Directions: For each question in this section, select the best answer from among the choices given and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.
CONTRAST
Rather than accepting the theory unquestioningly, Deborah regarded it with -------.
A) mirth
B) sadness
C) responsibility
D) ignorance
E) skepticism
Although her lips wore a smile, her eyes wore a ----.
A) veil
B) laugh
C) shadow
D) frown
E) stare
While on a diet I remained lean, but once off it I became ----.
A) adept
B) remiss
C) corpulent
D) corporeal
E) corporal
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
We expected her to be jubilant over her victory, but she was ____ instead.
A) triumphant
B) adult
C) morose
D) loquacious
E) culpable
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
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
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
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
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
Many old ruins and historical landmarks, rather than letting them disappear, are now being ___.
A) mortified
B) forgotten
C) excavated
D) revealed
E) revitalized
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
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
When clay dries out, it loses its plasticity and becomes less ____.
A) synthetic
B) expensive
C) malleable
D) tangible
E) brittle
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Many buildings with historical significance are now being ------- instead of being torn down.
A) built
B) forgotten
C) destroyed
D) praised
E) repaired
Although Grete Waitz is a celebrated female marathon runner, she is noted for her -------.
A) vigor
B) indecision
C) modesty
D) speed
E) endurance
A child who has not slept well will be anything but ----.
A) intractable
B) docile
C) equine
D) bovine
E) ill-tempered
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The restaurant itself was beautiful and the service excellent, but the food was ----.
A) outstanding
B) morose
C) conclusive
D) inedible
E) filling
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
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
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
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
She pretended to be nonchalant but her movements betrayed signs of ----.
A) greed
B) weariness
C) worry
D) boredom
E) evil
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
COMPARISON or PARALLEL IDEA
In most modern societies, athletes are ------- in the same way that successful warriors were celebrated by civilizations in years past.
A) invoked
B) repudiated
C) lionized
D) vilified
E) beguiled
A strike, like a war, should be resorted to only when less ------- measures have failed.
A) drastic
B) important
C) derogatory
D) objective
E) eventful
The aorta is like a tree trunk from which other major arteries ____.
A) escape
B) subtract
C) clamber down
D) branch off
E) strip away
Just as the person who is kind brings happiness to others, so does he bring ------- to himself.
A) wisdom
B) guidance
C) satisfaction
D) stinginess
E) insecurity
Some illnesses, such as malaria, which have been virtually eliminated in the United States, are still ------- in many places abroad.
A) discussed
B) prevalent
C) scarce
D) unknown
E) hospitalized
Just as an ____ dish lacks flavor, an inane remark lacks ____.
A) intriguing...spice
B) insipid...sense
C) inedible...listeners
D) occasional...implications
E) offensive...taste
The alchemists, though they are often supposed to have been ____ or confidence tricksters, were actually skilful technologists.
A) empiricists
B) polemicists
C) pragmatists
D) theorists
E) charlatans
Just as the earliest stone tools left by humans may seem nothing more than rock fragments to a layperson, so a lot of fossils require a trained eye to ____ them.
A) excavate
B) appreciate
C) disseminate
D) antedate
E) educate
A hypothesis must not only account for what we already know, but must also be ____ by continued observation.
A) refuted
B) interrupted
C) verified
D) discredited
E) outmoded
When he was young he ____ ideas of becoming a doctor; however, he was ____ by his father who wanted him to join the family business.
A) harbored - backed
B) entertained - dissuaded
C) produced - critical
D) repudiated - deterred
E) eschewed - encouraged
Just as sloth is the mark of the idler, ____ is the mark of the ____.
A) grief...miser
B) obsequiousness...toady
C) wanderlust...trespasser
D) suspicion...tyrant
E) brevity...wit
EXAMPLE or SUPPORT
One example of a ------- relationship is provided by the tickbird, which gets protection and a free meal of ticks from the hippopotamus and in turn supplies free pest removal services.
A) competitive
B) deteriorating
C) symbiotic
D) regressive
E) vacillating
Place-names can be strikingly ____: there is, for example, nothing particularly ____ about the town of Peculiar, Missouri.
