ISEE Upper Level Verbal : Nouns in One-Blank Sentences

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

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Example Questions

Example Question #284 : One Blank Sentences

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

The graduating class gathered together for the annual __________ to present academic awards to the highest achieving students.

Possible Answers:

affair

event

banquet

convocation

scholium

Correct answer:

convocation

Explanation:

Based on the data provided in this sentence, the most that can be said about the annual event is indicated by the key expression “gathered together.”  A “convocation” is a “calling together” or a meeting of this sort where a group comes together, often as a formal ceremony.  The word comes from the prefix “con-,” meaning “with” or (by extension) “together” and “vocation,” meaning “to call.”  The former is found in words like “contiguous” and “congruent,” as well as “colloquy” and “cooperate.”  The later is related to words like “vocal,” “vocative,” and “advocate.”

Example Question #285 : One Blank Sentences

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

Admittedly, the book was relatively brief, but Catherine resented that the __________ was being called a “mere trifle of a tale.” 

Possible Answers:

publication

novella

text

tome

novella

publication

anecdote

anecdote

text

tome

Correct answer:

novella

Explanation:

The sentence wishes to indicate that Catherine thought that her story was short, but not so short as to merit such seeming scorn.  A “novella” is a short novel (or a long short story), the word being derived from the obvious base “novel” with an added diminutive ending.  Diminutive endings make the word to mean something “smaller” than the base word.  The forms of such endings often differ from language to language.  “Novella” comes from Italian roots, and such diminution can be found in a name like “Monticello,” Thomas Jefferson’s House, whose name literally means “little mountain” after the hill upon which it sits.

Example Question #371 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

After mowing the lawn in the summer heat, Mary found herself suffering from _________ and requiring a cold bath in order to regulate her body temperature.

Possible Answers:

hyperthermia

hypertrophy

tepidity

exhaustion

hyperactivity

Correct answer:

hyperthermia

Explanation:

The implication in this sentence is that the summer heat had modified Mary’s body temperature extremely (clearly by increasing it).  Since she needed to cool herself, it is arguable that her condition was one of “hyperthermia.”  The “hyper-” prefix means “beyond or above,” as when one is “hyperactive,” he or she is “beyond” being merely active.  The “-thermia” portion is related to other English “temperature” words like “thermal,” “geothermal,” and “hypothermia.”

Example Question #372 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

The wealthy man often surprised his wife by his __________, although he often was very generous with his money, at random times he was quite capable being of a miser.

Possible Answers:

capriciousness

meanness

detachment

rudeness

offensiveness

Correct answer:

meanness

Explanation:

The contrast and surprise found here is in the fact that the wealthy man so often could be a miser, that is, one who is very sparing in the outlaying of money.  Such a disposition can be called “meanness,” not in the sense of being nasty or rude but being sparing or ungenerous.

Example Question #373 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

The author had regularly defended high moral standards and a strict authority code throughout all of society. It was surprising that he did not sense the significant ___________ that these prescriptions had in relation to his depraved and rebellious lifestyle.

Possible Answers:

mirroring

dissonance

reversal

distinction

questionability

Correct answer:

dissonance

Explanation:

The sense that this sentence conveys is that the author does not live in accord with the tone and content of his own writing.  Therefore, his writing and life are “out of harmony” with each other.  The word “dissonance” literally means “bad sounding,” from the prefix “dis+” meaning “apart from” or even (in some contexts) “bad / negative” and the base “-sonance,” which is related to other “sound words” like “sonar,” “resonance,” and “consonant.”  The term can be applied more broadly to any situation in which two incompatible things are compared to each other.

Example Question #374 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

A number of ancient civilizations would burn their deceased on elaborate __________ instead of burying them in the ground.

Possible Answers:

arboretums

pedestals 

pyres

tombs

piers

Correct answer:

pyres

Explanation:

Since the sentence explicitly mentions the burning of such persons, the best option is “pyres,” which are large structures of material used in burning, particularly in funerals.  The word “pyre” comes from the Greek word for “fire,” which itself is the root for words in English related to “purity” (as though such pure items were cleansed by fire).

Example Question #375 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

Years after the string of mysterious murders, the authorities felt it necessary to undertake another __________ into the matters because of new evidence that had come to light.

Possible Answers:

review

investigation

examination

inquest

interrogation

Correct answer:

inquest

Explanation:

Here, specific vocabulary knowledge helps, as all of the options are acceptable on some level.  An “inquest” is an investigation that is related to a judicial process; hence, it is a better option than the other more general terms.  The word is related to similar terms like “inquisition,” “question,” “inquire,” and “inquisitive”—all words pertaining to the asking of questions.

Example Question #376 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

After being away from his house for three years, the soldier was exceedingly pleased to take up residence again in his __________.

Possible Answers:

nourishment

diet

domicile 

routine

regimen

Correct answer:

domicile 

Explanation:

Since the soldier was looking to return to his house, it can be said most properly that he was looking to have returned to his “domicile,” a word taken from the Latin root for “home” and found in other words such as “domestic” and “domesticate.”  All of the other options indicate other reasons that might or might not be the case.  The only clue that we have in our sentence is that he was “away from his house.”  There is nothing related to an alteration in his routine or his diet.

Example Question #292 : Sentence Completions

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

Although Nathanael believed that he hid his emotions and thoughts very well, anyone looking at his __________ could discern on his face the outward signs of his internal disposition.

Possible Answers:

appearance

figure

frame

countenance

gesticulations

gesticulations

countenance

figure

appearance

frame

Correct answer:

countenance

Explanation:

Since the sentence clearly indicates that Nathanael’s face gave away his inward disposition, the best option is “countenance,” which refers to a person’s face or the expressions found thereupon.  The other options are too vague, given the direct clue in the main clause of the sentence.   

Example Question #377 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning

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

King Wulfric tired of having many translators in his court retinue. Wishing to simplify the state of affairs, he began a kingdom-wide search for a single __________ who might replace the excessive staff.

Possible Answers:

converter

pantoglot

intellectual

attendent

academic

Correct answer:

pantoglot

Explanation:

King Wulfric is looking for one person who knows all of the languages that he needs.  A “pantoglot” is a person said to know “all languages.”  The expression might be a bit of an overstatement, but its literal parts do mean “all-tongues.”  The prefix “panto-” comes from the Greek for “all or complete” and is found in words like “pantheistic”—all of nature is God—and panacea—something that cures everything.  The “-glot” portion comes from the Greek for “tongue,” which is related to words like “glossary,” “glottal,” and “polyglot.”  The last word means “one knowing many languages” and clearly is related to “pantoglot.”

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