GRE Verbal : Text Completion

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #1011 : Text Completion

The fact he was often late was the only indication that the brilliant professor was actually __________.

Possible Answers:

injudicious

immaculate

fallible

senseless

irreproachable

Correct answer:

fallible

Explanation:

The "brilliant professor" has one thing which indicates the missing word: that he is "often late." The correct answer will indicate that the professor is not always perfect. "Fallible," meaning capable of making mistakes or being wrong, is the best choice among the answers.

Example Question #1012 : Text Completion

The teenage girl was usually __________, so few people believed her when she was actually serious.

Possible Answers:

facetious

solemn

stern

staid

obtuse

Correct answer:

facetious

Explanation:

The sentence details that "few people believed her when she was actually serious." This indicates that the correct answer will mean joking or unserious. "Facetious," meaning flippant or sarcastic, is the best choice among the answers.

Example Question #1013 : Text Completion

The boy was kicked out of school for __________ behavior, which put the school in repeated difficult situations.

Possible Answers:

indecorous

precocious

innocuous

irreproachable

understated

Correct answer:

indecorous

Explanation:

The boy is being "kicked out of school," indicating the behavior is not what the school would deem appropriate. The correct answer needs to indicate his poor behavior. "Indecorous," meaning inappropriate or unseemly, is the best choice among the answers.

Example Question #1014 : Text Completion

The emotions were __________ in him until his mother's cutting remark made them explode out of him.

Possible Answers:

dormant

pervasive

volatile

slack

extemporaneous

Correct answer:

dormant

Explanation:

The subject's emotions "explode out of him" only after the "cutting remark" from his mother. This indicates the emotions were not well shown before the remark. "Dormant," meaning laying inactive or not above the surface, is the correct answer choice.

Example Question #1015 : Text Completion

The teacher believed the poor student had __________ intelligence other teachers had not brought out in him, but that she could.

Possible Answers:

limpid

latent

palpable

torrential

explosive

Correct answer:

latent

Explanation:

The sentence describes the teacher thinking she could "bring out" the intelligence in the "poor student." This means the missing word has to indicate something hidden or underdeveloped, the definition of "latent."

Example Question #1016 : Text Completion

The __________ animal was an easy target for the predators hunting the pack.

Possible Answers:

plodding

problematic

veiled

unobtrusive

concealed

Correct answer:

plodding

Explanation:

The animal described by the missing word is an "easy target" for predators, who are presumably looking for the obvious animal. The correct answer should make the subject of the sentence stick out in some way. "Plodding," meaning exremely slow and heavy, is the best choice among the answers.

Example Question #1017 : Text Completion

The time it took to travel to the wedding was __________ and meant he could not attend.

Possible Answers:

unassuming

unprepossessing

modest

negotiable

prohibitive

Correct answer:

prohibitive

Explanation:

The subject of the sentence "could not attend" the wedding, because of the travel requirements. The correct answer will indicate the travel was problematic or there wa a great deal of it. "Prohibitive," meaning exorbitantly expensive or impossible, is the best choice among the answers.

Example Question #1018 : Text Completion

The film followed the familiar trope where an unattractive girl gets a makeover into a highly __________ woman.

Possible Answers:

mitigating

enervating

complicating

arresting

duping

Correct answer:

arresting

Explanation:

The sentence describes "the familiar trope" of woman changing from "an unattractive girl" into a woman described by the missing word. The correct answer will mean the opposite of "unattractive." "Arresting," meaning attracting attention or striking, is the best chocie among the answers.

Example Question #1019 : Text Completion

The mother was extremely __________ and sought to play off her children's emotions.

Possible Answers:

manipulative

pithy

perfunctory

generous

indigent

Correct answer:

manipulative

Explanation:

The sentence describes the woman as seeking to "play off her children's emotions." The correct answer needs to parallel this playing of emotions. "Manipulative," meaning scheming and calculating, is the best choice among the answers.

Example Question #1020 : Text Completion

The musician was highly __________, and few critics understood what he would do next.

Possible Answers:

mundane

dull

psychotic

enigmatic

restorative

Correct answer:

enigmatic

Explanation:

The key words in the sentence are that "few critics understood" the musician. The correct answer should indicate an unpredictability or strangeness to the musician's career. "Enigmatic," which means puzzling or mysterious, which is the best choice among the answers.

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