ISEE Middle Level Verbal : Sentence Completions

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #651 : Sentence Completions

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

The mother was shocked when the doctor informed her that she would be having __________; how on earth would she raise five babies?

Possible Answers:

octuplets

twins

quadruplets

quintuplets

triplets

Correct answer:

quintuplets

Explanation:

The information after the semicolon tells us that the mother is going to have five babies, so you are looking for a word that contains a prefix related to the number five. The correct prefix is "quin-," so the correct answer is “quintuplets.” To provide further help, the prefix "tri-" means related to three; the prefix "quad-" means related to four; the prefix oct- means related to eight

Example Question #652 : Sentence Completions

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

The two neighbors had a __________ over the boundary of their properties and had to go settle their disagreement in court.

Possible Answers:

mettle

dispute

parallel

frenzy

adage

Correct answer:

dispute

Explanation:

Since we know that the neighbors had to go to court to settle their differences, we can infer that we're looking for a noun that means something like disagreement. Of the listed answer choices, only three are nouns—"adage," "mettle," and "dispute." Since "adage" means proverb or saying, it does not mean disagreement and is not the correct answer. Similarly, "mettle" means courage or fortitude and does not mean disagreement either. "Dispute," however, means a disagreement, so it is the correct answer.

Example Question #653 : Sentence Completions

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

Emily displayed admirable _________ at the party when she took Jane aside to point out that she had toilet paper stuck to her shoe instead of pointing it out publicly and embarrassing her.

Possible Answers:

jubilance

comfort

absentmindedness

tact

hurry 

Correct answer:

tact

Explanation:

We know from the context of the sentence that Emily was socially sensitive—while she could have pointed out the toilet paper in a more overt way, she did it in a way that did not embarrass her friend. We have no reason to suspect that Emily was absentminded, and "comfort" and "hurry" have nothing to do with the situation either. "Jubilance" is a noun meaning triumph, so "jubilance" does not fit the context of the sentence either. "Tact," however, is a noun meaning sensitivity in dealing with potentially embarassing or awkward issues, so "tact" is the answer choice that best fits the sentence and the correct answer.

Example Question #654 : Sentence Completions

Sentence completions: select the word or pair of words that most correctly completes the sentence.

Not wanting for his friends to know how difficult his home life was, the teen put up a __________ every day at school.

Possible Answers:

façade

cavalcade

charade

prominade

Correct answer:

façade

Explanation:

The young man in this sentence is acting like everything's fine, even when it's not. Two of the answer choices could fit with this sense of acting: "charade" and "façade." The word "charade," however, suggests a mockery or parody (as its application to the game Charades would imply). "Façade" is related to the word "face," and means to put on a false face (either as a fake front of a building or as a deceptive facial expression).

Example Question #655 : Sentence Completions

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

It is common practice to root for the smaller, less successful teams whenever one watches sports; there is something alluring about supporting the __________

Possible Answers:

champion

autocrat 

orator 

underdog 

neophyte 

Correct answer:

underdog 

Explanation:

The information before the semi-colon suggests that it is common to root for less successful sports teams. In any situation in which there are two competitors, one that is heavily favored and one that is expected to lose, we can call the less favored competitor an “underdog.” To provide further help, a “champion” is a winner of some competition; an “autocrat” is a dictator; an “orator” is someone who is good at public-speaking; and a “neophyte” is a beginner.

Example Question #431 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

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

Tim was not sure the doctor knew what she was doing; it seemed to Tim that she was something of a __________

Possible Answers:

succor 

quack 

nomad 

prototype 

turncoat 

Correct answer:

quack 

Explanation:

Because Tim thinks the doctor does not know what she is doing, it suggests that Tim would think she was not a good doctor, or was a phony doctor. This leads us to the correct answer, which is “quack.” A “quack” is an imposter who claims to know what he or she is doing, but actually does not. To provide further help, a “nomad” is someone who travels without a fixed home; a “prototype” is a model intended to serve as an example; a “turncoat” is someone who changes from supporting one cause to supporting an opposing one; and “succor” means help, aid or assistance.

Example Question #656 : Sentence Completions

Carol demonstrated her __________ math by excelling in the advanced classes designed for students a grade or two above her own and placing in the top five in the school district's math competition.

Possible Answers:

distaste for

fear of

aptitude for

annoyance with

ignorance of

Correct answer:

aptitude for

Explanation:

We can infer that because Carol "excel[ed] in the advanced [math] classes" and "plac[ed] in the top five in the school district's math competition" that she had a talent for math. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "talent for." "Ignorance of" means the opposite of the answer choice we are looking for, and "distaste for," "annoyance with," and "fear of" all involve negative connotations that don't fit the sentence's context. "Aptitude for" is the best answer choice because "aptitude" is a noun that means "a natural ability to do something" or "a natural tendency." Because "aptitude for" best fits the sentence's context, it is the correct answer.

Example Question #657 : Sentence Completions

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

In the first year of his presidency, Barack Obama was the __________ of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Possible Answers:

facile

captive

agent

recipient

aperture

Correct answer:

recipient

Explanation:

The context of the sentence tells us that President Barack Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize. This means he received it or was the “recipient.” To provide further help, an “aperture” is an opening; an “agent” is someone or something that makes something happen; “captive” means caught, imprisoned; “facile” means easy to do

Example Question #658 : Sentence Completions

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

The typhoon that struck the Philippines was __________; over 5,000 people lost their homes.

Possible Answers:

weak

a blessing

a calamity

insignificant

a hurricane

Correct answer:

a calamity

Explanation:

The second part of this sentence illustrates that the missing word needs to give the reader an idea of how disastrous the typhoon was. The best word to complete the sentence is "calamity." The definition of "calamity" is a disaster, or an event that causes significant damage to a region or area.

Example Question #659 : Sentence Completions

The dog sled driver trained the dogs on his team which pulled the most weight to work in __________ with those whose job it was to steer and watch out for obstacles, and as a result he knew he could rely on them to work well together as a unit.

Possible Answers:

dash

enmity

wits

together

tandem

Correct answer:

tandem

Explanation:

We know that the dogs were trained to work with each other, and while "together" might seem like the obvious answer, it doesn't fit in the blank because of the sentence's grammar; the sled dogs don't "work in together" with each other. However, "tandem" is a word that when used as an adverb, means "alongside each other; together"; because "in tandem" is a phrase that also means "alongside each other; together" and is grammatically correct, "tandem" is the correct answer.

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