Directions: Sentence completion tests your ability to use the information found in complex, but incomplete, sentences in order to correctly complete the sentences. Sentence completions test two separate aspects of your verbal skills: your vocabulary and your ability to follow the internal logic of sentences. The word provided in the option must fit in the sentence’s blank space and make the given sentence meaningful and grammatically correct also. You have to check all the options until you find a suitable answer. After finding the suitable word or phrase mark this option as your correct answer. Be sure your choice is both logical and grammatically correct. If you don’t know some words, use elimination and educated guessing (elimination method)
Although he never learn to read, his exceptional memory and enquiring mind eventually made him a very ________ man. a. dedicated b. erudite c. pragmatic d. benevolent
Answer: B
erudite: having or showing great knowledge that is based on careful study
Solution: Although he never learn to read, his exceptional memory and enquiring mind eventually made him a very erudite man.
In view of the company’s _______ claims that its scalp treatment would grow hair on bald heads, the newspaper _______ its advertising. a. unproved, banned b. interesting, canceled c. unreasonable, welcomed d. innocent, settled e. immune, questioned
Answer: A
The first step is to examine the first words of each choice. We eliminate Choice (D) and Choice (E) because “claims” are not innocent or immune. Now we go on to the remaining choices. When you fill in the two blanks of Choice B and of Choice C, the sentence does not make sense. So these two choices are also incorrect. Filling in the two blanks of Choice A makes the sentence meaningful.
Many buildings with historical significance are now being ______ instead of being torn down. a. built b. forgotten c. destroyed d. praised e. repaired
Answer: E
Choice E is correct. The key words “instead of” constitute an opposite indicator. The words give us a good clue—we should fill the blank with an antonym (opposite) for “torn down.” If you used the strategy of trying to complete the sentence before looking at the five choices, you might have come up with any of the following appropriate words:
remodeled
reconstructed
remade
renovated
These words all mean the same as the correct Choice E word, “repaired.”
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
Answer: C
stinginess: not generous, unwilling to give, especially money. stingy implies a marked lack of generosity.
You must look for a word that balances with “happiness.” Here are some of the words:
joy
goodness
satisfaction
enjoyment
All these words can be linked to Choice C.
Being _______ person, he insisted at the conference that when he spoke he was not to be interrupted. a. a successful b. a delightful c. a headstrong d. an understanding e. a solitary
Answer: C
headstrong: doing what you want, without listening to advice from other people
Choice C is correct. The main clause of the sentence— “he insisted . . . not be interrupted”—supports the idea expressed in the first three words of the sentence. Accordingly, Choice C “headstrong” (meaning stubborn) is the only correct choice.
Hunger has reached epidemic proportions nationwide, leaving up to 20 million people ______ to illness and fear. a. agreeable b. vulnerable c. obvious d. acclimated e. sensitive
Answer: B
vulnerable: weak and easy to hurt physically or emotionally
You might have come up with any of the following words:
susceptible (to)
open (to)
unprotected (from)
These words all mean about the same as the correct one, Choice B: “vulnerable.”
More insurers are limiting the sale of property insurance in coastal areas and other regions ______ natural disasters. a. safe from b. according to c. despite d. prone to
Answer: D
Solution: More insurers are limiting the sale of property insurance in coastal areas and other regions prone to natural disasters.
Roman Regions _ the Mountain _ of Masada for three years before they were able to seize it. a. dissembled, bastion b. assailed, symbol c. besieged, citadel d. honed, stronghold
Answer: C
besieged: to surround a place with an army
citadel: a castle on high ground in or near a city where people could go when the city was being attacked
Solution: Roman Regions besieged the Mountain citadel of Masada for three years before they were able to seize it.
Unlike his calmer, more easygoing colleagues, the senator was ________, ready to quarrel at the slightest provocation. a. whimsical b. irascible c. gregarious d. ineffectual
Answer: B
irascible: having or showing a tendency to be easily angered.
Solution: Unlike his calmer,more easygoing colleagues ,the senator was irascible, ready to quarrel at the slightest provocation.
Reconstructing the skeletons of extinct species like dinosaurs is ______ process that requires much patience and effort by paleontologists. a. a nascent b. an aberrant c. a worthless d. an exacting
Answer: D
an exacting: needing a lot of care and attention; difficult
Solution: Reconstructing the skeletons of extinct species like dinosaurs is an exacting process that requires much patience and effort by paleontologists.
