Sentence-Completion.docx

A-Oct 2013
1.Patricia is so ___ that she is unable to tolerate others deviating in the least from rules and conventions.
A.importunate B.facile C.unshakable D.punctilious E.complaisant

A-Jan 2014
1.Eager to enlist as a soldier during the American Revolution, Deborah Sampson Gannett successfully ___ the military’s gender boundary by donning men’s clothing and ___ a male identity.
A.delineate…flaunting
B.circumvented…assuming
C.reinstated…mimicking
D.denounced…inventing
E.skirted…disguising

2.The problem of soil degradation is ___: few, if any, agriculturally important regions are unaffected by it.
A.recent B.modest C.subtle D.global E.finished

3.Essayist Michel de Montaigne cultivated a contemplative prose style that seemed to meander with his thoughts, thereby making his essays ___ and filled with ___.
A.digressive…tangents
B.cursory…ephemera
C.convoluted…jargon
D.frenetic…platitudes
E.aimless…polemics

A-May 2014
1.In these mountains, the ___ stature of plants testifies to the inhibiting influence of ___, often buffeting winds.
A.small…constant
B.diminutive…imperceptible
C.typical…moderate
D.considerable…intermittent
E.giant…destructive

2.The economist had a reputation as ___ ; his colleagues liked to tease him that he ___ recessions because he looked for trouble.
A.a maverick…expected
B.an orge…disregarded
C.an alarmist … foresaw
D.an indigent…downplayed
E.a scholar…enjoyed

N-Jan 2008
1.Anishinable activist Winona LaDuke has worked to ___ many parcels of tribal land that, over decades, have been lost through sales or foreclosures.
A.publicize B.repress C.reject D.recover E.abolish

2.Evan imperiously demanded that he be awarded a much-needed raise or be dismissed, ___ that ___ when he was summarily terminated.
A.a ploy…lingered
B.an entreaty…flopped
C.an ultimatum…backfired
D.an innuendo…fizzled
E.a stratagem…sufficed

3.The senator never formally declared her opposition to the proposed legislation; instead, she engineered a series of ___ actions that ultimately ___ passage of the bill.
A.expeditions…facilitated
B.conciliatory…disconcerted
C.dilatory…forestalled
D.proverbial…guaranteed
E.unpremeditated…thwarted

Shameful 15-1
1.Manuel was so ___ that he would gladly spend months without more than perfunctory contact with other people.
A.affable B.spurious C.prudent D.exacting E.solitary

2.Judy Dater’s photographs depict everyday reality while also evoking qualities so ___ that few photographers can capture them.
A.concrete B.steadfast C.fleeting D.mundane E.dreary

3.Diego Velazquez, Francisco de Goya, and El Greco, three of the most distinctive and influential artists in Spain’s history, together form the great ___ of Spanish painting.
A.triage B.sojourn C.triumvirate D.convocation E.tenure

4.The experts could not believe that a beginner had created such an accomplished work: they found the idea ___.
A.capricious B.implausible C.coincidental D.unremarkable E.circumstantial

5.Compelled by powerful impulses to ___ her energies on myriad unworthy projects, Emilia knotholes dazzled observers with the sheer magnitude of that ___.
A.lavish…malevolence
B.focus…discernment
C.expend…affability
D.squander…profligacy
E.distill…versatility

A-May 2006
1.Though Judd is typically ___ and reserved in social gatherings, at last night’s reception he spoke and acted with uncharacteristic ___.
A.loquacious…alacrity
B.querulous…languor
C.disaffected…resentment
D.diplomatic…decorum
E.diffident…aplomb
A-Jan 2007
1.Although the editors were reputed to be very ___, the uneven quality of the material they put into the anthology suggests they were too ___.
A.amateurish…professional
B.lax…harsh
C.selective…inclusive
D.judgmental…discriminating
E.sensitive…insightful

A-May 2007
1.Rose smiled approvingly but gave neither written nor spoken permission to proceed with the project: her consent, in short, was ___.
A.tacit B.fervent C.unqualified D.impetuous E.conditional

A-Jan 2011
1.Ellen respects Gary’s qualities of broad-mindeness and humanism; she cannot, however ___ them with his ___ support of a political creed that seems to oppose precisely those qualities.
A.repudiate…jingoistic
B.undermine…wavering
C.assuage…logical
D.reconcile…dogmatic
E.acknowledge…polemical

A-May 2011
1.Lina Wermüler’s film Love and Anarchy is a ___ its title, contemplating the two concepts without taking a position on them.
A.demolition of
B.critique of
C.commemoration of
D.meditation on
E.diatribe against

2.City leaders practice ___ out of respect for taxpayers, ___ the number of new public projects.
A.forbearance…augmenting
B.mendacity…circumventing
C.austerity…curtailing
D.profligacy…truncating
E.reticence…extolling

