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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. I was bowled over by the _____ of Amy's welcome. What an enthusiastic greeting!
exuberance
obdurate
instigate
ascetic
2. Tourists are urged not to _____ the sanctity of holy places by wearing immodest garb.
succinct
profane
renounce
disseminate
3. Although Alfred _____ in fulfilling his duties at work - he is less conscientious about meeting his obligations at home.
nurture
scrupulous
terse
anarchy
4. 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
disparage
strident
reprove
5. Even the best-mannered students have trouble behaving with _____ on the last day of school.
haughtiness
decorum
rhetorical
meticulous
6. The president _____ the astronauts - whom he called 'the pioneers of the Space Age.'
interpid
ephemeral
indifferent
extol
7. Though Widow Douglas had hopes of reforming Huck - Miss Watson considered him _____ and swore he would come to no good end.
elucidate
arbitrary
meticulous
incorrigible
8. The Beatles expressed themselves through capricious - flip humor and _____ displays of carefree abandon.
whimsical
extricate
rectify
prolific
9. To be low man on the totem pole is to have a decidedly inferior place in the _____.
condone
hierarchy
proliferation
surpass
10. The conceited rap star relished the _____ he received from his groupies and yes-men.
eulogy
pragmatic
adulation
refute
11. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions - Max talked only of _____ matters - such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
peripheral
metaphor
mundane
soporific
12. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his formidable _____.
adversary
constraint
preclude
superfluous
13. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
undermine
arbitrary
turbulent
instigate
14. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the _____ of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
detachment
extol
proliferation
allusion
15. Their _____ in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
disparity
feasible
buttress
concise
16. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
vacillate
whimsical
succinct
abridge
17. The airline customer service agent tried to _____ the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.
mollify
furtive
hyperbole
buttress
18. The reviewers praised the new restaurant's _____ selection of dishes - which ranged from Asian stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
indifferent
autonomous
eclectic
lethargic
19. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.
allusion
disparage
volatile
insipid
20. The bottle of wine I brought to Sharon's party was certainly _____: how was I to know that Sharon owned a winery?
redundant
disparity
gregarious
nurture
21. Whenever Sue was angry - she tried to avoid raising her voice because she had no wish to sound _____.
vacillate
strident
cryptic
esoteric
22. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
arbitrary
deprecate
anecdote
rhetorical
23. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
satirical
innate
censure
flagrant
24. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's _____ sense.
conciliatory
skeptic
aesthetic
homogeneous
25. 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.
autonomous
buttress
benign
hierarchy
26. What _____ did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner?
criterion
impair
detachment
peripheral
27. Government agents have been known to use wiretapping and other _____ methods to spy on suspected terrorists.
surreptitious
skeptic
ostentatious
assumption
28. Since both interpretations seemed possible - the judge could not decide which way to interpret a particularly _____ passage in the law.
ambiguous
inherent
exacerbate
capricious
29. Acetone is an extremely _____ liquid: it vaporizes instantly.
cursory
volatile
instigate
altruistic
30. 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 _____.
embellish
instigate
peripheral
heresy
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.
hierarchy
specious
predilection
refute
32. Matilda thought it was somewhat _____ of the young man to have addressed her without first having been introduced. Perhaps manners were freer here in the New World.
feasible
partisan
recluse
presumptuous
33. In the film Funny Face - the bookish heroine _____ fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests.
interpid
redundant
usurp
disdain
34. The store manager tried to _____ the angry customer by offering to replace the damaged merchandise or return her money.
placate
inadvertently
refute
verbose
35. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.
ambivalence
detachment
insipid
ostentatious
36. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
ostentatious
brevity
mundane
corroborate
37. You had better _____ your accounting errors before the auditors arrive.
rectify
credulity
induce
ostentatious
38. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
decorum
disparage
extricate
furtive
39. 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.
fallacious
nonchalance
apathy
elucidate
40. Although you can still hear _____ outbursts of laughter and signing outside - the Halloween parade has passed; the party is over till next year.
haughtiness
corroborate
disseminate
sporadic
41. After separating from Tony - Tina announced that she would _____ all debts incurred by her soon-to-be-ex-husband.
repudiate
alleviate
astute
buttress
42. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
strident
impede
specious
succinct
43. With its worn-out dialogue and predictable plot - the sitcom struck me as unbearably _____.
relegate
proximity
derivative
banal
44. These endorsements written by satisfied customers _____ our claim that Barron's SAT is the best SAT-prep book on the market.
flagrant
satirical
credulity
substantiate
45. My Uncle Henry can out-talk any three people I know. he is the most _____ man in Cayuga County.
fervor
lavish
garrulous
redundant
46. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
cryptic
anarchy
zealot
equivocal
47. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
ostentatious
exemplary
jocular
fastidious
48. The infant Mozart's parents quickly realized that their son had an _____ gift for music.
recount
vacillate
innate
autonomous
49. Denying that she advocated total _____ - Katya maintained she wished only to change our government - not to destroy it utterly.
peripheral
discrepancy
contentious
anarchy
50. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class - she was terrified that she would receive a harsh _____ from Miss Minchin.
dismiss
reprimand
alleviate
reserve