ISEE Lower Level Verbal : Style, Intensity, and Connotation in Phrase-Based Sentence Completions

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ISEE Lower Level Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #91 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

He hates spicy food __________.

Possible Answers:

yet lied about his weight

although shows up early for dinner

and refused to eat the curry

and is a pleasure to cook for

and thoroughly enjoys curry

Correct answer:

and refused to eat the curry

Explanation:

To solve this problem you simply need to figure out which of these answer choices is related to the subject of someone who hates spicy food. The correct answer is "  . . . and he refused to eat the curry." The other answer choices are all either nonsensical, use the wrong conjunction or else imply that infact the subject likes spicy food.

Example Question #92 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

After the King died __________.

Possible Answers:

he awoke suddenly

he reigned peacefully for years

the festival went on

his son became king

he ruled adequately

Correct answer:

his son became king

Explanation:

To solve this problem you simply need to determine which of these answer choices describes something that might happen following the death of the King. The correct answer is that " . . . his son became king." Additionally, "festival" means celebration; "adequately" means done well enough; "reigned" means ruled over (as king or queen).

Example Question #93 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

"__________," he announced, "I am not ready."

Possible Answers:

Lets go

When should we leave

Time to begin

Where have we come from

Not yet

Correct answer:

Not yet

Explanation:

To begin with "announced" means said to a group of people, declared. In this problem the speaker says " . . . I am not ready" to solve this problem you need to determine which of these answer choices fits with this declaration. The correct answer is therefore "Not yet . . . " The answer choices that are in the form of questions cannot be correct because the sentence contains no question marks.

Example Question #94 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

__________ to give to this mother.

Possible Answers:

He is eating cake

He is playing quietly

He is picking flowers

He was performing a play

He spoke loudly

Correct answer:

He is picking flowers

Explanation:

In this question you are told that a boy is doing something " . . . to give to his mother." You know it is a boy because of the pronoun "his." So, which of these answer choices best makes sense as something a boy would give to his mother? The correct answer is "He is picking flowers . . . "

Example Question #95 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

When the boy picked on his sister, it didn't merely anger her, it __________ her.

Possible Answers:

upset

saddened

infuriated

depressed

hurt

Correct answer:

infuriated

Explanation:

This sentence has a clue in it that indicates that there is an increase of intensity involved with its verbs. The words "not merely..." indicate that the boy actually made his sister very angry. When we "infuriate" someone, we do just that. When we speak of someone's "fury" we are referring to his or her extreme anger. None of the other options express this sense of being very angry.

Example Question #96 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

Although the seed was tiny at first, it grew into a(n) __________ tree, much larger than anyone ever expected.

Possible Answers:

lovely

gigantic

beautiful

large

healthy

Correct answer:

gigantic

Explanation:

This sentence clearly is contrasting the size of the seed to the size of the tree. This helps you to eliminate "lovely," "beautiful," and "healthy." Also, it was so large, that few had expected it to be so big. Therefore, the best choice is "gigantic", which expresses this way of being very big—in contrast to the seed's original tiny size.

Example Question #97 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

The runner did not ____________ prepare for the race and was therefore not in good enough shape to run the full course.

Possible Answers:

sufficiently

energetically

regularly

athletically

heedfully

Correct answer:

sufficiently

Explanation:

The key expression in the sentence is not in good enough shape. This means that the runner did not prepare enough to be in good shape for race day. Therefore, his or her training was not sufficient.  To "suffice" means to be enough. The opposite of something that is sufficient is something that is insufficient.

Example Question #98 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

The young man searched for a long time to try to determine the __________ of the water in his yard. He just could not explain where all of it was coming from!

Possible Answers:

source

location

approximation

rivulet

place

Correct answer:

source

Explanation:

The second sentence is key to understanding this question. The young man can't figure out where the water is coming from. He is looking for its origin or its "source." He certainly knows its location and its place! What is annoying to him is the fact that he can't figure out where it is coming from!

Example Question #99 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

While we can often learn to do many things sufficiently well, it is possible to __________ at only a few things with a great amount of skill.

Possible Answers:

excel

regulate

rejoice

stare

look

Correct answer:

excel

Explanation:

This sentence sets up a contrast. The first half of the sentence discusses how we can learn to do many things "sufficiently well." This means that we can learn how to do these things well enough. We can, however, only become experts at a few things.  Thus, the word "excel" is the best option. This is a verb meaning roughly to do very well or with a great deal of skill.

Example Question #100 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In Phrase Based Sentence Completions

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

Don was not just mildly happy to receive the card, he rejoiced __________ that the Julie remembered his birthday.

Possible Answers:

surprisingly

greatly

regularly

dejectedly

lamentably

Correct answer:

greatly

Explanation:

This sentence hints at an intensification. It says that Don was "not just mildly glad." This means that he was not merely glad in a minor way. No! He was very glad, meaning that he rejoiced greatly. Use this adverb to express the intensification indicated by the clues.

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