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A new writing assignment has been posted.
Directions: For each question in this section, select the best answer from among the choices given.
1. Rather than accepting the theory unquestioningly, Deborah regarded it with ----.
A) mirth
B) sadness
C) responsibility
D) ignorance
E) skepticism
2. Although her lips wore a smile, her eyes wore a ----.
A) veil
B) laugh
C) shadow
D) frown
E) stare
3. While on a diet I remained lean, but once off it I became ----.
A) adept
B) remiss
C) corpulent
D) corporeal
E) corporal
4. Although a few of her contemporaries ---- her book, most either ignored it or mocked it.
A) dismissed
B) disregarded
C) deprecated
D) misconstrued
E) appreciated
5. We expected her to be jubilant over her victory, but she was ---- instead.
A) triumphant
B) adult
C) morose
D) loquacious
E) culpable
6. Unlike her sister the Widow Douglass, who ---- Huck’s minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold the boy.
A) believed
B) rebuked
C) condoned
D) evaded
E) corroborated
7. On some occasions Monteverdi specifies the instruments he wishes to make up his orchestra, but more often he is ---- or silent on the issue.
A) enigmatic
B) precise
C) eloquent
D) resolute
E) vehement
8. Though Phil had expected to feel overawed when he met Joe Montana, he found the world-famous quarterback friendly and ----.
A) querulous
B) acerbic
C) domineering
D) unintimidating
E) taciturn
9. In film history, technological changes did not become the norm overnight; on the contrary, the change from silent film to sound film for example was ----.
A) unexpected
B) sufficient
C) advantageous
D) gradual
10. While some Southern writers see the past as a heavy burden, others see it as a subject for ---- reflection.
A) gloomy
B) wearisome
C) interminable
D) nostalgic
E) bleak
11. Many old ruins and historical landmarks, rather than letting them disappear, are now being ----.
A) mortified
B) forgotten
C) excavated
D) revealed
E) revitalized
12. Most people who are color-blind actually can distinguish several colors; some, however, have a truly ---- view of a world all in shades of gray.
A) monochromatic
B) opalescent
C) translucent
D) astigmatic
E) roseate
13. Although direct, forceful stances usually appeal to voters on the campaign trail, candidates usually resort to ---- during debates to avoid alienating any potential supporters.
A) pontification
B) circumlocution
C) logic
D) exaggeration
E) brevity
14. It was only the first day of summer vacation, but his nerves were already ---- by the constant clamor of the children.
A) eliminated
B) alleviated
C) replete
D) vacillated
E) frayed
15. Contrary to her customary ---- behavior, Susan began leaving parties early to seek the solitude of her room.
A) reclusive
B) circumspect
C) decorous
D) gregarious
E) altruistic
16. Although many investors may tolerate short-term declines in the value of their securities, few will accept a ---- downturn in the stock market.
A) protracted
B) contemporaneous
C) transient
D) surreptitious
E) fickle
17. Rather than endeavoring to write timeless fiction with lasting value, many novelists cater to the ---- tastes of those modern readers who read a book once and then discard it.
A) immoral
B) fleeting
C) valuable
D) solid
E) intellectual
18. Although easily angered by our mischievous behavior, our mother could be immediately ---- by our expression of remorse.
A) substantiated
B) impugned
C) protected
D) united
E) mollified
19. Despite their reputations as soothing love songs sung by mothers to lull fretful infants to sleep, many lullabies are of a dark, even ---- nature.
A) soporific
B) manipulative
C) threatening
D) auspicious
E) innocuous
20. The strange signal detected by the radio telescope, rather than being taken as evidence of a new cosmological phenomenon, was instead treated as merely ---- of the equipment itself.
A) a malfunction
B) a bulwark
C) an anthology
D) a mutation
E) a transfer
21. He loved his friends, but he held people in general in ---- and maintained that human virtues were unworthy of comparison with a dog’s devotion.
A) reverence
B) abeyance
C) contempt
D) affection
E) honor
22. Even though Alisha had every reason to hold a grudge, she felt that ---- was not a healthful emotion.
A) resentment
B) fortitude
C) sarcasm
D) elation
E) fondness
23. Many buildings with historical significance are now being ---- instead of being torn down.
A) built
B) forgotten
C) destroyed
D) praised
E) repaired
24. Although Grete Waitz is a celebrated female marathon runner, she is noted for her ----.
A) vigor
B) indecision
C) modesty
D) speed
E) endurance
25. A child who has not slept well will be anything but ----.
A) intractable
B) docile
C) equine
D) bovine
E) ill-tempered
26. Although some ---- the performance, most either thought that it was mediocre or actually disliked it.
A) enjoyed
B) ignored
C) belittled
D) scrutinized
E) considered
27. In spite of David’s tremendous intelligence, he was frequently ---- when confronted with practical matters.
A) coherent
B) baffled
C) cautious
D) philosophical
E) pensive
28. Though critic John Simon seldom had a good word to say about most contemporary plays, his review of All in the Timing was a total ----.
A) mistake
B) dismissal
C) fraud
D) rave
E) farce
29. Even as the local climate changed from humid to arid and back—a change that caused other animals to become extinct—our almost-human ancestors ---- by learning how to use the new flora.
