GRE Verbal : Text Completion
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GRE Verbal
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Example Questions
Example Question #791 : One Blank Texts
His ______________ approach to the sport soon was copied by competitors and quickly became the standard method.
nostalgic
mundane
lax
epistolary
novel
novel
The approach to the sport "became the standard method" only after being "copied by competitors." This implies it was not the standard method at first, and the correct answer will reflect this. "Novel," meaning new and innovative, is the best choice.
Example Question #792 : One Blank Texts
The investor remained ____________ throughout the meeting, revealing none of his thinking.
philanthropic
ebullient
perpicacious
taciturn
loquacious
taciturn
The investor revealed "none of his thinking" in the meeting, indicating he said almost nothing. The correct answer will mean extremely quiet, which is the definition of "taciturn."
Example Question #792 : One Blank Texts
Both sides agreed the controversy needed a(n) _________________ party to help resolve the conflict.
zealots
disinterested
sycophantic
enthusiastic
hackneyed
disinterested
The party described by the missing word is attempting to resolve the "controversy." The correct answer needs to reflect a person who could work with both sides. "Disinterested," meaning unbiased or neutral, is the best answer choice.
Example Question #793 : One Blank Texts
She was ________________ enough to claim that she was not at a party, but she was caught on a surveillance camera.
mendacious
venerable
perspicacious
innocuous
irreproachable
mendacious
To claim she was not where "she was caught on a surveillance camera," indicates that she was less than honest. The correct answer should mean prone to lying or deception, the definition of "mendacious."
Example Question #794 : One Blank Texts
The film's ___________________ humor was looked down on by intellectual critics.
sophomoric
perspicacious
exemplary
superlative
acerbic
sophomoric
The film is "looked down on by the intellectual critics," meaning the humor is unappealing to intellectuals. The correct answer needs to mean the opposite of "intellectual." "Sophomoric," meaning juvenile or conceited, is the best fit.
Example Question #796 : One Blank Texts
The _________________ city councilman was an easy target for underworld bribery.
irreproachable
mercurial
disinterested
venerable
venal
venal
The city councilman is "an easy target" for bribery. The correct answer needs to mean corruptible or able to be bribed, the definition of "venal."
Example Question #797 : One Blank Texts
The book was highly derivative, with a ___________________ plotline.
supercilious
novel
avant garde
cliché
innovative
cliché
The plotline for a "highly derivative" book will be old and common, and the correct answer should illuminate this. "Cliché," meaning an overused and unoriginal phrase or idea, is the best choice.
Example Question #795 : One Blank Texts
Standing in the presence of his idol, he quickly became _____________ and unable to speak.
salacious
flustered
articulate
poised
ebullient
flustered
The inability to speak "in the presence of his idol," indicates the subject was bothered and agitated, and the correct answer will reflect this. "Flustered," meaning worked up or problematically excited, is the best choice.
Example Question #796 : One Blank Texts
His ________________ lectures usually made half the class zone out after fifteen minutes.
ebullient
affable
effusive
vivacious
soporific
soporific
The fact the class would "zone out after fifteen minutes" indicates the lectures were quite boring and the correct answer will reflect this. "Soporific," meaning excessively drawn out and sleep inducing, is the correct answer.
Example Question #797 : One Blank Texts
The students used to love the young priest’s sermons, which he delivered so __________, as though he were directing a flowing symphony, but with words.
vociferously
pacifically
tonally
didactically
mellifluously
mellifluously
The most temping wrong answer would be "pacifically" (so long as you are not taken in by "tonally" just because of the reference to the symphony). "Pacific" comes from the Latin pax, pacis, which means peace, and facio—from which we get many of our "-fy", "-fic" endings—meaning to make.
The operative word here, however, is "flowing", which is better matched by "mellifluous." The "fluous" portion clearly means flowing. The "mellli" portion comes from the Latin mel or Greek meli, meaning honey. Very distantly, the word "molasses" comes from this same base.
All GRE Verbal Resources