A) expedient .. eccentric
B) descriptive .. controversial
C) inimitable .. incongruous
D) comical .. ludicrous
E) inapt .. odd
The political climate today is extremely ____: no one can predict what the electorate will do next.
A) malevolent
B) pertinent
C) claustrophobic
D) lethargic
E) volatile
For centuries there was no ___ between their descendents; in fact ____ strife continued until modern times.
A) peace - internecine
B) hostility - intermittent
C) malevolence - intense
D) amity - contrived
E) difference - feudal
EXAMPLE OR SUPPORT (PUNCTUATION)
Her wildlife movies unflinchingly capture the ---- of the animal kingdom: predators stalking their prey, singling out the weak, young, and very old as easy kills, and the cold-blooded killing which is a necessity of life in the wild.
A) brutality
B) romance
C) color
D) mystery
E) grandeur
A New World lizard, the basilisk, occasionally does something that seems to ____ physics: it runs across the surface of water for distances of up to 30 feet.
A) defy
B) quantify
C) assess
D) exemplify
E) corroborate
The banquet had ____ effect on the overfed guests: they began to nod off in their seats.
A) a soporific
B) a cumulative
C) an immoderate
D) an invigorating
E) a negligible
The Cabinet member’s resignation was not a total ____: rumors of his imminent departure had been making the rounds in Washington for
a week.
A) withdrawal
B) success
C) shock
D) eclipse
E) pretense
Interviewing the flood victims on her show, Oprah Winfrey was wholly ________: she appeared to feel their loss as if it had been her own.
A) self-possessed
B) empathetic
C) obsessive
D) perceptive
E) theoretical
Scattered around the dead dragon were mementos of the ----: heads, arms, and torsos of its hapless victims.
A) contest
B) relics
C) prom
D) carnage
E) feast
The periodic nature of her complaints began to concern us: alarmed by these ____ attacks, we decided to consult a doctor in spite of her opposition.
A) trivial
B) recurrent
C) superficial
D) spontaneous
E) tentative
In the 1920s Hollywood became a magnet for men and women on the cutting edge—____ artists genuinely excited by the possibilities of the up-and-coming film medium.
A) irritable
B) innovative
C) untalented
D) outdated
E) inferior
CAUSE AND EFFECT
Actors are sometimes very ------- since they must believe strongly in their own worth and talents.
A) laconic
B) unequivocal
C) tedious
D) egotistic
E) reticent
Because it had not been blasted into a stable orbit, the satellite moved ____ through space.
A) innocuously
B) gradually
C) erratically
D) effortlessly
E) routinely
Because his delivery was ____, the effect of his speech on the voters was nonexistent.
A) plausible
B) moving
C) audible
D) halting
E) respectable
As a result of constant and unrelenting eating, he changed from slightly overweight to ----.
A) overrun
B) parsimonious
C) oblate
D) obese
E) lilliputian
Because he had abandoned his post and joined forces with the Indians, his fellow officers considered the hero of Dances with Wolves a ____.
A) martinet
B) braggart
C) renegade
D) skinflint
E) laggard
Unfortunately, excessive care in choosing one’s words often results in a loss of ____.
A) precision
B) atmosphere
C) selectivity
D) spontaneity
E) credibility
Richard Wagner was frequently intolerant; moreover, his strange behavior caused most of his acquaintances to ------- the composer whenever possible.
A) contradict
B) interrogate
C) shun
D) revere
E) tolerate
The plan turned out to be ------- because it would have required more financial backing than was available.
A) intractable
B) chaotic
C) irreversible
D) untenable
E) superfluous
Because the damage to his car had been ____, Michael decided he wouldn’t bother to report the matter to his insurance company.
A) intermittent
B) gratuitous
C) negligible
D) spontaneous
E) significant
Because vast organizations are an inevitable element in modern life, it is ____ to aim at their abolition.
A) necessary
B) important
C) customary
D) realistic
E) futile
Julia feared that her 6-month hiatus from playing the piano would cause her musical skills to -------.
A) atrophy
B) align
C) develop
D) reconcile
E) disseminate
Thinking nothing can be done, many victims of arthritis ignore or delay ------- countermeasures, thus aggravating the problem.
A) tardy
B) injurious
C) characteristic
D) weird
E) effective
Since his clothes were soaked, his story of falling into the creek seemed -------.