A) anticipated
B) survived
C) diverged
D) deteriorated
E) migrated
30. The service at the restaurant was usually very attentive, but on this one occasion the waiter seemed to ---- the diners.
A) applaud
B) urge
C) ignore
D) restrain
E) fulfill
31. Although the movie was panned by all the major critics, audiences around the country seemed to find it ----.
A) reprehensible
B) worthless
C) subdued
D) iconoclastic
E) entertaining
32. Moths are nocturnal pollinators, visiting scented flower during the hours of darkness, whereas the butterflies are ----, attracted to bright flowers in the daytime.
A) diurnal
B) quotidian
C) colorful
D) ephemeral
E) brilliant
33. Instead of taking exaggerated precautions against touching or tipping or jarring the bottle of wine, the waitress handled it quite ----, being careful only to use a napkin to keep her hands from the cool bottle itself.
A) fastidiously
B) reverently
C) nonchalantly
D) tentatively
E) ambivalently
34. Although the deep sea has a typically ---- fauna, near vents in the sea bed where warm water emerges live remarkable densities of invertebrates and fish.
A) verdant
B) unique
C) lush
D) pallid
E) sparse
35. In many parts of the world, people use rice as a central rather than a ---- part of their daily diets.
A) pivotal
B) ritualistic
C) salient
D) supplementary
36. The restaurant itself was beautiful and the service excellent, but the food was ----.
A) outstanding
B) morose
C) conclusive
D) inedible
E) filling
37. After David left him waiting for the third consecutive time, Kirk realized that the same behavior he had initially valued as spontaneous and carefree was, in fact, simply ----.
A) capricious
B) incontrovertible
C) extraneous
D) captivating
E) inscrutable
38. Contrary to popular opinion, bats are not generally aggressive and rabid; most are shy and ----.
A) turgid
B) disfigured
C) punctual
D) innocuous
E) depraved
39. Unlike the American worker, who expects to work for several different firms during his or her career, until recently the Japanese worker regarded employment as ---- commitment.
A) a lifetime
B) a significant
C) a bilateral
D) an economic
E) a moral
40. A few of the critics ---- the play, but in general they either disregarded or ridiculed it.
A) mocked
B) discredited
C) criticized
D) denounced
E) appreciated
41. She pretended to be nonchalant but her movements betrayed signs of ----.
A) greed
B) weariness
C) worry
D) boredom
E) evil
42. Despite the poem’s archaic and tortuous language, the thrust of the poet’s argument is surprisingly ----.
A) vapid
B) dated
C) blunted
D) intelligible
E) idiosyncratic
43. Although the Internet was originally created to facilitate scientific research and emergency communication, today most people consider it ---- enterprise, offering services marketed as sources of information and entertainment.
A) a commercial
B) a private
C) an obsolete
D) an insidious
E) an institutional
44. Many so-called social playwrights are distinctly ----; rather than allowing the members of the audience to form their own opinions, these writers force a viewpoint on the viewer.
A) conciliatory
B) prolific
C) iconoclastic
D) didactic
E) contumacious
45. In the poem “Annabel Lee,” the speaker reveals that he is not ---- to the death of his beloved; on the contrary, he is ----.
A) indifferent...apathetic
B) reconciled...acquiescent
C) resigned...inconsolable
D) accustomed...inured
E) relevant...responsive
46. Fran’s family thinks she has the most ---- job, however Fran knows that she mostly spends her working hours on ---- errands.
A) fruitful...productive
B) scintillating...mundane
C) callow...simple
D) varied...sportive
E) wasteful...useless
47. As were many colonial administrators, Gregory was ---- in his knowledge of the grammar of the local language, though his accent was ----.
A) deficient...poor
B) competent...adequate
C) faultless...awful
D) well-versed...effective
E) erratic...eccentric
48. Edward was understandably upset that he had lost the position, but he was ---- by the conviction that he had done nothing to ---- the dismissal.
A) consoled...merit
B) warmed...avoid
C) comforted...mar
D) miffed...delay
E) saddened...earn
49. Elinor ---- to counteract her negative feelings, but only succeeded in ---- them.
A) tried...allaying
B) hoped...mitigating
C) desired...ameliorating
D) hesitated...deprecating
E) endeavoured...intensifying
50. He claimed to be deathly ill, although he looked perfectly ---- and ---- to us.
A) fine...fettle
B) sane...sound
C) hale...hearty
D) hectic...healthy
E) sound...decrepit
51. Our present accountant is most ----; unlike the previous ---- incumbent, he has never made a mistake in all the years that he has worked for the firm.
A) unorthodox...heretical
B) dependable...assiduous
C) punctilious...painstaking
D) asinine...diligent
E) meticulous...unreliable
52. While war has never been absent from the ---- of man, there have been periods in History which appear remarkably ----.
A) archives...ambivalent
B) posterity...serene
C) mind...desultory
D) annals...pacific
E) life...belligerent
53. He was normally entirely ----, but in the embarrassing situation in which he found himself he felt compelled to ----.
A) equable...evade
B) considerate...concede
C) forthright...prevaricate
D) mendacious...equivocate
E) amenable...capitulate
54. Although the theory that widespread lead poisoning contributed to the declined of the Roman Empire has gained ----, the evidence is still ----.
A) credence...irrefutable
B) disrepute...dubious
C) acceptance...convincing
D) momentum...systematic
E) currency...inconclusive
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