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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 Eric knew the boss had no sense of humor - he couldn't resist making one _____ remark.
jocular
derivative
resigned
equivocal
2. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.
discrepancy
disseminate
mitigate
superficial
3. A born storyteller - my father loved to _____ anecdotes about his early years in New York.
assumption
digression
embellish
recount
4. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
quandary
profound
presumptuous
placate
5. 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.
benign
eclectic
disdain
enhance
6. Typically - partygoers are _____; hermits are not.
resigned
redundant
implement
gregarious
7. Pointing out that the candidate consistently had voted against strengthening antipollution legislation - the reporter _____ her claim that she was a fervent environmentalist.
prudent
extol
debunk
oblivion
8. The winter storm was ______; it changed course constantly.
document
placate
capricious
esoteric
9. You can _____ your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well.
levity
enhance
incite
skeptic
10. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
mitigate
whimsical
equivocal
redundant
11. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New year's Eve _____ their accepting the gig in London.
preclude
alleviate
notoriety
endorse
12. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.
profound
retract
erudite
disseminate
13. Their _____ in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
disparity
turbulent
ephemeral
extricate
14. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
anarchy
incongruous
relegate
ephemeral
15. Although defeat appeared inevitable - the general was _____ in his refusal to surrender.
rhetorical
derivative
obdurate
reserve
16. The stereotypical cowboy is a _____ soul - answering lengthy questions with a simple 'yep' or 'nope.'
recount
taciturn
disparage
laconic
17. Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for city council the mayor would _____.
inherent
indifferent
endorse
extol
18. Thoroughly baffled by Holmes's _____ remarks - Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.
preclude
placate
sporadic
cryptic
19. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
quandary
discrepancy
abstract
contentious
20. His coarse - hard-bitten exterior _____ his inner sensitivity.
belie
ambiguous
strident
detachment
21. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his formidable _____.
retract
incorrigible
adversary
vacillate
22. She kept all the receipts form her business trip in order to _____ her expenses for the Internal Revenue Service.
document
alleviate
incongruous
presumptuous
23. 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.
refute
homogeneous
allusion
extol
24. After Ralph dropped his second try of drinks that week - the manager swiftly _____ him to a minor post behind the bar.
relegate
innocuous
opportunist
disparity
25. Because Sal once had fallen asleep while reading War and Peace - he thought that all Russian novels were _____.
proliferation
divergent
capricious
soporific
26. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
buttress
impede
incite
austere
27. You had better _____ your accounting errors before the auditors arrive.
rectify
decorum
taciturn
scrupulous
28. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
eclectic
cursory
ostentatious
corroborate
29. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
volatile
criterion
ironic
scrutiny
30. Even though she knew she would be burned at the stake as a witch - Joan of Arc refused to _____ her belief that her voices came from God.
relegate
interpid
feasible
renounce
31. When Johnny came down with a bad case of poison oak - the doctor recommended calamine lotion to _____ the itching.
transient
sporadic
alleviate
recluse
32. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.
emulate
debunk
usurp
austere
33. When acacias are in bloom - the increase of pollen in the air _____ Richard's hay fever.
exacerbate
exemplary
relegate
mitigate
34. 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.
renounce
mitigate
notoriety
coercion
35. At the protest rally - the students cheered the strikers and booed the dean with equal _____.
assumption
fervor
placate
reprove
36. Nothing could shake his _____ that his children would get the best education that money could buy.
resolution
turbulent
altruistic
lavish
37. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's _____ sense.
garrulous
hyperbole
aesthetic
haughtiness
38. There is a fine line between speech that is _____ and to the point and speech so abrupt that it verges on rudeness.
soporific
terse
vacillate
derivative
39. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
laconic
redundant
fervor
scrupulous
40. Josh is such a greedy _____ that - as soon as the earthquake struck - he tripled the price of bottled water at his store.
oblivion
constraint
fervor
opportunist
41. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
reticent
ambiguous
exuberance
divergent
42. Historically - traders and missionaries often proved themselves to be _____ explorers - bravely venturing into new territories despite the dangers involved.
censure
interpid
reprove
flagrant
43. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.
terse
oblivion
astute
mitigate
44. I was bowled over by the _____ of Amy's welcome. What an enthusiastic greeting!
exuberance
relegate
detachment
nurture
45. Disappointed in love - Miss Emily became a _____; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.
disdain
obdurate
decorum
recluse
46. The wealthy - self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict - _____ lifestyle practiced by members of some monastic orders.
ascetic
innate
embellish
ironic
47. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
astute
induce
constraint
undermine
48. Youth's beauty is _____; it quickly fades with age.
disparity
transient
satirical
substantiate
49. 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.
arbitrary
venerate
rhetorical
cursory
50. Rather than live in the crowded city center - we chose to buy a house in one of the _____ suburbs ringing the metropolis.
levity
esoteric
allusion
peripheral