ISEE Middle Level Verbal : Sentence Completions: Parts of Speech

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #101 : Sentence Completions: Adjectives And Adverbs

Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.

Amanda was very close with all of her family members except for her __________ brother.

Possible Answers:

estranged

elder

altruistic

empathetic

Correct answer:

estranged

Explanation:

Since we know next to nothing about Amanda's brother, each of the answer choices theoretically could be true. We don't know his age, so he could be "elder," or older than she is. He could be "altruistic," or unselfish and prone to giving to others, or he could be "empathetic," or understanding of the emotions of people around him. We are looking for the most likely choice, however, and the only information we have about Amanda is that she is not close with her brother, and that this differs from her relationship with the rest of her family. This makes "estranged" the only relevant choice. This word refers to the act of being separated and distant from a person or group that was once close, generally referring to family.

Example Question #101 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

Sentence completions: Fill in the blank(s) to complete the sentence. 

Our family celebrates together __________; once in the summer and once more shortly before Thanksgiving.

Possible Answers:

furtively

bianually

annually

centennially

suspiciously

Correct answer:

bianually

Explanation:

The information after the semi-colon suggests that the author’s family celebrates together twice a year. Something that occurs twice a year can be said to happen “biannually.” To provide further help, “annually” means occurring once every year; “centennially” means occurring once every one hundred years; “suspiciously” means doubtfully or distrustfully; “furtively” means secretively.

Example Question #102 : Sentence Completions: Adjectives And Adverbs

Sentence completions: Fill in the blank(s) to complete the sentence. 

Tumors can be either malignant or _________; the first means harmful, and the second means harmless.

Possible Answers:

malpractice

benevolent

malevolent

benediction

benign

Correct answer:

benign

Explanation:

The information after the semi-colon tells us that the word we are looking for means harmless. The correct answer is therefore “benign.” The prefixes ben- and mal­- are opposites of one another. When you see a word that begins with ben- you can assume it means helpful or good, and when you see a word that begins with mal- you can assume it means hurtful or bad. To provide clarification, “benevolent” means good-natured; “malevolent” means having a wicked nature; “malpractice” is bad practice; “benediction” is blessing from someone holy.

Example Question #103 : Sentence Completions: Adjectives And Adverbs

Sentence completions: Fill in the blank(s) to complete the sentence. 

He was lost in his own thoughts and totally __________ to the carnage going on around him.

Possible Answers:

demanding

nonsensical

considerate

oblivious

intimidating

Correct answer:

oblivious

Explanation:

The author of this sentence tells us that the subject was lost in his thoughts and not paying attention to the world around him. This means he was “oblivious.” To provide further help, “considerate” means thoughtful about the feelings of others; “demanding” means tough, exacting; “nonsensical” means ridiculous or irrational; “intimidating” means scary

Example Question #104 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

Sentence completions: Fill in the blank(s) to complete the sentence. 

The __________ mentality of some senators becomes all too apparent whenever the United States is agitated towards conflict; how they can forcefully call for young men to be sent to die is always mystifying to me.

Possible Answers:

menial

sequential

harmonious

pacifying

bellicose

Correct answer:

bellicose

Explanation:

The context of the sentence suggests that the blank word must relate to the quality in some men that makes them call enthusiastically for warfare. We call people like this “bellicose.” To provide further help, “sequential” means occurring in order; “harmonious” means peaceful and agreeable; “menial” means not challenging, unskilled; “pacifying” means calming or soothing.

Example Question #104 : Sentence Completions: Adjectives And Adverbs

Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.

Sarah was __________ in trying to convince her parents to let her attend the extended field trip to Rome; she was determined to win them over and kept bringing the topic up at every opportunity.

Possible Answers:

sincere

resolute

ruthless

gallant

superficial

Correct answer:

resolute

Explanation:

We are told that Sarah is "determined to win [her parents] over" and convince them to let her go on the field trip, and that she "kept bringing the topic up at every opportunity," so the answer choice that best fits the blank is "resolute," which means determinedunfaltering, or persistent. As for the other answer choices, none are justified by the sentence's context clues as the best choice for the blank: "sincere" means genuine; "gallant" means proper and heroic; "ruthless" means merciless; and "superficial" means having to do with surface appearances or only concerned with surface appearances.

Example Question #105 : Sentence Completions: Adjectives And Adverbs

Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.

The map in the state park was __________ due to its unlabeled symbols and paths that were easy to mix up with one another.

Possible Answers:

effortless

baffling

concise

deceiving

tedious

Correct answer:

baffling

Explanation:

Since the state park map used "unlabeled symbols" and displayed "paths that were easy to mix up with one another," we can infer that we need to pick out an adjective for the blank that means something like "confusing." The best answer choice is thus "baffling," which means confusing or bewildering. None of the other answer choices make sense in the blank: "tedious" means boring due to repetition; "concise" means short and is used to refer to written works; effortless means done without effort or done in such an impressive way as to make it appear as no effort was needed; and "deceiving" means conveying information that is false as if it were true.

Example Question #102 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.

The amounts of financial aid allotted to Jessica by each of the two universities she applied to were __________, and this made Jessica's decision harder because she had to differentiate between them based on other factors.

Possible Answers:

precise

prearranged

miscellaneous

comparable

invariable

Correct answer:

comparable

Explanation:

Since Jessica needs another metric for differentiating between the two colleges, this indicates their financial aid packages were about the same, or "comparable," a word that means able to be compared or similar. None of the other answer choices are justified by the sentence's context clues:  "invariable" means never changing; "miscellaneous" means varied; "precise" means accurate; and "prearranged" means arranged prior to an event.

Example Question #103 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

Fill in the blank with the word that best completes the sentence.

The happiness of the child was __________, and even those in the room who were having a rough day were uplifted and joined in the child's joy.

Possible Answers:

faithful

contagious

surreptitious

genuine

unwavering

Correct answer:

contagious

Explanation:

Since the child's happiness spread, it means that it was "contagious." "Contagious" means spreading easily from person to person and is usually used to describe diseases, but can also be used to describe other things. As for the other answer choices, "unwavering" means resolute or having no variation, "genuine" means truthful, "faithful" means loyal, and "surreptitious" means secretive or covert.

Example Question #106 : Sentence Completions: Adjectives And Adverbs

Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.

Studies have shown that active learning is much more effective for helping students to retain information than ________ learning techniques.

Possible Answers:

Passive

Ineffective

Boring

Inert

Correct answer:

Passive

Explanation:

The blank should be filled in with a word that means the opposite of "active." "Passive" means the opposite of active because they are antonyms. "Active" means engaged or participating in something, while "passive" means unengaged or merely observing something instead of participating in it. "Inert" means not in motion. Given the context of the sentence, which describes learning techniques, that answer choice is not correct."Ineffective" is an opposite of "effective," but not the opposite of "active," so that is not the right answer choice. Plus, if learning techniques were known to be ineffective, studies wouldn't be needed to prove that they are ineffective. "Boring" is also not an opposite of "active."

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