A) incredible
B) absurd
C) predictable
D) plausible
E) remarkable
When his temperature climbed above 104 degrees, he became ----.
A) tepid
B) discordant
C) deceased
D) delirious
E) presumptuous
Rosa was such a last-minute worker that she could never start writing a paper till the deadline was ____.
A) known
B) problematic
C) imminent
D) superseded
E) recent
If you need car parts that the dealers no longer stock, try ____ for odd bits and pieces at the auto wreckers’ yards.
A) waiting
B) bantering
C) scavenging
D) riveting
E) insuring
Because we have completed our analysis of the major components of the proposed project, we are free to devote the remainder of this session to a study of the project’s ____ details.
(A) lurid
(B) scrupulous
(C) unquestionable
(D) incidental
(E) involuntary
Kate’s impulsive nature and sudden whims led her friends to label her ____.
A) capricious
B) bombastic
C) loquacious
D) dispassionate
E) decorous
If Peter continues to skip classes and fail to complete homework assignments, he will soon find that he has been ------- the university.
A) dismissed from
B) invited to
C) trapped in
D) warned about
E) reminded of
Millicent was extremely ------- to be given the award, for she had worked very hard for it.
A) pleased
B) open-minded
C) embarrassed
D) interested
E) fruitful
Throughout his young life, John excelled in sports, and as a result he decided he wanted to become a professional -------.
A) chemist
B) athlete
C) accountant
D) sales representative
E) student
After seeing shocking films of animals maimed and tortured by traps of hunters, Marie concluded that purchasing a new fur coat would
be -------.
A) mandatory
B) subliminal
C) glamorous
D) immoral
E) redundant
Because the speaker had a reputation for -------, the chairperson warned him to be succinct.
A) bravery
B) creativity
C) lassitude
D) piety
E) loquaciousness
The teacher accused me of ____ because my essay was so similar to that of another student.
A) procrastination
B) plagiarism
C) celerity
D) confusion
E) decorum
As a result of a(n) ------- with her landlord, she was evicted.
A) contusion
B) alternative
C) conflagration
D) altercation
E) aggression
The commentator characterized the electorate as ______ because it was unpredictable and given to constantly shifting moods.
A) mercurial
B) corrosive
C) disingenuous
D) implacable
E) phlegmatic
Because of its strength, adhesiveness, and invaluable qualities as a nest-building material, many species of birds ____ silk into their nests.
A) smuggle
B) jettison
C) incorporate
D) entice
E) dissolve
The new nomenclature was so ____ that many chemists preferred to revert to the older trivial names that were at least shorter.
A) succinct
B) cumbersome
C) irrational
D) facile
E) systematic
The grade was steep and the load heavy; we had to ---- the oxen in order to arrive home on time.
A) rest
B) eat
C) feed
D) goad
E) slaughter
Thomas Hardy’s novels are described as ______ because of their preoccupation with daily life in rural and agricultural settings.
A) bucolic
B) prolific
C) lugubrious
D) sundry
E) metaphorical
Because of the trauma they have experienced, survivors of a major catastrophe are likely to exhibit ____ of behavior and may require the aid of competent therapists.
A) concessions
B) diminutions
C) aberrations
D) restrictions
E) altercations
It was not possible to set a monetary value on the legal services she provided, so the grateful town had a gold medal struck as a(n) -------.
A) affirmation
B) eulogy
C) exultation
D) elegy
E) honorarium
The ---- fumes from the refinery poisoned the air, causing many people to fall ill.
A) superfluous
B) peremptory
C) noxious
D) lugubrious
E) intransigent
The explorer was unable to ____ his thirst at the stream since an enraged Grizzly bear barred the way.
A) assuage
B) parch
C) savor
D) describe
E) attenuate
Martha’s ---- handling of the steaks caused us to amend our plans for dinner and eat out.
A) ingenious
B) ingenuous
C) disingenuous
D) inverted
E) inept
They prefer to hire someone fluent in Spanish, since the neighborhood where the clinic is located is ---- Hispanic.
A) imponderably
B) sparsely
C) consistently
D) predominantly
E) not at all
The authorities declared an ---- on incoming freight because of the trucking strike.
