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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. When Elizabeth realized that Darcy considered himself too good to dance with his inferiors - she took great offense at his _____.
haughtiness
substantiate
usurp
allusion
2. Galileo's assertion that the earth moved around the sun directly contradicted the religious teachings of his day; as a result - he was tried for _____.
inadvertently
retract
eclectic
heresy
3. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class - she was terrified that she would receive a harsh _____ from Miss Minchin.
whimsical
reprimand
undermine
superfluous
4. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
austere
impede
mollify
concise
5. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
abridge
superficial
juxtaposition
condone
6. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
inadvertently
impair
usurp
malicious
7. Suppose you are accepted by Harvard - Stanford - and Yale. Which one would you attend? Remember - this is only a _____ situation.
adulation
hypothetical
opulence
frivolous
8. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
extricate
inadvertently
innocuous
colloquial
9. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.
gregarious
surreptitious
censure
delineate
10. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.
divergent
digression
levity
resigned
11. Youth's beauty is _____; it quickly fades with age.
transient
incite
surpass
disdain
12. Cool - calm - and collected - James Bond shows remarkable _____ in the face of danger.
banal
nonchalance
disdain
astute
13. To win his audience - the speaker used every _____ trick in the book.
laconic
corroborate
aesthetic
rhetorical
14. She kept all the receipts form her business trip in order to _____ her expenses for the Internal Revenue Service.
rebuttal
document
instigate
fastidious
15. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's _____ sense.
repudiate
aesthetic
placate
obdurate
16. We could tell we were in serious trouble from the _____ of the principal's expression.
gravity
assumption
criterion
abridge
17. My Uncle Henry can out-talk any three people I know. he is the most _____ man in Cayuga County.
conciliatory
venerate
substantiate
garrulous
18. 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.
autonomous
reprove
eulogy
frivolous
19. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
emulate
partisan
extraneous
preclude
20. With its worn-out dialogue and predictable plot - the sitcom struck me as unbearably _____.
banal
furtive
immutable
reprimand
21. We made an _____ choice to eat at the first restaurant we saw.
terse
relegate
arbitrary
extricate
22. The museum curator placed the Eskimo-carved wooden totem pole in _____ with two contemporary stone masks from Africa - creating a stunning effect.
placate
juxtaposition
refute
usurp
23. Because Carmen believed in Juan's fidelity - she _____ the notion that he might be having an affair.
abstract
delineate
discerning
dismiss
24. The glitter and _____ of the ballroom took Cinderella's breath away.
opulence
surpass
meticulous
ephemeral
25. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
repudiate
opportunist
disseminate
ambiguous
26. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.
debunk
pervasive
adversity
reticent
27. The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to _____ the lying testimony of the prosecution's sole witness.
prudent
concise
refute
homogeneous
28. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
ambiguous
inadvertently
nonchalance
impede
29. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
debilitate
homogeneous
criterion
anarchy
30. Rumors of police corruption led the mayor to _____ an investigation into the department's activities.
surreptitious
lethargic
terse
instigate
31. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
colloquial
autonomous
exacerbate
jocular
32. In a fiery speech - Mario _____ his fellow students to go out on strike to protest the university's anti-affirmative action stand.
allusion
venerate
incite
disseminate
33. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
terse
emulate
fastidious
allusion
34. My editors must assume I'm a _____ writer; they expect me to revise six books this year.
ambiguous
prolific
partisan
hypothetical
35. 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.
substantiate
enhance
retract
incorrigible
36. The uncrowned queen of the fashion industry - Diana was famous for her _____ taste.
impeccable
allusion
exuberance
immutable
37. Her wealthy suitors wooed her with _____ gifts.
subside
belie
lavish
impede
38. Judy's great fear was that she might _____ omit a question on the exam and mismark her entire answer sheet.
resolution
profound
buttress
inadvertently
39. The Head Start program attempts to _____ prekindergarten children so that they will do well when they enter elementary school.
heresy
laconic
prolific
nurture
40. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.
verbose
flagrant
anarchy
enhance
41. These endorsements written by satisfied customers _____ our claim that Barron's SAT is the best SAT-prep book on the market.
debunk
substantiate
juxtaposition
acclaim
42. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.
concise
quandary
gregarious
exemplary
43. The legendary athlete Jim Thorpe - who _____ all his competitors at the 1912 Olympic Games - made a name for himself in baseball - football - and track.
immutable
guile
surpass
expedient
44. After Ralph dropped his second try of drinks that week - the manager swiftly _____ him to a minor post behind the bar.
relegate
affirmation
zealot
colloquial
45. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
divergent
furtive
nurture
interpid
46. Their _____ in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
altruistic
disparity
digression
implement
47. Unlike Widow Douglas - who _____ Huck's minor offenses - Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
allusion
condone
indifferent
renounce
48. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
autonomous
strident
opulence
undermine
49. Instead of delivering a spoken _____ at Genny's memorial service - Jeff sang a song he had written in her honor.
banal
eulogy
hyperbole
abridge
50. There is a fine line between speech that is _____ and to the point and speech so abrupt that it verges on rudeness.
adversity
ambivalence
hypothetical
terse