ISEE Middle Level Verbal : Sentence Completions

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #665 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

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

In order to __________ her displeasure to her child for his negative behavior, the mother took away his favorite toy.

Possible Answers:

project

convey

exude

pronounce

utter

Correct answer:

convey

Explanation:

The mother wanted to show her displeasure and therefore she was "conveying" her displeasure. To "utter" would be to speak; "pronounce" is to describe verbally; "project" is to communicate; and "exude" is to emit.

Example Question #666 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

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

The student did ample research on global warming in order to support and __________ her position that global warming is happening.

Possible Answers:

disrupt

maintain

justify

encourage

condone

Correct answer:

justify

Explanation:

The student wants to support her position and therefore wants to "justify" it. "Maintain" is to keep; "disrupt" is to intrude; and "condone" is to allow.

Example Question #667 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

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

Two young lovers were forbidden from spending time together by their family so they decided to __________ together.

Possible Answers:

abscond

amuse

barrage

berate

extol

Correct answer:

abscond

Explanation:

To solve this sentence you have to consider what two people who are denied their wishes might choose to do. “Barrage” means attack over and over again; “berate” means criticize or yell-at; “amuse” means entertain, make laugh, and “extol” means praise. None of these answer choices make sense as an action taken by two people together in such a circumstance. The correct answer is therefore “abscond,” which means run away. The prefix ab- means away from.

Example Question #668 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

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

Coaches often like to _________ their teams by saying, "Losers quit when they're tired; winners quit when they win."

Possible Answers:

inspire

undermine

criticize

educate

Correct answer:

inspire

Explanation:

The quote in this sentence is a motivational one. Therefore, the sentence should be completed with a word that is similar in meaning to "motivate." "Motivate" means encourage people to work harder. "Inspire" means encourage people to believe in themselves, which is similar in meaning to "motivate." Therefore, it is the correct answer. 

"Criticize" and "undermine" have negative connotations, while the blank clearly has a positive connotation; therefore, neither word can be the correct answer. "Educate" means inform or teach something, so that is not the correct answer.

Example Question #667 : Sentence Completions: Parts Of Speech

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

The president of the debate team, whose term had expired, was _________ by Bill, a sophomore who seemed very capable of leading the team in a positive direction.

Possible Answers:

rivaled

seen

superseded

encouraged

Correct answer:

superseded

Explanation:

The context of this sentence make it logical that the sophomore is replacing the president of the debate team. Therefore, the word that should be in the blank should mean replace. This word is "supersede." The sentence doesn't give us any additional information that suggests that the old president of the debate team "rivaled" (was competitive with or was an enemy of) Bill, "encouraged" (bolstered the confidence of) him, or even that he had "seen" (visually observed) him, so none of those answer choices can be correct.

Example Question #891 : Sentence Completions

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

Having been told it was impossible for man to travel around the world without the use of airplanes, the bold adventurer haughtily set off to __________ the globe.

Possible Answers:

transcend

circumnavigate

circumvent

appropriate

appall

Correct answer:

circumnavigate

Explanation:

The sentence describes how the subject is trying to travel all the way around the world. This indicates that you need to choose one of the answer choices with the prefixes "circum-" because this means round or go around. Of the two possible answer choices, “circumnavigate” is the much better option. “Circumnavigate” means to travel around the world. To provide further help, “circumvent” means to get around doing something you do not want to do; “appropriate” means right, fitting; “transcend” means rise above, go beyond; “appall” means disgust, offend.

Example Question #892 : Sentence Completions

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

Having heard the sound of a hawk flying above, the little field mouse __________ for the safety of his underground burrow. 

Possible Answers:

enamored

scampered

prevailed

fumbled

glowered

Correct answer:

scampered

Explanation:

As hawks are known to eat field mice, it seems probable that the sound of an eagle would frighten the field mouse and cause it to go running very quickly for safety. The answer choice that most closely means running quickly is “scampered.” To provide further help, “enamored” means in love with; “prevailed” means defeated, succeeded over; “glowered” means looked angrily at someone; “fumbled” means dropped, or messed up

Example Question #893 : Sentence Completions

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

The father had a tendency to worry about his daughter and it only made him __________ more when she returned from college with a tattoo and a boyfriend. 

Possible Answers:

fret

dovetail

cram

demonize

laud

Correct answer:

fret

Explanation:

Based on the context of the sentence, we can infer that the answer choice must be a synonym for worry. The closest answer choice is “fret.” To provide further help, “dovetail” means merge, combine; “cram” means squeeze a lot into; “demonize” means to make something out as evil; “laud” means praise

Example Question #894 : Sentence Completions

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

The hungry duck swam across the pond, climbed onto shore, and __________ across the grass to follow the tourists who had food.

Possible Answers:

obtained

stomped

waddled

fowl

ductile

Correct answer:

waddled

Explanation:

Because of the sentence's parallel structure, we can infer that we are looking for a verb, so while "ductile" sounds like duck and "fowl" refers to birds, neither of them are the correct answer. From the sentence's context, we can tell that we are looking for a verb that means something like walked, since we know that the duck moved across the grass to follow the tourists, and ducks move across grass by walking. Of the answer choices remaining, only "waddled" and "stomped" describe movement. Since "stomp" means to make a lot of noise while walking, often to demonstrate one's anger, and "waddle" means to walk with small steps while swinging one's body back and forth, "waddle" is the better choice and the correct answer.

Example Question #895 : Sentence Completions

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

When the delicious scent of baking cookies __________ in from the kitchen, my mouth began to water.

Possible Answers:

pranced

colided

ambled

gusted

wafted

Correct answer:

wafted

Explanation:

We can infer that we need to find a verb that means something like drifted and can refer to air and smells. "Wafted" and "gusted" appear to be our best choices. Since "gusted" refers to wind and means blew in gusts, it seems a bit strong for our sentence's context. (It doesn't seem like there was any wind blowing out of the kitchen.) "Wafted," however, means passed through the air gently and fits the context of the sentence very well, so "wafted" is the best answer.

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