2 - ] Model SAT Practice Exercises - Exercise B

2 - ] Model SAT Practice Exercises

2 - ] Sentence Completion Exercise B

Select the best answer to each of the following questions : then blacken the appropriate space on your answer sheet .

1 . Because he is so …. , we can never predict what course he will take at any moment .

(A) incoherent (B) superficial (C) capricious (D) deleterious (E) conventional

2 . The bank teller’s …. of the funds went undiscovered until the auditors examined the accounts and found that huge sums were missing .

(A) extradition (B) embezzlement (C) subordination (D) scrutiny (E) verification

3 . He was so convinced that people were driven by …. motives that he believed there was so such thing as a purely unselfish act .

(A) sentimental (B) personal (C) altruistic (D) ulterior (E) intrinsic

4 . Because he was …. by nature , he preferred reading a book in the privacy of his own study to visiting a nightclub with friends .

(A) an exhibitionist (B) a hedonist (C) an adversary (D) an egoist (E) an introvert

5 . Surprisingly enough , it is more difficult to write about the …. than about the …. and strange .

(A) specific …. foreign

(B) abstract …. prosaic

(C) commonplace …. exotic

(D) simple …. routine

(E) ludicrous …. dejected

6. The plot of this story is so …. that I can predict the outcome .

(A) intricate (B) theoretical (C) pivotal (D) trite (E) fictitious

7 . The fundraising ball turned out to be a …. : it started late , attracted too few dancers , and lost almost a million dollars .

(A) debacle (B) blockbuster (C) deluge (D) gala (E) milestone

8 . She was pleased by the accolades she received ; like everyone else , she enjoyed being ….

(A) entertained (B) praised (C) playful (D) vindicated (E) charitable

9 . Safire as a political commentator is patently never …. ‘ he writes …. editorials about every action the government takes .

(A) content …. deferential

(B) querulous …. biased

(C) amazed …. bemused

(D) overawed …. flattering

(E) satisfied …. peevish

10 . Although frugal by nature , on this special occasion he refused to …. , but instead feasted his guests ….  .

(A) splurge …. munificently

(B) conserve …. intangibly

(C) stint …. lavishly

(D) temporize …. austerely

(E) cooperate …. exorbitantly

11. The tapeworm is an example of …. organism , one that lives within or on another creature , deriving some or all of its nutriment from its host .

(A) a hospitable (B) an exemplary  (C) a parasitic (D) an autonomous (E) a protozoan

12 . He found himself in the …. position of appearing to support appoint of view that he abhorred .

(A) obvious (B) innocuous (C) anomalous (D) enviable (E) auspicious

13 . The younger members of the company resented the domineering and …. manner of the office manager .

(A) urbane (B) prudent (C) convivial (D) imperious (E) objective

14 . Bluebeard was noted for his …. jealousy , a jealousy so extreme that it passed all reasonable bounds .

(A) transitory (B) rhetorical (C) stringent (D) callous (E) inordinate

15 . I regret that my remarks seemed …. ; I never intended to belittle you .

(A) inadequate (B) justified (C) unassailable (D) disparaging (E) shortsighted

16 . A …. glance pays …. attention to details .

(A) furtive …. meticulous

(B) cursory …. little

(C) cryptic …. close

(D) keen …. scanty

(E)fleeting …. vigilant

17. With its elaborately carved , convoluted lines , furniture of the Baroque period was highly ….  .

(A) functional (B) primitive (C) linear (D) spare  (E) ornate

18 . His overweening pride in his accomplishments was …. : he had accomplished little if anything at all .

(A) unjustified (B) innocuous (C) systematic (D) rational (E) critical

19 . A …. relationship links the rhinoceros and the oxpecker ( or rhinoceros bird ] , for the two are mutually dependent .

(A) monolithic (B) superficial (C) symbiotic (D) debilitating (E) stereotypical

20 . When we saw black smoke billowing from the wing of the plane , we were certain that disaster was ….  .

(A) unlikely (B) opportune (C) imminent (D) undeserved (E) averted

21 . Upon realizing that his position was …. , the general …. his men to retreat to a neighboring hill .

(A) valuable …. admonished

(B) untenable …. ordered

(C) overrated …. forbade

(D) exposed …. urged

(E) salubrious ….commanded

22 . The seriousness of the drought could only be understood by those who had seen the …. crops in the fields .

(A) copious (B) deluged (C) wilted (D) bumper (E) diversified

23 . As ecologists recently …. in studying the effects of naturally induced forest fires , some phenomena that appear on the surface to be destructive often have a hidden …. effect on balance .

(A) disproved …. beneficial

(B) discovered …. positive

(C) hypothesized …. catastrophic

(D) disclosed …. unecological

(E) determined …. disastrous

24 . The dispute became so …. that we were afraid the adversaries would come to blows .

(A) ironic (B) generalized (C) didactic (D) articulate (E) acrimonious

25 . With the rift between the two sides apparently widening , analysis said they considered the likelihood of a merger between the two corporations to be ….  .

(A) deteriorating (B) substantial (C) coincidental (D) legitimate (E) plausible

26 . Fossils may be set in stone , but their interpretation is not ; a new find may necessitate the …. of a traditional theory .

(A) ambiguity (B) revision (C) formulation (D) validation (E) assertion

27 . In attempting to reconcile estranged spouses , counselors try to foster a spirit of …. rather than one of stubborn implacability .

