ISEE Middle Level Verbal : Sentence Completions

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #111 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

I first met Sally when Ken __________ her to me; he had known her for years but only now brought her over to my house.

Possible Answers:

pictured

described

introduced

envisioned

berated

Correct answer:

introduced

Explanation:

Since the writer is speaking about the first time that he or she "met" Sally, it is not a matter of being told about her at a distance. Clearly, Ken brought her to the person. (This is also quite clear, given that the author states that he brought her over to the house.) Therefore, we can safely guess that "introduced" is the best answer, since it implies physical presence, unlike the other options.

Example Question #112 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

The tourist discovered that he had been __________ when the supposedly solid gold antique watch he had bought from a street vendor turned out to be merely gold-plated.

Possible Answers:

accustomed

reduced

hoodwinked

accosted

scrambled

Correct answer:

hoodwinked

Explanation:

We can infer that because the tourist's believed that he was buying a "solid gold antique watch" when he was really buying a "merely gold-plated" watch, he was deceived. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "deceived." "Accosted" may look like a potentially correct answer choice, but "accost" means "approach and address someone boldly or aggressively," so it would not make sense in the sentence's context; if the tourist had been accosted, he surely would have known it at the time and not "discovered" so later. So, "accosted" cannot be the correct answer. "Hoodwink," however, is a verb that means "deceive or trick someone," so "hoodwinked" is the correct answer because it is the answer choice that best describe's the tourist's experience.

Example Question #113 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

Eating too much junk food can __________ the healthy benefits of exercise.

Possible Answers:

enhance

interfere

negate

pelt

supplement

Correct answer:

negate

Explanation:

We can infer from the sentence that we need to pick out a verb for the blank that means something like "cancel out," because eating unhealthy junk food could cancel out the healthy benefits of exercise. Neither "enhance" nor "supplement" can be the correct answer, then, because they are each an antonym of "cancel out." While "interfere" might look like a potentially correct answer, it would be grammatically incorrect in the sentence without the addition of the word "with"; one wouldn't say that "junk food can interfere the healthy benefits of exercise." So, "interfere" cannot be the correct answer either. "Negate," however, is a verb that can mean "nullify; make ineffective," and because it best describes the effects that eating too much junk food can have on the healthy benefits of exercise, "negate" is the correct answer.

Example Question #114 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

Despite having no interest in baseball, he has over two hundred baseball cards; I have no idea why he chose to __________ such a vast collection.

Possible Answers:

barrage

impasse

amass

edify

balance

Correct answer:

amass

Explanation:

From the context of the sentence, we know that the blank word must mean something like gather or collect. The correct answer is therefore “amass,” which means collect a lot of. To provide further help, “edify” means build or teach; a “barrage” is a seemingly endless attack; an “impasse” is a deadlock, something that is hard to work around.

Example Question #115 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

Anxious to avoid a riot, the manager tried to __________ angry customers with free merchandise.

Possible Answers:

absolve

counsel

debunk

provoke

placate

Correct answer:

placate

Explanation:

"Placate" means to appease or pacify. If the manager is "anxious to avoid a riot," he or she wants to please the customers, and does so by offering "free merchandise." The answer choice that best describes the manager's actions is "placate."

Example Question #116 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

The historian, Herodotus, __________ the Greco-Persian Wars over two thousand years ago, and his writings remain important to modern historians even now.

Possible Answers:

antagonized

synchronized

sedated

dignified

chronicled

Correct answer:

chronicled

Explanation:

From the context of the sentence, you know that modern historians find the writings of Herodotus useful even now; this suggests that the blank word must mean something like recorded or written down. This means that the correct answer is "chronicled," which means recorded the events of. To provide further help, "antagonized" means annoyed; "sedated" means put to sleep; "dignified" means to have given something dignity; "synchronized" means put on the same schedule.

Example Question #117 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

The award-winning theater performance __________ a great amount of applause and commendations from the audience.

Possible Answers:

permitted

imagined

generated

protracted

suppressed

Correct answer:

generated

Explanation:

The key to this sentence is the fact that it indicates that the theater performance was an "award-winning" performance; this in turn "elicits" applause; that is to say, it inspirescauses, or provokes it. As for the other answer choices, "permitted" means allowed within some set of rules; "suppressed" means subdued; "protracted" means cut an event short; and "imagined" means dreamed up in one's mind. Thus, the word that best completes the sentence is "generated."

Example Question #118 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

Flood walls are designed to __________ disaster in the event of massive rainstorms or hurricanes.

Possible Answers:

extend

avert

depart

irritate

retain

Correct answer:

avert

Explanation:

It stands to reason that a flood wall would be put in place to prevent disaster, so the correct answer is “avert,” which means to stop something from happening. To provide further help, “extend” means reach out; “retain” means keep; “irritate” means annoy; “depart” means leave

Example Question #119 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

That metal __________ if it is exposed to freezing temperatures, so northern countries don't find much use for it, because anything they build out of it likely to crumble in cold weather.

Possible Answers:

disintegrates

repairs

imports

hardens

burns

Correct answer:

disintegrates

Explanation:

We can infer from the sentence that we've got to pick out a verb that means something like "crumbles," because "anything [built] out of it is likely to crumble in cold weather." "Hardens" might seem like a potentially correct answer, but in the context of the sentence, it doesn't make much sense because if a metal hardened in cold weather, it would likely still be useable, or even preferable to other materials. So, "hardens" cannot be the correct answer., "Disintegrates," however, is a verb that means "breaks up into small parts, typically as the result of impact or decay," and because "disintegrates" best describes how the metal "crumble[s] in cold weather," "disintegrates" is the correct answer.

Example Question #121 : Sentence Completions: Verbs

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

Often times, what drains our energy more than work itself is the stress, frustration, and worry that _________ it. 

Possible Answers:

accompany

destroy

obscure

transform

Correct answer:

accompany

Explanation:

The logic of the sentence is communicating that what can drain our energy is not work itself, but rather the other factors that come along with it: frustration, stress, and worry. Therefore, the word that completes this sentence should be a word that means "go along with." The best answer choice that matches this would be "accompany," which means go with (referring to people) or go along with (referring to ideas). "Obscure" means make hard to understand and does not fit the sentence's context. "Transform" means change, and also does not fit. Additionally, "destroy" means ruin and does not fit either.

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