A) impression
B) immolation
C) embargo
D) alert
E) opprobrium
In a fit of ____ she threw out the valuable statue simply because it had belonged to her ex-husband.
A) pique
B) goodwill
C) contrition
D) pedantry
E) prudence
The main reason for the loss of the Alamo was the ---- of Santa Ana’s forces.
A) decline
B) felicitation
C) preponderance
D) isolation
E) absence
---- in his income caused both feast and famine.
A) Reduction
B) Accretion
C) Taxes
D) Fluctuation
E) Amortization
Failure to use the Salk vaccine caused a ---- of polio in isolated communities; many fell ill with it.
A) renascence
B) recrudescence
C) renaissance
D) redevelopment
E) revival
Lexy’s joy at finding the perfect Christmas gift for John was ____, for she still had to find presents for the cousins and Uncle Bob.
A) transient
B) antithetical
C) exuberant
D) exhaustive
E) incontrovertible
In view of the extenuating circumstances and the defendant’s youth, the judge recommended ----.
A) conviction
B) a defense
C) a mistrial
D) leniency
E) hanging
“A stitch in time saves nine” and other such ---- expressions made his speeches insufferable.
A) tried
B) cryptic
C) redundant
D) trite
E) true
One critic asserts that modern urban architecture causes sensory deprivation because it fails to provide visual and tactile _______.
A) latency
B) stimulation
C) complacence
D) confusion
E) extension
Joseph’s ---- handling of the Thompson account made him the laughingstock of the industry.
A) proper
B) dishonest
C) maudlin
D) humorous
E) incompetent
If you don’t badger the child, he may do what you want him to do without ----.
A) pleasure
B) pain
C) pressure
D) volition
E) waste
They ---- their offer of aid when they became disillusioned with the project.
A) expanded
B) redoubled
C) bolstered
D) constrained
E) rescinded
The more the search proved fruitless, the more ---- the parents of the missing child became.
A) disconsolate
B) dislocated
C) disappointed
D) disheveled
E) disinfected
Because Elaine's father was a field entomologist who trekked over the continent studying insect infestations, and insisted on taking his
young family with him, Elaine and her brother had a(n) ____ childhood.
A) idyllic
B) itinerant
C) sedentary
D) propitious
E) equable
The assumption that chlorofluorocarbons would be ____ in the environment because they were chemically inert, was challenged by the
demonstration of a potential threat to the ozone layer.
A) deleterious
B) innocuous
C) persistent
D) noxious
E) durable
Since eating that ---- amount of food I have become ----.
A) substantial .. unchanged
B) miniscule .. corpulent
C) gargantuan .. emaciated
D) prodigious .. bilious
E) impeccable .. fastidious
Halls and audiences for lieder recitals tend to be smaller than those for opera and thus more ____ the intimacy and sense of close involvement, which is the recital’s particular charm.
A) inauspicious for
B) destructive of
C) conducive to
D) compromised by
E) indifferent to
Since the Romans failed to ____ the tribes in Northern Britain, they built a wall to ____ the tribes.
A) conquer - alienate
B) impress - intimidate
C) subjugate - exclude
D) pacify - enrage
E) neutralize - barricade
Because she thought her hateful cousin's behavior was _____ , it _____ her to hear the adults praise him
A. intangible..thrilled
B. putative..baffled
C. laconic..encouraged
D. insipid..demeaned
E. obnoxious..galled
Many biologists have attempted to ____ the conditions on earth before life evolved in order to answer questions about the ____ of
biological molecules.
A) mimic - fitness
B) standardize - shapes
C) replicate - reactions
D) simulate - origin
E) ameliorate - evolution
Many 17th century buildings that are still in existence have been so ____ by successive owners that the original layout is no longer ____ .
A) preserved - visible
B) modified - apparent
C) decimated - enshrouded
D) salvaged - required
E) neglected - appropriate
MULTIPLE SIGNAL WORDS
He said he didn’t get the job done because he was incapacitated; in truth, he was ----.
A) indigent
B) indolent
C) indulgent
D) insipid
E) inculpable
Ironically, the protest held in order to strengthen the labor movement served to ______ it.