A-Jan 2012
1.Rosario ___ on the problem at length, but no amount of extended reflection could provide her with a satisfactory solution.
A.collaborated B.extemporized C.expounded D.expostulated E.ruminated

A-Jan 2013
1.Dr. Abraham often understated his accomplishment, even at times ___ the way he had achieved his success against overwhelming obstacles.
A.recounting B.deprecating C.controlling D.lauding E.apprehending

A-Jan 2008
1.Hoping to preserve natural habitats, conservationists lobbied for legislation that would ___ commercial development in these areas.
A.mandate B.accommodate C.economize D.diversify E.arrest

A-May 2013
1.The renewed interest in Elizabethan times is evident in the ___ of new Hollywood films set during that period.
A.spate B.hypocrisy C.demise D.transience E.revival

2.The candidate’s comments during the debate were so ___ that not even his most vehement critics could seize on something to use against him.
A.innocuous B.evocative C.uproarious D.pivotal E.topical

A-May 2008
1.His goal was to ___ the committee’s deliberations, and a measure of his success was the ease with which a decision was reached.
A.translate B.obfuscate C.facilitate D.deliberate E.exacerbate

2.The crude animated effects ___ projected images from seventeenth-century later slides have now been recognized as ___ of modern film animation.
A.complemented by…antecedents
B.forestalled by…harbingers
C.depicted in…derivatives
D.featured in…replicas
E.afforded by…forerunners

A-Oct 2008
1.The singer displays her sensitivity to delicate shades of meaning and feeling in her recording: her performance is a model of ___
A.expansiveness B.denotation C.nuance D.parody E.artifice

A-May 2009
1.The corporation’s code of ethics is ludicrous; its principles are either ___, offering clichés in lieu of guidance, or so unspecific as to make any behavior ___.
A.hackneyed…unlikely
B.anonymous…acceptable
C.platitudinous…permissible
D.portentous…justifiable
E.instructive…commonplace

2.In winning the Man Booker Prize, novelist Kiran Desai ___ an honor that had ___ her mother, Anita Desai, who was a runner-up three times but never won.
A.received…distinguished
B.achieved…eluded
C.avoided…motivated
D.coveted…overwhelmed
E.escaped…evaded

N-2008
1.Anishinabe activist Winona LaDuke has worked to ___ many parcels of tribal land that, over decades, have been lost through sales or foreclosures.
A.publicize B.repress C.reject D.recover E.abolish

2.The senator never formally declared her opposition to the proposed legislation; instead, she engineered a series of _ actions that ultimately ___ passage of the bill.
A.expeditious…facilitated
B.conciliatory…disconcerted
C.dilatory…forestalled
D.proverbial…guaranteed
E.unpremeditated…thwarted

N-2009
1.Around strangers, Ravi appeared ___; but once he was with his friends, his self-confidence returned, and he became more___.
A.retiring…taciturn
B.assured…skittish
C.diffident…assertive
D.unfaltering…outgoing
E.coy…befuddled

2.While the manager clearly sought to ___ the optimism of the marketing team, she stopped short of pronouncing their plan unfeasible.
A.sustain B.temper C.emulate D.convey E.rekindle

3.Because the editors refused to take a stand on controversial subjects, their magazine acquired a reputation for intellectual ___.
A.dogmatism B.timidity C.solemnity D.rigor E.favoritism

N-2010
1.Judy’s photographs depict everyday reality while also evoking qualities so ___ that few photographers can capture them.
A.concentrate B.steadfast C.fleeting D.mundane E.dreary

2.The experts could not believe that a beginner had created such an accomplished work: they found the idea ___.
A.capricious B.implausible C.coincidental D.unremarkable E.circumstantial

3.Compelled by powerful impulses to ___ her energies on myriad unworthy projects, Emilia nonetheless dazzled observers with the sheer magnitude of that ___.
A.lavish…malevolence
B.focus…discernment
C.expend…affability
D.squander…profligacy
E.distill…versatility

N-2011
1.The newest member of the research team, not wanting to appear ___, refrained from ___ any criticism of the principal scientist’s plan for completing the project.
A.ambivalent…evaluating
B.inquisitive…voicing
C.presumptuous…venturing
D.censorious…undermining
E.didactic…condoning

2.The only ___ on the flat desert landscape was the occasional rock outcrop jutting skyward.
A.regularity B.relief C.symmetry D.vacancy E.depression

3.The sanitized version of the Madame Curie saga had the dishonest quality of ___ the problems that even she, the great scientist, could not overcome.
A.delineating B.exposing C.minimizing D.eulogizing E.lambasting

4.Because their previous supervisor had been especially ___ and understanding, the staff members were ___ the authoritarian style of the new director.
A.agreeable…buoyed by
B.lenient…put off by
C.cynical…stymied by
D.dictatorial…resentful of
E.fervent…supportive of