prefaced his speech by telling a pointless _____ about an encounter he'd had with former President Bush.
anecdote
rectify
hypothetical
adversity
25. Disappointed in love - Miss Emily became a _____; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.
sporadic
superfluous
recluse
inane
26. 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
reprimand
lavish
exemplary
27. Historically - traders and missionaries often proved themselves to be _____ explorers - bravely venturing into new territories despite the dangers involved.
emulate
interpid
juxtaposition
prevalent
28. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.
flagrant
ambivalence
reprimand
disseminate
29. The legendary athlete Jim Thorpe - who _____ all his competitors at the 1912 Olympic Games - made a name for himself in baseball - football - and track.
haughtiness
surpass
gravity
venerate
30. 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.
decorum
incorrigible
guile
autonomous
31. The bottle of wine I brought to Sharon's party was certainly _____: how was I to know that Sharon owned a winery?
guile
explicit
redundant
instigate
32. Their _____ in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
reprimand
disparity
endorse
opulence
33. Government agents have been known to use wiretapping and other _____ methods to spy on suspected terrorists.
alleviate
disparage
extricate
surreptitious
34. In a fiery speech - Mario _____ his fellow students to go out on strike to protest the university's anti-affirmative action stand.
incite
hypothetical
taciturn
constraint
35. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.
levity
rancor
specious
pervasive
36. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.
profound
delineate
opportunist
affirmation
37. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
strident
refute
explicit
proliferation
38. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.
reticent
laconic
impede
conciliatory
39. The museum curator placed the Eskimo-carved wooden totem pole in _____ with two contemporary stone masks from Africa - creating a stunning effect.
juxtaposition
expedient
refute
strident
40. 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.
debunk
homogeneous
presumptuous
scrutiny
41. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
anarchy
esoteric
adversary
impede
42. Despite Tom's _____ of innocence - Aunt Polly suspected he had eaten the pie.
affirmation
metaphor
eulogy
ambivalence
43. A pragmatic politician - he was guided more by what was _____ than by what was right.
cryptic
expedient
homogeneous
ironic
44. At the protest rally - the students cheered the strikers and booed the dean with equal _____.
fervor
reserve
scrupulous
rhetorical
45. Because the student body at their daughter's prep school was so _____ - they decided to send her to a school that offered greater cultural diversity.
homogeneous
ostentatious
astute
predilection
46. When you place a phone call from an airplane - _____ is essential; you are charged for every minute.
brevity
recount
advocate
decorum
47. These endorsements written by satisfied customers _____ our claim that Barron's SAT is the best SAT-prep book on the market.
peripheral
substantiate
divergent
derision
48. Is an old-fashioned hairstyle an apt _____ for being out of step with the times and in need of change?
instigate
heresy
metaphor
extricate
49. Unlike Widow Douglas - who _____ Huck's minor offenses - Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
condone
pragmatic
corroborate
nonchalance
50. Judy's great fear was that she might _____ omit a question on the exam and mismark her entire answer sheet.
meticulous
inadvertently
interpid
ascetic