A) justify
B) coddle
C) weaken
D) invigorate
E) appease
Because theaters refused to show it when it was first released, Citizen Kane was a __ failure, though now it is considered one of the
greatest American films ever made.
A) revolutionary
B) personal
C) aesthetic
D) perennial
E) commercial
Her memoirs are quite unlike those of her predecessors, for she is bold and aggressive where they are ____ and comfortable.
A) audacious
B) vivid
C) bland
D) brazen
E) contentious
Although she is reputed to be aloof, her manner that day was so ---- that everyone felt perfectly at ease.
A) reluctant
B) gracious
C) malign
D) plausible
E) arrogant
The stigma attached to this job makes it ---- even at a(n) ---- salary.
A) enticing .. fabulous
B) unattractive .. attractive
C) attractive .. attractive
D) sybaritic .. meager
E) uninviting .. nominal
Like a balloon that is ____, aneurysms (swellings in the walls of arteries) sometimes enlarge so much that they ____.
A) expanding...contract
B) punctured...dilate
C) elastic...stratify
D) weightless...stretch
E) overinflated...burst
POSITIVE / NEGATIVE STRATEGY
The children were told that they should be ---- of strangers offering candy.
A) weary
B) wary
C) envious
D) considerate
E) happy
Elder statesmen used to be ---- for their wisdom when respect for age was an integral part of the value structure.
A) known
B) venerated
C) exiled
D) abused
E) used
A person who commits a wrong may be required to ---- his property as a penalty.
A) confiscate
B) destroy
C) forfeit
D) assess
E) sell
VISUALIZE
The chariot ---- around the curve completely out of control when Thessalius dropped the reins.
A) trotted
B) competed
C) careened
D) fell
E) caromed
During colonial winters in America there was a ---- in every ----.
A) fire .. hearth
B) stoker .. pot
C) flintlock .. chimney
D) tepee .. stockade
E) blizzard .. storm
NO SIGNAL WORDS
The garden that had remained ______ for months was now pleasantly enlivened by the budding shoots of its perennial flowers.
A) redolent
B) dormant
C) exuberant
D) compliant
E) trenchant
The crew of the air balloon ____ the sand bags to help the balloon rise over the hill.
A) capsized
B) jettisoned
C) salvaged
D) augmented
E) enumerated
The moon was hidden and the night had grown very dark; she had to ____ to see.
A) blink
B) strain
C) mask
D) remember
E) reflect
Far from being in the ____ condition promised by the realtor, the condo was shabby and dilapidated.
A) vacant
B) indifferent
C) pristine
D) marginal
E) euphoric
Given the ability of modern technology to _____ the environment, it is clear that, if we are not careful, the human race may soon be as extinct as the dinosaur.
A) enhance
B) destroy
C) analyze
D) repair
E) nurture
The ____, by definition, possesses wisdom; the virtuoso, by definition, possesses ____.
A) scholar...morality
B) sage...expertise
C) zealot...sincerity
D) visionary...idealism
E) pedant...proficiency
NOTICE NEGATIVES
Watch out for negative words and words with negative prefixes: no, not, none; non-, un-, in-. These negative words and word parts are killers, especially in combination.
Iodine deficiency is ____ in these remote mountain regions; however, it is no longer ____ in the lowlands where iodized salt is available.
A) recorded - unusual
B) rare - sporadic
C) eradicated - common
D) endemic - prevalent
E) diagnosed - controlled
Madison was not ____ person and thus made few public addresses; but those he made were memorable, filled with noble phrases.
A) a reticent
B) a stately
C) an inspiring
D) an introspective
E) a communicative
As founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman has ensured that, even though the young cannot vote or make campaign contributions, they are nevertheless not ____ in Washington.
A) represented
B) distrusted
C) ignored
D) committed
E) welcome
APPOSITIVE
Some countries have been extremely _, creating new jobs, markets and successful industries.
A) populous
B) warlike
C) prosperous
D) isolated
E) dry
Always trying to look on the bright side of every situation, she is a born ____.
A) opportunist
B) antagonist
C) optimist
D) maverick
E) zealot
I am seeking an ____ solution to this dispute, one that will be fair and acceptable to both sides.
A) equivocal
B) infamous
C) equitable
D) idiosyncratic
E) overrated