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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. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
divergent
nonchalance
undermine
rectify
2. His coarse - hard-bitten exterior _____ his inner sensitivity.
belie
deprecate
insipid
nonchalance
3. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.
mollify
anarchy
altruistic
flagrant
4. Blind people sometimes develop a compensatory ability to sense the _____ of objects around them.
ephemeral
fastidious
impeccable
proximity
5. After Ralph dropped his second try of drinks that week - the manager swiftly _____ him to a minor post behind the bar.
scrutiny
relegate
homogeneous
metaphor
6. My editors must assume I'm a _____ writer; they expect me to revise six books this year.
gregarious
dismiss
prolific
derision
7. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
eclectic
specious
fervor
venerate
8. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
exuberance
superfluous
derivative
erudite
9. To be low man on the totem pole is to have a decidedly inferior place in the _____.
hierarchy
implement
malicious
juxtaposition
10. Because Sal once had fallen asleep while reading War and Peace - he thought that all Russian novels were _____.
discrepancy
erudite
malicious
soporific
11. When the boys first met their new stepmother - they felt some _____ - but eventually they lost that initial awkwardness and talked with her comfortably.
conciliatory
interpid
constraint
superficial
12. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
corroborate
rancor
expedient
derivative
13. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
fastidious
profane
deprecate
undermine
14. 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.
incongruous
flagrant
benign
placate
15. Although you can still hear _____ outbursts of laughter and signing outside - the Halloween parade has passed; the party is over till next year.
sporadic
delineate
exemplary
cursory
16. I was bowled over by the _____ of Amy's welcome. What an enthusiastic greeting!
derivative
volatile
gregarious
exuberance
17. I am a _____ about the proposed new health plan; I want some proof that it will work.
frivolous
skeptic
ephemeral
document
18. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
ambiguous
embellish
transient
undermine
19. Cool - calm - and collected - James Bond shows remarkable _____ in the face of danger.
terse
concise
nonchalance
obdurate
20. We made an _____ choice to eat at the first restaurant we saw.
arbitrary
contentious
eclectic
disparage
21. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.
verbose
quandary
specious
homogeneous
22. Thoroughly baffled by Holmes's _____ remarks - Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.
ironic
taciturn
cursory
cryptic
23. The headmaster's _____ demeanor tended to care off the more timid students - who never visited his study willingly.
frivolous
austere
compliance
brevity
24. Michael's severe bout of the flue _____ him so much that for a week he was too tired to go back to work.
recount
strident
debilitate
impair
25. Othello's false friend lago uses considerable _____ to trick Othello into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him
compliance
transient
coercion
guile
26. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the _____ of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
cursory
debilitate
frivolous
proliferation
27. Katya's _____ love of justice moved her to champion the cause of anyone she considered unfairly treated by society.
inherent
gravity
fervor
recount
28. Although Nancy enjoyed Bill's _____ - lighthearted companionship - she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.
frivolous
reprove
ostentatious
disseminate
29. Dirt poor and out of work - she did not give up but continued to fight against _____.
adversity
furtive
gravity
zealot
30. Torn between loving her parents one minute and hating them the next - she was confused by the _____ of her feelings.
malicious
frivolous
ambivalence
fallacious
31. This alleged fiscal crisis is no crisis at all. it is based on _____ claims about financial institutions and on scare stories about impending economic ruin.
specious
interpid
verbose
satirical
32. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.
fervor
specious
insipid
disparage
33. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
benign
presumptuous
impede
condone
34. The museum curator placed the Eskimo-carved wooden totem pole in _____ with two contemporary stone masks from Africa - creating a stunning effect.
juxtaposition
capricious
profane
undermine
35. The stereotypical cowboy is a _____ soul - answering lengthy questions with a simple 'yep' or 'nope.'
alleviate
taciturn
debilitate
immutable
36. Politicians of both the extreme right and left annoy me because they do not sound like people but parrots mindlessly repeating _____ clich
dogmatic
undermine
buttress
peripheral
37. Though Glenn was devout - he was no _____; he never tried to force his beliefs on friends.
specious
enhance
zealot
fallacious
38. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
colloquial
brevity
assumption
placate
39. On certain issues of principle - the senator refused to take a _____ stand - but let her conscience be her guide.
partisan
instigate
scrupulous
whimsical
40. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.
elucidate
ironic
prudent
superficial
41. Unlike Widow Douglas - who _____ Huck's minor offenses - Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
rancor
furtive
opulence
condone
42. Although Georgia O'Keeffe painted subjects over the years - she had a definite _____ for painting flowers.
interpid
predilection
whimsical
reserve
43. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
opportunist
pervasive
mollify
derision
44. The airline customer service agent tried to _____ the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.
mollify
altruistic
fervor
benign
45. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
ostentatious
exacerbate
cryptic
levity
46. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions - Max talked only of _____ matters - such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
impede
juxtaposition
mundane
explicit
47. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
volatile
renounce
brevity
succinct
48. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.
impeccable
ephemeral
ostentatious
document
49. Without additional funding - it may not be _____ to build a new stadium for the team on the city's highly developed West Side.
reprimand
feasible
recluse
anecdote
50. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
terse
rebuttal
whimsical
extricate