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Name________________
Date________________
●Sentence Completion 29 (low-advanced SAT level)
Directions: Choose the best word(s) to complete each sentence.
1. While the professional players were on
strike, several football teams put
together ______ assortment of amateurs,
retired professionals, and minor leaguers,
but the players were so incongruous and
mismatched that none of the teams
played cohesively.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
an analogous
a pusillanimous
a motley
an adroit
a uniform
2. The graduate student’s pomposity often
hurt his scores: professors noted that his
use of ______ hurt his overall thesis, and
they encouraged him to avoid his usual
pretentious jargon in future works.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
rhetoric
semaphore
patois
neologisms
vernacular
3. The Supreme Court issued ______ that all
schools were to abandon racial
segregation, and President Eisenhower
used federal troops to enforce the
injunction wherever it was being resisted.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
an admonition
a mandate
a retraction
an entreaty
an embargo
4. I’ve never been able to appreciate the
______ taste of grapefruits; because they
are so sour, I cannot understand why
anyone would choose to eat one.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
acrimonious
tart
sanguine
saccharine
toothsome
5. Although the talk radio host was known
for being ______ and energetic, when off
air, he seemed surprisingly calm and
______.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
enervating ... bemused
restrained ... fiery
lethargic ... mellow
zealous ... subdued
frenetic ... spirited
6. Since they needed someone outside the
family to help make the decision fairly
and without bias, the Morgans asked
their neighbor to be their _______ and
help determine which family member
had made the best gingerbread house.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
aficionado
vacillator
equivocator
advocate
arbiter
Answers and Explanations
1) C
To figure out what the missing word is, try to predict its definition by using key
words from the prompt. Here, the key words are “incongruous” and
“mismatched,” words that, like the missing word, describe the assortment of
players employed by the football teams in question. Thus, the missing word must
also be one that means mismatched or incongruous, so choice (C) is correct, as
motley means made up of diverse elements.
(A) is incorrect because analogous means corresponding in some way or
comparable. The prompt actually implies that the players in question were the
opposite of analogous to each other, as they were, instead, “incongruous” and
“mismatched.”
(B) is incorrect because pusillanimous means cowardly. The prompt makes it
clear the teams were unsuccessful, but it does not imply that the lack of success
was due to the fact that the players on the teams were cowardly.
(D) is incorrect because adroit means highly skilled. Nothing in the prompt
discusses the skill levels of the players, as the prompt only makes it clear that
they were an “incongruous” and “mismatched” bunch.
(E) is incorrect because uniform means identical and is, thus, the opposite of how
the players in the prompt are described. They are described as being
“incongruous and mismatched,” not similar or complementary.
2) A
To figure out what the missing word is, try to predict its definition by using key
words from the prompt. Here, the key words are “pomposity” and “pretentious.”
The former describes something the student has, while the latter describes, as
does the missing word, what the student uses in his writings. Thus, his writings
must come across as pompous because they are filled with the “pretentious
jargon” his professors have encouraged him to omit. Therefore, the missing word
is one that means pompous speech or pretentious jargon. Choice (A) provides
such a word: rhetoric is an art of speaking or writing that can involve the undue
use of bombast or pretentiousness.
(B) is incorrect because a semaphore is a device for conveying information by
way of visual signals, often with one’s arms or with flags. The prompt implies that
the student used words only, so there is not sufficient evidence to assume the
student used any visual signals.
(C) is incorrect because patois is a rural or provincial form of speech, not
necessarily the sort of speech or writing marked by “pomposity” and the use of
“pretentious jargon.”
(D) is incorrect because neologisms are new uses of words or phrases. The
prompt states that the student used “pretentious jargon” in his writing, but this
does not imply that the student used new words. There is not enough information
to support the idea that he used brand new language.
(E) is incorrect because vernacular is the spoken language of a specific place or
people. The prompt states only that the student used “pretentious jargon” in his
writing. The prompt does not give enough information to support the idea that he
used a language spoken by a certain group of people only.
3) B
To figure out what the missing word is, try to predict its definition by using key
words from the prompt. The key word in this prompt is “injunction.” The
sentence’s second clause uses the word “injunction” to refer to the missing word.
The prompt implies, then, that compliance with injunction was mandatory,
because Eisenhower sent in troops to enforce the new rule. Thus, the missing
word is one that means injunction or command, so choice (B) is correct: a
mandate is a command to act in a particular way.
(A) is incorrect because an admonition is a gentle or mild punishment or
censuring. The missing word refers to the Supreme Court’s ruling, not to any
punishment for disobeying the injunction afterward.
