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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 special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
impede
apathy
detachment
equivocal
2. Although Eric knew the boss had no sense of humor - he couldn't resist making one _____ remark.
flagrant
alleviate
jocular
aesthetic
3. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
enhance
decorum
nurture
eclectic
4. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.
profane
jocular
surreptitious
pervasive
5. Although Georgia O'Keeffe painted subjects over the years - she had a definite _____ for painting flowers.
malicious
predilection
redundant
vacillate
6. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's _____ sense.
homogeneous
aesthetic
corroborate
nurture
7. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.
reprimand
jocular
delineate
verbose
8. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
resigned
deprecate
guile
expedient
9. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
terse
notoriety
scrupulous
ephemeral
10. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
colloquial
austere
astute
document
11. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
abridge
extricate
debunk
disparage
12. A radical committed to social change - Reed had no patience with the conservative views _____ in the America of his day.
eclectic
compliance
indifferent
prevalent
13. Katya's _____ love of justice moved her to champion the cause of anyone she considered unfairly treated by society.
inherent
turbulent
abstract
derivative
14. The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to _____ the lying testimony of the prosecution's sole witness.
exacerbate
succinct
refute
volatile
15. Rumors of police corruption led the mayor to _____ an investigation into the department's activities.
derivative
instigate
fervor
redundant
16. Josh is such a greedy _____ that - as soon as the earthquake struck - he tripled the price of bottled water at his store.
opportunist
surpass
enhance
fallacious
17. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
discerning
anarchy
endorse
interpid
18. Though his fellow students considered him a gifted scholar - Paul knew he would have to spend many years in serious study before he could consider himself truly _____.
erudite
extraneous
benign
specious
19. To be low man on the totem pole is to have a decidedly inferior place in the _____.
hierarchy
proliferation
prolific
opportunist
20. The conceited rap star relished the _____ he received from his groupies and yes-men.
taciturn
equivocal
adulation
predilection
21. Although the movie star was no genius - she was sufficiently _____ to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.
banal
exuberance
hypothetical
discerning
22. Covering the Olympic Games - the sportscasters _____ every American victory and grumbled about every American defeat.
acclaim
guile
reserve
recluse
23. You can _____ your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well.
insipid
feasible
ambivalence
enhance
24. The airline customer service agent tried to _____ the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.
mollify
banal
subside
meticulous
25. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.
superfluous
mollify
banal
rebuttal
26. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
impede
preclude
oblivion
opulence
27. 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.
pervasive
reserve
furtive
retract
28. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
relegate
autonomous
abstract
impede
29. In the film Funny Face - the bookish heroine _____ fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests.
decorum
mitigate
usurp
disdain
30. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
rhetorical
adulation
divergent
quandary
31. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions - Max talked only of _____ matters - such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
recount
mundane
recluse
levity
32. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
erudite
undermine
surreptitious
nurture
33. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.
incorrigible
reticent
proliferation
exuberance
34. Noticing the _____ glance the customer gave the diamond bracelet on the counter - the clerk wondered whether he had a potential shoplifter in the store.
benign
furtive
resolution
endorse
35. Michael's severe bout of the flue _____ him so much that for a week he was too tired to go back to work.
constraint
inherent
abridge
debilitate
36. 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.
advocate
placate
ascetic
autonomous
37. 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.
recount
satirical
allusion
constraint
38. In a brief essay - describe a person you admire - someone whose virtues and achievements you would like to _____.
emulate
rectify
immutable
partisan
39. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
exacerbate
ephemeral
superfluous
debunk
40. The architect realized that her design for the new school had to be in _____ with the local building code.
relegate
scrutiny
derision
compliance
41. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
superficial
redundant
benign
ambiguous
42. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
usurp
colloquial
divergent
eulogy
43. After the quarrel - Gina said nothing could _____ her to talk to Pedro again.
extol
immutable
abridge
induce
44. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
abridge
anecdote
dismiss
extraneous
45. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
inherent
assumption
derision
reticent
46. Please try not to include so many _____ details in your report; the bare facts are all I need.
usurp
undermine
deprecate
superfluous
47. 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.
allusion
vacillate
adversary
mitigate
48. She kept all the receipts form her business trip in order to _____ her expenses for the Internal Revenue Service.
exuberance
document
ascetic
immutable
49. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
interpid
induce
levity
peripheral
50. 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.
dismiss
nurture
homogeneous
strident