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Complete Advanced Sentences

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. 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.






2. Thoroughly baffled by Holmes's _____ remarks - Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.






3. The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case - sure that she could answer his arguments in her _____.






4. When both Harvard and Stanford accepted Laura - she was in a _____ as to which school she should attend.






5. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.






6. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.






7. After medical school - the two doctors took widely _____ paths - one becoming a wealthy plastic surgeon - the other joining the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.






8. Because she was a firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post _____ the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.






9. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.






10. 'Judicial activism' is the alleged tendency of some judges to _____ the power of elected legislatures by making the law rather than merely interpreting it.






11. His coarse - hard-bitten exterior _____ his inner sensitivity.






12. Suppose you are accepted by Harvard - Stanford - and Yale. Which one would you attend? Remember - this is only a _____ situation.






13. 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.






14. To revise a textbook properly - you must do more than make a few _____ changes to the manuscript.






15. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.






16. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.






17. The legendary athlete Jim Thorpe - who _____ all his competitors at the 1912 Olympic Games - made a name for himself in baseball - football - and track.






18. A doting mother - Emma was more likely to praise her son's childish finger paintings than to _____ them.






19. Although Nancy enjoyed Bill's _____ - lighthearted companionship - she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.






20. Rumors of police corruption led the mayor to _____ an investigation into the department's activities.






21. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.






22. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.






23. Someone mute cannot talk; someone _____ can hardly stop talking.






24. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.






25. The coming trip to France should provide a _____ test of the value of my conversational French class.






26. The senator was _____ for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.






27. At commencement - the dean praised Ellen for her _____ behavior as class president.






28. To win his audience - the speaker used every _____ trick in the book.






29. Stop giggling and wriggling around in the pew; such _____ is improper in church.






30. A born storyteller - my father loved to _____ anecdotes about his early years in New York.






31. Although you can still hear _____ outbursts of laughter and signing outside - the Halloween parade has passed; the party is over till next year.






32. In class - she tried to stay alert and listen to the professor - but the stuffy room made her _____; she felt as if she were about to nod off.






33. Cool - calm - and collected - James Bond shows remarkable _____ in the face of danger.






34. As far as I'm concerned - Apple's claims about its new computer are pure _____; no machine is that good!






35. Compared to Jo - who was perfectly ready to chat with anyone about anything - Beth was _____ about what she considered personal matters.






36. 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.






37. We could tell we were in serious trouble from the _____ of the principal's expression.






38. Disappointed in love - Miss Emily became a _____; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.






39. The costume designer _____ the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.






40. The mayfly is an _____ creature; its adult life lasts little more than a day.






41. An occasional glass of wine with dinner is relatively _____ and should have no ill effect on you.






42. In Tibet today - the common people still _____ their traditional spiritual leader - the Dalai Lama.






43. 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.






44. Shrewdly purchasing valuable plots of land for small sums - John Jacob Astor gained a reputation as an _____ investor.






45. When you send a message on Twitter - be _____; a tweet cannot be more than 140 characters long.






46. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a _____ violation of the state laws against nepotism.






47. Nothing could shake his _____ that his children would get the best education that money could buy.






48. The rich new student tried to attract friends by making an _____ display of his wealth.






49. The BP oil spill has caused _____ damage to the entire Gulf Coast.






50. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.