(C) is incorrect because a retraction is a withdrawal of a statement or promise.
This word would work if the prompt implied that the Supreme Court had
withdrawn a previous ruling. However, the prompt does not give enough
evidence to imply that its desegregation injunction was a reversal of a previous
ruling.
(D) is incorrect because an entreaty is an earnest request. This word is not
severe enough to function as the missing word. An “injunction” is an act forcing
someone to do something. Furthermore, the use of military force does not
happen lightly; “federal troops” are only deployed in extreme situations.
(E) is incorrect because an embargo is an injunction made to prevent trade or the
departure of certain merchant ships. While an embargo is an example of an
injunction, this word does not work in context. The prompt is about the
desegregation of schools, not the movement of merchant ships.
4) B
To figure out what the missing word is, try to predict its definition by using key
words from the prompt. Here, the key word is “sour,” a word that comes after the
semicolon in the prompt. Colons are used to separate two related but
independent clauses. In this prompt, everything after the semicolon elaborates
upon information given before it. Thus, because the missing word describes the
taste of the grapefruit, the word “sour” must elaborate upon that same taste. The
missing word must also mean sour. Choice (B) is, therefore, correct, because tart
means sour or sharp in taste.
(A) is incorrect because acrimonious means caustic or biting and usually refers
to behavior. While it can mean sour in mood or behavior, the word does not work
in context, because acrimonious cannot describe taste.
(C) is incorrect because sanguine means optimistic or cheery. This word cannot
be used to define or describe a given taste.
(D) is incorrect because saccharine means sugary, but the prompt only suggests
that grapefruits are “sour,” not sweet.
(E) is incorrect because toothsome means pleasing in taste, but the prompt only
suggests that grapefruits are “sour,” not necessarily tasty.
5) D
To figure out what the missing words are, try to predict their definitions by using
key words from the prompt. Everything in this prompt hinges on the word
“although,” a word that suggests that the clauses provide contradictory
information. Each missing word describes how the talk radio host acted. Given
their placement in separate clauses, the words must be opposites of each other.
Moreover, each missing word has its own key word to help predict its meaning.
The first one must be something similar to “energetic,” and the second word must
mean something similar to “calm,” because both words join the missing words
through the use of the conjunction “and.” Thus, choice (D) is correct, as zealous
means full of enthusiastic diligence or passion, and subdued means inhibited.
(A) is incorrect because neither word works in context. Enervating means
sapping or weakening, while bemused means perplexed or confused. Neither
word works in place of words that mean “energetic” and “calm,” respectively.
(B) is incorrect because neither word works in context. Restrained means
inhibited or controlled, while fiery means extremely passionate. The two words
could work if their order were flipped, since fiery could work for the first blank just
as restrained could work in place of the second missing word. However, the
order of these two words ultimately makes the answer choice incorrect as a
whole.
(C) is incorrect because only the second word works in context. Mellow means
soft and gentle and could work in place of the second missing word, because it
implies that the host was often calm off air. However, lethargic means sluggish,
which is the opposite of how one who is “energetic” on air would be described.
(E) is incorrect because only the first word works in context. Frenetic means
frantic or frenzied and, as such, could be used to describe the radio host’s
“energetic” on-air demeanor. However, spirited means lively and could not be
used to describe his off-air, “calm” demeanor.
6) E
To figure out what the missing word is, try to predict its definition by using key
words from the prompt. Here, the prompt hinges on a cause-and-effect
relationship: the entire first clause explains why the neighbor was called in. Thus,
the entire first clause gives the key to understanding the meaning of the missing
word. Since the family sought someone “to help make the decision fairly,” they
must gave “their neighbor” the power to make the decision. Thus, the correct
answer will give a word meaning something akin to judge or decider. Choice (E)
provides such a word: an arbiter is a judge or person empowered to decide
issues.
(A) is incorrect because an aficionado is an ardent fan or enthusiast, not
necessarily someone who is used to make decisions.
(B) is incorrect because a vacillator is someone who waivers in opinions. This is
the opposite of someone who would be called in for the purposes of making a
decision.
(C) is incorrect because an equivocator is someone who prevaricates or uses
unclear expressions to avoid commitment. This is the opposite of someone who
would be called in for the purposes of making a decision.
(D) is incorrect because an advocate is someone who pleads on someone else’s
behalf. It does not work in context, then, as the prompt makes it clear the
Morgans wanted someone “without bias” to make a decision, not to argue for a
given side.