(A) disillusionment (B) ambivalence (C) compromise (D) antagonism (E) independence

28 . Shakespeare’s reference to clocks in “Julius Caesar” is an example of …. ; that is , it is chronologically out of place .

(A) timeless (B) antiquarianism (C) anachronism (D) synchronization (E) ignorance

29 . A diligent scholar , she devoted herself …. to the completion of the book .

(A) assiduously (B) ingenuously (C) theoretically (D) voluminously (E) sporadically

30 . He was …. success , painting not for the sake of fame or monetary reward , but for the sheer love of art .

(A) indifferent to (B) destined for (C) avid for (D) jaded by (E) enamored of

31 . The thought of being trapped in a stalled elevator terrifies me ; it brings out all my …. fears of small enclosed places .

(A) agoraphobic (B) kleptomaniac (C) hypochondriac (D) therapeutic (E) claustrophobic

32 . Crows are extremely …. : their cries easily drown out the songs of neighboring birds .

(A) fickle (B) swarthy (C) raucous (D) cordial (E) versatile

33 . The gardener had planted such a wide variety of flowering trees and shrubs in the courtyard that it seemed a virtual ….  .

(A) wasteland (B) cloister (C) panorama (D) arboretum (E) granary

34 . You should …. this paragraph in order to make your essay more ….  .

(A) delete …. succinct

(B) enlarge …. redundant

(C) remove …. discursive

(D) revise …. abstruse

(E) excise …. legible

35 . Sharon’s childhood can best be termed …. : she had never been farther west than Philadelphia until she turned sixteen .

(A) provincial (B) transitory (C) nomadic (D) utilitarian (E) eclectic

36 . His submissiveness of manner and general air of self-effacement made it …. he would be …. to take command of the firm .

(A) unlikely …. selected

(B) implausible …. hesitant

(C) clear …. designated

(D) puzzling …. disinclined

(E) probable …. demoted

37. She was accused of plagiarism in a dispute over a short story , and , though …. , she never recovered from the accusation and the scandal .

(A) indicted (B) verified (C) exonerated (D) retaliated (E) convinced

38 . The patient is subject to emotional …. : she is utterly ecstatic one minute and thoroughly …. the next .

(A) impoverishment …. enervated

(B) upheavals …. euphoric

(C) extremes …. downcast

(D) deviations …. wayward

(E) stability …. unresponsive

39 . The king’s champion was a …. foe , one whose mighty presence on the field of battle struck fear in the hearts of his prospective adversaries .

(A) methodical (B) rancorous (C) timorous (D) redoubtable (E) questionable

40 . Watching the hang gliders soar above the fields , I marveled at how they seemed to …. gravity , hovering in the sky like rainbow-colored birds .

(A) release (B) adorn (C) defy (D) emulate (E) abet

41 . Her novel published to universal acclaim , her literary gifts acknowledged by the chief figures of the Harlem Renaissance , her reputation as yet …. by envious slights , Hurston clearly was at the …. of her cancer .

(A) undamaged…. ebb

(B) untarnished …. zenith

(C) untainted …. extremely

(D) blackened …. mercy

(E) unmarried …. brink

42 . In Anne of Green Gables , the heroine turns down a prestigious scholarship so that the young hero may receive it ; once more , the woman …. her own …. to those of the man .

(A) prefers …. ambitious

(B) sacrifices …. losses

(C) surrenders …. talents

(D) accommodates …. beliefs

(E) subordinates …. interests

43 . Having envisioned atomic weapons a decade before , Leo Szilard felt horror and guilt at the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , calling them “a flagrant…. of our own moral standards .”

(A) violation (B) exposition (C) punishment (D) vindication (E) agitation

44 . From the lunch counter sit-ins and bus boycotts to the historic freedom march from Selma to Montgomery , this fine volume shows how …. Americans from every walk of life fought …. battle for “liberty and justice for all .”

(A) revolutionary …. an unnecessary

(B) typical …. an ignoble

(C) progressive …. a vainglorious

(D) ordinary …. an inspiring

(E) pugnacious …. a dubious

45 . Despite an affected …. which convinced casual observers  that he was indifferent about his painting and enjoyed only frivolity , Warhol cared deeply about his art and labored at it ….  .

(A) nonchalance …. diligently

(B) empathy …. methodically

(C) fervor …. secretly

(D) gloom …. intermittently

(E) hysteria …. sporadically

46. Cancer cells are normal cells run riot , growing and multiplying out of ….  .

(A) spite (B) danger (C) control (D) apathy (E) range

47 . Science progresses by building on what has come before ;important findings thus form the basis of …. experiments .

(A) gradual (B) subsequent (C) ingenious (D) repetitive (E) perfunctory

48 . The Internal Revenue Service agent was a …. for accuracy ,insisting that taxpayers provide exact figures for every deduction they claimed .

(A) martyr (B) scoundrel (C) stickler (D) procrastinator (E) candidate

49 . Even if you do not …. what I have to say , I would appreciate your listening to me with an open mind .

(A) concur with (B) reject (C) clarify(D) deviate from (E) anticipate

50 . Paradoxically , Helen , who had a strict mother to her children , proved …. mistress to her cats .

(A) a harsh (B) an indolent (C) an ambivalent (D) a cautious  (E) a lenient