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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. A pragmatic politician - he was guided more by what was _____ than by what was right.
juxtaposition
reserve
expedient
rectify
2. The boss prefaced his speech by telling a pointless _____ about an encounter he'd had with former President Bush.
anecdote
derivative
recluse
emulate
3. To be low man on the totem pole is to have a decidedly inferior place in the _____.
innate
pragmatic
homogeneous
hierarchy
4. Don't bore your audience with excess verbiage; be _____.
succinct
implement
discrepancy
prolific
5. The special prosecutor determined that the attorney general - though inept - had not intentionally set out to _____ the progress of the investigation.
credulity
immutable
digression
impede
6. No matter how hard Darnell tried to lure the trout into taking the bait - the fish was too _____ to catch.
vacillate
soporific
elusive
indifferent
7. 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.
deprecate
specious
homogeneous
buttress
8. The recent corruption scandals have _____ many people's faith in the city government.
induce
undermine
extricate
indifferent
9. Looking for any inconsistency in the testimony that might exonerate his client - the defense lawyer pounced on a _____ between the two witnesses' versions of what had occurred.
discrepancy
prolific
jocular
enhance
10. The reviewers heaped _____ on the novice playwright - ridiculing his pretentious dialogue - flat characters - and simple-minded plot.
guile
fastidious
cursory
derision
11. Because Webster's dictionary had grown so large and unwieldy - the publishers decided to _____ it and bring out a condensed version.
reticent
impair
prudent
abridge
12. With its worn-out dialogue and predictable plot - the sitcom struck me as unbearably _____.
scrupulous
turbulent
banal
acclaim
13. Katya's _____ love of justice moved her to champion the cause of anyone she considered unfairly treated by society.
inherent
obdurate
alleviate
vacillate
14. Though Huck was quite willing to _____ Tom's story - Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
corroborate
placate
inane
reserve
15. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's _____ sense.
advocate
arbitrary
colloquial
aesthetic
16. The mayor was unwilling to _____ the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing.
refute
ironic
implement
renounce
17. Judy's great fear was that she might _____ omit a question on the exam and mismark her entire answer sheet.
subside
disparage
inadvertently
surreptitious
18. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the _____ of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
proliferation
reticent
flagrant
alleviate
19. 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.
autonomous
rancor
renounce
frivolous
20. _____ to his downtrodden existence - the day laborer was too meek to protest his supervisor's bullying.
venerate
meticulous
constraint
resigned
21. Cool - calm - and collected - James Bond shows remarkable _____ in the face of danger.
reticent
debilitate
incorrigible
nonchalance
22. Through the comments of the characters in his cartoon strip - Doonesbury - Gary Trudeau ridicules political corruption; his humor is _____ in nature.
satirical
censure
laconic
aesthetic
23. Noticing the _____ glance the customer gave the diamond bracelet on the counter - the clerk wondered whether he had a potential shoplifter in the store.
cursory
furtive
prudent
condone
24. Politicians of both the extreme right and left annoy me because they do not sound like people but parrots mindlessly repeating _____ clich
erudite
austere
inherent
dogmatic
25. There's no point to what you're saying. Why are you bothering to make such _____ remarks?
mundane
benign
inane
repudiate
26. To John - who had never missed a meal - hunger was an _____ concept - one he understood only in theory.
abstract
esoteric
recluse
ambivalence
27. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class - she was terrified that she would receive a harsh _____ from Miss Minchin.
volatile
brevity
adversary
reprimand
28. Although Eric knew the boss had no sense of humor - he couldn't resist making one _____ remark.
coercion
condone
jocular
oblivion
29. The costume designer _____ the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.
disdain
embellish
inane
juxtaposition
30. 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 _____.
fervor
verbose
erudite
vacillate
31. Rejecting the candidate's _____ comments on tax reform - the reporter pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
exacerbate
immutable
affirmation
equivocal
32. 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.
rectify
incongruous
deprecate
renounce
33. Towering over the nearby houses - the MacMansion looked wholly _____ in the historic neighborhood of small Craftsman bungalows.
juxtaposition
opulence
coercion
incongruous
34. Although Nancy enjoyed Bill's _____ - lighthearted companionship - she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.
turbulent
equivocal
exuberance
frivolous
35. Is an old-fashioned hairstyle an apt _____ for being out of step with the times and in need of change?
abstract
undermine
metaphor
compliance
36. The attorney came up with several far-fetched arguments in a vain attempt to _____ his weak case.
disparage
incongruous
reprimand
buttress
37. When Elizabeth realized that Darcy considered himself too good to dance with his inferiors - she took great offense at his _____.
haughtiness
retract
adversary
turbulent
38. Although Georgia O'Keeffe painted many subjects over the years - she had a definite _____ for painting flowers.
incongruous
rhetorical
predilection
haughtiness
39. The museum curator placed the Eskimo-carved wooden totem pole in _____ with two contemporary stone masks from Africa - creating a stunning effect.
juxtaposition
feasible
constraint
quandary
40. By their use of the Internet - propagandists have been able to _____ their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.
disseminate
embellish
aesthetic
whimsical
41. The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to _____ the lying testimony of the prosecution's sole witness.
divergent
ambiguous
furtive
refute
42. Despite airing her clothes for several hours - she could not rid them of the _____ odor of mothballs that clung to them.
erudite
anecdote
pervasive
elucidate
43. Bobby was such a _____ eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.
adversity
notoriety
satirical
fastidious
44. Nobody minded when Professor Renoir's lectures wandered away from their official them; his _____ were always more fascinating than the topic of the day.
digression
belie
subside
alleviate
45. A born storyteller - my father loved to _____ anecdotes about his early years in New York.
nonchalance
impair
recount
juxtaposition
46. The conceited rap star relished the _____ he received from his groupies and yes-men.
relegate
quandary
adulation
guile
47. The young princess made the foolish _____ that the regent would not object to her taking the reins of power.
assumption
placate
embellish
conciliatory
48. Instead of delivering a spoken _____ at Genny's memorial service - Jeff sang a song he had written in her honor.
terse
turbulent
eulogy
constraint
49. Using only a few descriptive phrases - Austen manages to _____ the character of Mr. Collins so deftly that we can predict his every move.
buttress
satirical
criterion
delineate
50. Icebreakers were needed to _____ the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
eclectic
extricate
insipid
concise