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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. 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
oblivion
pervasive
document
2. Thoroughly baffled by Holmes's _____ remarks - Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.
ephemeral
ostentatious
partisan
cryptic
3. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
rebuttal
predilection
ironic
ambivalence
4. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
preclude
censure
quandary
capricious
5. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
sporadic
abstract
ostentatious
altruistic
6. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.
ascetic
skeptic
reprove
resigned
7. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
whimsical
mitigate
affirmation
divergent
8. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
deprecate
incongruous
presumptuous
oblivion
9. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
preclude
exuberance
mundane
derision
10. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
mitigate
incongruous
usurp
adversity
11. His coarse - hard-bitten exterior _____ his inner sensitivity.
belie
quandary
malicious
transient
12. Suppose you are accepted by Harvard - Stanford - and Yale. Which one would you attend? Remember - this is only a _____ situation.
enhance
succinct
hypothetical
delineate
13. 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.
terse
ephemeral
contentious
allusion
14. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.
zealot
superficial
banal
juxtaposition
15. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
debilitate
innocuous
criterion
corroborate
16. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
discerning
divergent
dogmatic
impede
17. The legendary athlete Jim Thorpe - who _____ all his competitors at the 1912 Olympic Games - made a name for himself in baseball - football - and track.
implement
surpass
erudite
prevalent
18. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.
inherent
reserve
disparage
mitigate
19. Although Nancy enjoyed Bill's _____ - lighthearted companionship - she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.
refute
frivolous
proximity
juxtaposition
20. Rumors of police corruption led the mayor to _____ an investigation into the department's activities.
instigate
concise
compliance
levity
21. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.
pervasive
levity
turbulent
furtive
22. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.
malicious
emulate
belie
delineate
23. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.
rebuttal
verbose
sporadic
guile
24. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
prevalent
abridge
derivative
incorrigible
25. The coming trip to France should provide a _____ test of the value of my conversational French class.
affirmation
pragmatic
prudent
eulogy
26. The senator was _____ for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.
censure
oblivion
discrepancy
eclectic
27. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.
disdain
adversary
reserve
exemplary
28. To win his audience - the speaker used every _____ trick in the book.
cryptic
rhetorical
cursory
retract
29. Stop giggling and wriggling around in the pew; such _____ is improper in church.
autonomous
levity
fallacious
strident
30. A born storyteller - my father loved to _____ anecdotes about his early years in New York.
hypothetical
discerning
recount
proximity
31. Although you can still hear _____ outbursts of laughter and signing outside - the Halloween parade has passed; the party is over till next year.
banal
enhance
skeptic
sporadic
32. 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.
rebuttal
cursory
lethargic
derivative
33. Cool - calm - and collected - James Bond shows remarkable _____ in the face of danger.
nonchalance
soporific
compliance
erudite
34. As far as I'm concerned - Apple's claims about its new computer are pure _____; no machine is that good!
retract
implement
hyperbole
furtive
35. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.
proliferation
reticent
derision
quandary
36. 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.
capricious
homogeneous
apathy
gregarious
37. We could tell we were in serious trouble from the _____ of the principal's expression.
rebuttal
allusion
gravity
extricate
38. Disappointed in love - Miss Emily became a _____; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.
sporadic
conciliatory
satirical
recluse
39. The costume designer _____ the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.
brevity
ambivalence
embellish
derision
40. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
alleviate
scrutiny
rancor
ephemeral
41. An occasional glass of wine with dinner is relatively _____ and should have no ill effect on you.
satirical
exemplary
innocuous
vacillate
42. In Tibet today - the common people still _____ their traditional spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.
incite
expedient
laconic
venerate
43. 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.
levity
mitigate
incongruous
endorse
44. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.
homogeneous
astute
taciturn
obdurate
45. When you send a message on Twitter - be _____; a tweet cannot be more than 140 characters long.
affirmation
concise
adulation
reserve
46. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.
flagrant
opportunist
arbitrary
mitigate
47. Nothing could shake his _____ that his children would get the best education that money could buy.
censure
derivative
coercion
resolution
48. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
adulation
nurture
ostentatious
reticent
49. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
inane
undermine
profound
ephemeral
50. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
profound
innocuous
aesthetic
equivocal