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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. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
proximity
ephemeral
derivative
censure
2. After the quarrel - Gina said nothing could _____ her to talk to Pedro again.
repudiate
induce
innocuous
obdurate
3. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class - she was terrified that she would receive a harsh _____ from Miss Minchin.
reprimand
pervasive
conciliatory
abridge
4. 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
inadvertently
scrupulous
skeptic
5. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
incite
exacerbate
benign
rancor
6. Unlike Widow Douglas - who _____ Huck's minor offenses - Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
prevalent
anarchy
colloquial
condone
7. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
austere
corroborate
adulation
arbitrary
8. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
allusion
belie
venerate
deprecate
9. Disappointed in love - Miss Emily became a _____; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.
banal
proximity
recluse
alleviate
10. After Ralph dropped his second try of drinks that week - the manager swiftly _____ him to a minor post behind the bar.
incongruous
esoteric
relegate
placate
11. Her wealthy suitors wooed her with _____ gifts.
ambivalence
lavish
corroborate
whimsical
12. Nothing could shake his _____ that his children would get the best education that money could buy.
turbulent
resolution
profane
abstract
13. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
nonchalance
elucidate
placate
criterion
14. No wonder Ted doesn't think straight! His mind is so cluttered with _____ information that he can't concentrate on the essentials.
profound
reticent
extraneous
criterion
15. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
extricate
rebuttal
redundant
prudent
16. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
extraneous
scrupulous
undermine
contentious
17. 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.
redundant
derivative
disparage
presumptuous
18. A born storyteller - my father loved to _____ anecdotes about his early years in New York.
advocate
strident
profound
recount
19. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
document
corroborate
satirical
alleviate
20. Torn between loving her parents one minute and hating them the next - she was confused by the _____ of her feelings.
incorrigible
metaphor
ambivalence
exemplary
21. The senator was _____ for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.
censure
delineate
hypothetical
furtive
22. Though Aunt Bea at times had to _____ Opie for inattention in church - she believed he was at heart a God-fearing lad.
prolific
predilection
reprove
corroborate
23. Paradoxically - _____ reasoning does not always produce incorrect results; even though your logic may be flawed - the conclusion you reach may still be correct.
fallacious
usurp
placate
cryptic
24. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
abstract
garrulous
contentious
terse
25. 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
gravity
rebuttal
autonomous
26. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.
resigned
disparage
altruistic
derivative
27. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
advocate
peripheral
undermine
disdain
28. Although Georgia O'Keeffe painted subjects over the years - she had a definite _____ for painting flowers.
predilection
credulity
disparity
guile
29. Violently disagreeing with the referees' ruling - Coach Ben became so _____ that they threw him out of the game.
retract
affirmation
recluse
contentious
30. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
profound
ephemeral
volatile
derision
31. Rumors of police corruption led the mayor to _____ an investigation into the department's activities.
impeccable
juxtaposition
instigate
scrutiny
32. To win his audience - the speaker used every _____ trick in the book.
autonomous
rhetorical
guile
document
33. With its worn-out dialogue and predictable plot - the sitcom struck me as unbearably _____.
abstract
proliferation
taciturn
banal
34. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
opulence
renounce
superficial
adversity
35. When you place a phone call from an airplane - _____ is essential; you are charged for every minute.
retract
brevity
partisan
prolific
36. After a decade of popularity - Hurston's works had fallen into _____; no one bothered to read her novels and short stories any more.
mitigate
oblivion
adversity
haughtiness
37. Even the best-mannered students have trouble behaving with _____ on the last day of school.
furtive
reserve
reprimand
decorum
38. Stories in The New York Times often include _____ allusions to obscure people and events.
adversary
flagrant
explicit
esoteric
39. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
astute
ascetic
prolific
impede
40. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.
colloquial
apathy
mollify
superficial
41. Because Carmen believed in Juan's fidelity - she _____ the notion that he might be having an affair.
emulate
dismiss
capricious
renounce
42. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
erudite
constraint
ambiguous
rancor
43. I am a _____ about the proposed new health plan; I want some proof that it will work.
ephemeral
disdain
verbose
skeptic
44. Though Widow Douglas had hopes of reforming Huck - Miss Watson considered him _____ and swore he would come to no good end.
incorrigible
metaphor
feasible
lethargic
45. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
endorse
strident
volatile
substantiate
46. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
rebuttal
feasible
abstract
surpass
47. Although her _____ smile and gentle bearing made Miss Marple seem to be a sweet little old lady - in reality she was a tough-minded - shrewd observer of human nature.
garrulous
benign
oblivion
conciliatory
48. On certain issues of principle - the senator refused to take a _____ stand - but let her conscience be her guide.
partisan
lethargic
benign
cursory
49. Covering the Olympic Games - the sportscasters _____ every American victory and grumbled about every American defeat.
repudiate
mundane
acclaim
indifferent
50. In the film Funny Face - the bookish heroine _____ fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests.
partisan
capricious
inadvertently
disdain