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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 classic cowboy hero is a _____ figure - someone generally described as the strong - silent type.
venerate
disdain
laconic
substantiate
2. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the _____ of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
proliferation
alleviate
whimsical
opportunist
3. The stereotypical cowboy is a _____ soul - answering lengthy questions with a simple 'yep' or 'nope.'
coercion
nonchalance
taciturn
ambivalence
4. When the boys first met their new stepmother - they felt some _____ - but eventually they lost that initial awkwardness and talked with her comfortably.
constraint
reticent
turbulent
volatile
5. Politicians of both the extreme right and left annoy me because they do not sound like people but parrots mindlessly repeating _____ clich
dogmatic
homogeneous
innate
turbulent
6. Instead of delivering a spoken _____ at Genny's memorial service - Jeff sang a song he had written in her honor.
prudent
altruistic
eulogy
criterion
7. 'Any publicity is good publicity - 'said the starlet. 'If I can't have a good reputation - I'll settle for _____.'
ambivalence
notoriety
debunk
implement
8. 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
elusive
malicious
transient
9. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.
proliferation
venerate
astute
affirmation
10. 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.
transient
sporadic
retract
satirical
11. The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to _____ the lying testimony of the prosecution's sole witness.
exacerbate
affirmation
compliance
refute
12. The wealthy - self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict - _____ lifestyle practiced by members of some monastic orders.
induce
ascetic
incite
ironic
13. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
expedient
immutable
volatile
mitigate
14. Her wealthy suitors wooed her with _____ gifts.
innate
lavish
nurture
colloquial
15. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.
resigned
turbulent
succinct
mollify
16. 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.
abstract
instigate
autonomous
venerate
17. The architect realized that her design for the new school had to be in _____ with the local building code.
inherent
usurp
elusive
compliance
18. Although her early poetry was clearly _____ in nature - the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
adulation
mitigate
derivative
censure
19. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
exacerbate
refute
predilection
mitigate
20. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.
autonomous
mundane
divergent
soporific
21. The bottle of wine I brought to Sharon's party was certainly _____: how was I to know that Sharon owned a winery?
redundant
disseminate
esoteric
malicious
22. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
homogeneous
extricate
transient
rhetorical
23. Thoroughly baffled by Holmes's _____ remarks - Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.
cryptic
notoriety
verbose
mitigate
24. Because Carmen believed in Juan's fidelity - she _____ the notion that he might be having an affair.
divergent
immutable
dismiss
mitigate
25. Tourists are urged not to _____ the sanctity of holy places by wearing immodest garb.
corroborate
surreptitious
profane
exemplary
26. My Uncle Henry can out-talk any three people I know. he is the most _____ man in Cayuga County.
altruistic
garrulous
refute
resigned
27. Tina was still angry despite Tony's soft and _____ words.
conciliatory
levity
guile
hypothetical
28. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
venerate
adulation
derision
rebuttal
29. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
strident
undermine
credulity
impeccable
30. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
fastidious
gravity
feasible
resigned
31. There is a fine line between speech that is _____ and to the point and speech so abrupt that it verges on rudeness.
terse
rectify
whimsical
ostentatious
32. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
abridge
acclaim
rebuttal
recluse
33. Unlike Widow Douglas - who _____ Huck's minor offenses - Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
peripheral
condone
indifferent
metaphor
34. 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.
opulence
interpid
benign
affirmation
35. Covering the Olympic Games - the sportscasters _____ every American victory and grumbled about every American defeat.
deprecate
peripheral
acclaim
aesthetic
36. Torn between loving her parents one minute and hating them the next - she was confused by the _____ of her feelings.
feasible
sporadic
ambivalence
laconic
37. To win his audience - the speaker used every _____ trick in the book.
flagrant
rhetorical
subside
prevalent
38. Cool - calm - and collected - James Bond shows remarkable _____ in the face of danger.
deprecate
discrepancy
austere
nonchalance
39. My editors must assume I'm a _____ writer; they expect me to revise six books this year.
disseminate
exuberance
prolific
nurture
40. 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 _____.
heresy
volatile
apathy
quandary
41. At the protest rally - the students cheered the strikers and booed the dean with equal _____.
partisan
derivative
fervor
soporific
42. Jealous of Cinderella's beauty - her _____ stepsisters expressed their spite by forcing her to do menial tasks.
scrupulous
malicious
acclaim
debunk
43. A born storyteller - my father loved to _____ anecdotes about his early years in New York.
predilection
esoteric
recount
ephemeral
44. Violently disagreeing with the referees' ruling - Coach Ben became so _____ that they threw him out of the game.
subside
contentious
fervor
endorse
45. Even the best-mannered students have trouble behaving with _____ on the last day of school.
mollify
indifferent
decorum
advocate
46. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
equivocal
corroborate
affirmation
taciturn
47. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
surreptitious
placate
meticulous
reprimand
48. 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
coercion
predilection
prevalent
49. Is an old-fashioned hairstyle an apt _____ for being out of step with the times and in need of change?
surreptitious
metaphor
arbitrary
extricate
50. 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
nurture
contentious
adulation