All PSAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #235 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The cashier looked at the customer with annoyance for having cut ahead in the line. “Please, sir,” she said, “return to the back of the __________.”
crowd
mob
queue
throng
multitude
queue
Here, the key is to note that the annoyance is caused by the fact that the customer does not obey the rules for an orderly line—which is called a “queue” since it has a sequence in which the first person who enters is the first to exit.
Example Question #236 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Vanessa rarely was tempted to lie to her friends and therefore regularly expressed her opinions with unabashed __________, even if it seemed harsh at times.
joviality
brashness
candor
recklessness
outspokenness
candor
Vanessa’s honesty meant that she was clear and “in the open” regarding her opinions; therefore, she could be called “candid” or be said “to have candor,” meaning to be honest in presenting one’s opinions. The word comes form Latin roots for “white”—which could be thought of as being pure.
Example Question #237 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The old woman’s eyes clearly showed her __________ for others. Her many years of serving the needs of her family gave her an acute ability to share in other’s needs, joys, and sorrows.
awareness
understanding
recollection
empathy
despair
empathy
If one is able to share in the feelings of others, they are able to understand them from within, so to speak. The word “empathy” is derived from the prefix “in,” combined with “pathos;” the latter meaning feeling. To have empathy therefore means to “be within” the feelings of another.
Example Question #134 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
John Kennedy once remarked that Thomas Jefferson, dining alone, brought more genius to the old room than the many men there gathered. Although the remark might have been an overstatement, it definitely captures the fact that Jefferson was a true __________, deeply knowledgeable in numerous subjects.
philosopher
politician
genius
polymath
prodigy
polymath
If one is knowledgeable in many subjects, they are called a “polymath”—a word that almost literally translates into that definition. You likely know the prefix “poly,” which comes from the Greek root for many and is used in English words like “polygamy” and “polyglot.” The second half, “math,” comes from a Greek root that does not only mean mathematics but more broadly indicates learning (although “mathematics” is related to the same set of roots).
Example Question #135 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Eugene was a man of great __________, always kind to those he met and never self-seeking in his deeds.
justice
benevolence
piety
rectitude
magnanimity
benevolence
To wish well to others is to have “benevolence.” Literally, the word means good-willing. The first half (“bene-”) comes from roots meaning good or well and is found in other English words like “beneficent,” “benign,” and “benefit.” The second half (“-volent”) is derived from Latin roots for to wish or to will and has English relatives in words like “volition” or “voluntary.”
Example Question #151 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After a morning of meetings, Scott was glad to give his ears a __________ from the constant barrage of questions and presentations.
covering
respite
reward
detachment
distance
respite
A “respite” is a short period of rest after something unpleasant—such as the constant barrage of questions and presentations.
Example Question #141 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The crazy old woman uttered words of __________ against her adversaries, cursing them for a thousand generations.
wrath
fury
malediction
judgment
indignation
malediction
A “malediction” is a vocal expression of meaning to bring a curse or evil on to someone. It is derived from the Latin “malus,” meaning bad or evil and “dicere” meaning to speak. Related words for the former are “malady” and “malice,” and the latter has many, such as “diction”, “dictionary”, and “dictator.”
Example Question #1651 : Sat Critical Reading
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Douglas thought his long talks were masterful examples of oratory, but all of his listeners could rarely follow the meandering threads of his __________ around whatever topic he attempted to explain.
circumlocutions
discussions
meanderings
bombasts
orations
circumlocutions
The key word is “around” (and this allows you to eliminate the potentially tempting “meanderings,” though that would be a redundant usage given the antecedent “meandering”). The word means to walk around in a circular fashion. It is derived from the Latin “circum” and “loqui.” The former means “around” or “about” and is reflected in many English words (“circumference”, “circumnavigate”, etc). “Loqui” means to speak or to tell. English derivatives are not only words with “loq” (like “colloquial” or “eloquent”) but also words with the related sound “loc” (like “locution” or “interlocutor”).
Example Question #271 : Sentence Completion Questions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Jeremy was an unabashed __________, and this disposition led him both to search obsessively for many texts and to purchase such a great quantity that he was nearly placed in utter poverty.
bibliophile
controversialist
raconteur
scholastic
academic
bibliophile
The key is that Jeremy buys many texts and likewise searches for them; therefore, the best word is “bibliophile” which captures this compulsion. It is derived from two Greek roots that are very familiar to us in other contexts. “Biblio-” is derived from Greek for book and is reflected in English words like “bibliography” and “bible.” The second half comes from the Greek words for love of friendship or merely friendship. The city of Philadelphia is named from Greek brotherly love. (The “brotherly” portion comes from "adelphos," brother).
Example Question #272 : Sentence Completion Questions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
In the sad case of __________, the young man took out his frustration for his abandonment by his father by assaulting the only parent he had left.
vexation
matricide
vengeance
revenge
iniquity
matricide
This sentence is not very difficult and only slightly hides the correct answer. Had it said that he assaulted “his mother,” it would have been extremely easy. The correct answer is “matricide.”
The first half comes from the Latin for mother. (Think of related words like “maternal”). The second half comes from Latin for “to kill.” (Think of related words like sui + cide—to kill oneself—or homo + cide—to kill a human being).
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