GRE Verbal : Two-Blank Texts

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #1671 : Gre Verbal Reasoning

One could call the small town rather                  , for most of its inhabitants knew little more than the saws and                     repeated for generations by others who had not left the same locality.

Possible Answers:

insular . . . maxims

pedantic . . . legalities

Lilliputian . . . lessons

magnanimous . . . advice

boring . . . hammers

Correct answer:

insular . . . maxims

Explanation:

The sense of the sentence is that the people do not leave the area often and rarely receive new insights from outside their precincts. Saws are more than tools used in the shop—they are also proverbs. Hence, don't be tempted by the amusing "hammers." Although "lessons" might be tempting, Lilliputian (from Gulliver's travels) means trivial or small (often taken physically). Perhaps one could consider the town to be Lilliputian, but "insular" would be better—and "maxims" particularly matches well with "saws." "Insular" is derived from the Latin word for island, indicating isolation.

Example Question #1672 : Gre Verbal Reasoning

The notoriously                      boss often seemed like he loved talking to his employees, while many other times he dismissed them with short answers and seemed like a                   
.

Possible Answers:

gregarious . . . misanthrope

mercurial . . . dolt

melancholy . . . hypochondriac

melancholy . . . dolt

mercurial . . . misanthrope

Correct answer:

mercurial . . . misanthrope

Explanation:

The boss switches between vastly different personalities, so he is volatile or mercurial. When he is dismissing them with short answers, he is being a "misanthrope," not a "dolt," which implies he is stupid, or a "hypochondriac," which means he is paranoid about his health.

Example Question #241 : Two Blank Texts

The text's meaning was so __________ that no __________ could make it truly understandable.

Possible Answers:

obscure . . . exegesis

resplendent . . . pontification

arrogant . . . refutation

equivocal . . . debunking

loquacious . . . parsimony

Correct answer:

obscure . . . exegesis

Explanation:

The "text's meaning" is difficult to understand, even with some effort, as represented in the second blank. "Obscure," meaning difficult to understand, and "exegesis," meaning a lengthy analysis and interpretation, form the correct answer.

Example Question #5 : Nouns And Adjectives Or Adverbs In Two Blank Texts

Claire’s __________ of the cold was understandable since it was directly __________ to her love of the summer heat.

Possible Answers:

antipathy . . . harmonious

admiration . . . antitheical

antipathy . . . antithetical

veneration . . . antithetical

admiration . . . harmonious

Correct answer:

antipathy . . . antithetical

Explanation:

Antipathy—a natural, basic or habitual repugnance, aversion.

Antithetical—directly opposed and contrasted, opposite.

Claire hates the cold, but loves the heat. 

Example Question #242 : Two Blank Texts

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.

From the time of her birth, the girl had been __________, always disobeying the __________ of her elders.

Possible Answers:

refractory . . . injunctions

willful . . . insights

vexing . . . tedium

unflinching . . . sagacity

childish . . . recommendations

Correct answer:

refractory . . . injunctions

Explanation:

The sense of the first term is that the girl is to be described as stubborn or disobedient (as is clear from the rest of the sentence). The second blank appears to indicate some sort of suggestions or (better) commands given her by her elders. To this end, "refractory . . . injunctions" fits best. Probably the most tempting answers are "unflinching . . . sagacity" and "willful . . . insights." The latter only fits closely enough for "willful." In the case of the former, process of elimination will show that "refractory . . . injunctions" is a closer fit. Always remember the importance of eliminating answers so you can make this kind of intelligent decision.

Example Question #243 : Two Blank Texts

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.

The young street fighter’s attitude matched his demeanor in the fighting ring; it was quite __________ and could leave cutting psychological wounds as damaging as any physical __________.

Possible Answers:

fanatical . . . blow

pugnacious . . . laceration

bombastic . . . trauma

tumid . . . bruise

high-toned . . . hurt

Correct answer:

pugnacious . . . laceration

Explanation:

Do not be tempted by "bombastic . . . trauma" or "fanatical . . . blow." The key thing to note is the similarity of the fighter's demeanor in and out of the ring. The word "pugnacious" comes from the Latin pugnare, "to fight." Someone who is "pugnacious" is quick to argue or has the appearance of a fighter. A related word is "pugilist," which means a boxer.

Example Question #244 : Two Blank Texts

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.

Reactions to the novelist’s most recent work are surprisingly polarized; if a review is not a(n) __________ celebrating the work's modern elements, it is a __________ critique perceiving the same elements as blatant flaws. 

Possible Answers:

panegyric . . . caustic

encomium . . . deferent

complaint . . . fervent

eulogy . . . dispassionate

diatribe . . . verbose

Correct answer:

panegyric . . . caustic

Explanation:

Since the reviews of the novelist's work are polarized, we should expect opposites; for the first blank, we'll need a positive noun because it "celebrates" aspects of the work, and for the second blank, we'll need a negative adjective describing the opposing critiques.

Since "complaint" and "diatribe" are negative words, we can eliminate these answers, as well as "eulogy," which is specifically a speech or writing in praise of someone who has recently died. We're left with "encomium" and "panegyric," both of which refer to written works of praise and fit in the sentence's first blank. Of the remaining choices' second words, "caustic," meaning highly critical, works in the second blank, while "deferent" does not, because it has a positive meaning of respectful. So, the correct answer is "panegyric . . . caustic."

Example Question #245 : Two Blank Texts

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted into the sentence, best completes the sentence.

Suzy thought Kevin would prove to be ­­­­­­­­­­­__________, but she discovered instead that his behavior was such a model of __________ that he could never be considered a spendthrift.

Possible Answers:

perfidious . . . reticence

profligate . . . piety

abstemious . . . dissipation

prodigal . . . frugality

salubrious . . . prudence

Correct answer:

prodigal . . . frugality

Explanation:

The sentence is about Kevin's perceived spending habits. Suzy expects something about him, but discovers the opposite to be true, where the truth is "he could never be considered a spendthrift." This indicates that she expected him to be wasteful but found that expectation to be wrong, so the two words have to be opposites, with the first meaning something like wasteful, and the second meaning something like careful or thrifty

The only two words that mean something like wasteful are "profligate" and "prodigal." "Abstemious" is more like the opposite of wasteful; it means abstaining from vices. "Perfidious" means evil or dangerous, and "salubrious" means beneficial or fortunate, so those are out.

The second word needs to mean the opposite of spendthrift. "Piety" is the quality of being religious and says nothing about a person's spending habits, so the correct answer is "prodigal . . . frugality."

Example Question #246 : Two Blank Texts

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Although the politican contested the claims as pure __________, the journalist guaranteed they were __________.

Possible Answers:

hearsay . . . fastidious

calumny . . . indubitable

guile . . . stolid

drivel . . . ephemeral

torpor . . . specious

Correct answer:

calumny . . . indubitable

Explanation:

The word "although" offers a clue that the words that go in the blanks are opposing words; "calumny" (a misrepresentation meaning to harm one's reputation) and "indubitable" (too evident to be doubted) are the best fit.

Example Question #247 : Two Blank Texts

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Despite the __________ of wolves in the woods—there were less than a dozen left of the hundreds that had originally roamed there—the locals believed that they were constantly surrounded by large numbers of __________ beasts that wanted nothing but to devour everyone in town.

Possible Answers:

din . . . quixotic

lack . . . sordid

perfidy . . . dogmatic

paucity . . . fell

plethora . . . apocryphal

Correct answer:

paucity . . . fell

Explanation:

For the first blank, we are looking for a noun that emphasizes how few wolves are left, so "lack" and "paucity" are both possible answers. For the second blank, we need an adjective that describes how the locals believe the wolves want "to devour everyone in town." In choosing between "fell" (ferocious and deadly) and "sordid" (morally distasteful), "fell" is the better choice, so the answer is "paucity . . . fell."

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