PSAT Critical Reading : Parts of Speech in One-Blank Sentences
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Example Questions
Example Question #54 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences
Select the answer choice that best completes the blank.
If a few of the minor political parties __________, the result may be a formidable opponent.
chortle
coalesce
cleave
coagulate
circumscribe
coalesce
The answer that makes the most sense is "coalesce," to combine or fuse.
Example Question #55 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences
Select the answer choice that best completes the blank.
Despite all the evidence against him, Mark refused to __________ that he was wrong.
concede
confound
conjure
comport
condole
concede
The answer that makes the most sense is "concede," to admit or yield.
Example Question #56 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences
Select the answer choice that best completes the blank.
He was beaten so badly that he knew there was no way he could __________ the result of the race.
controvert
convoke
convene
consort
contest
contest
The answer that makes the most sense is "contest," to dispute.
Example Question #481 : One Blank Sentences
Select the answer choice that best completes the blank.
Bob's mother furiously __________ him when she saw that he already torn holes in his new jeans.
excoriated
expedited
expatiated
exhorted
exonerated
excoriated
The answer that makes the most sense is "excoriate," to scold with biting harshness.
Example Question #482 : One Blank Sentences
Select the answer choice that best completes the blank.
Don't __________ yourself with understanding every detail; it is more important to see the big picture.
ensue
emend
emulate
encumber
enjoin
encumber
The answer that makes the most sense is "encumber," to burden.
Example Question #1431 : Psat Critical Reading
Select the answer choice that best completes the blank.
The seasoned surgeon has __________ himself with all sorts of anatomical problems.
hovered
honed
harbored
habituated
hoarded
habituated
The answer that makes the most sense is "habituated," to become accustomed or familiarize.
Example Question #1432 : Psat Critical Reading
Answer the following sample question. Select the word or pair of words that most correctly completes the sentence.
My paper is too long, so I'll need to __________ some of the longer paragraphs.
curate
hinder
patent
truncate
rescind
truncate
"Truncate" means to shorten or abbreviate. "Hinder" means to prevent or slow down. "Rescind" means to declare null and void. "Patent" means to secure a copyright on an invention. "Curate" means to gather items or data for presentation.
Example Question #1433 : Psat Critical Reading
Answer the following sample question. Select the word or pair of words that most correctly completes the sentence.
As the sailors crossed the vast sea, they were constantly __________ by large tempests and huge waves.
corroborated
hindered
belittled
kindled
eschewed
hindered
"Hinder" means to prevent or slow down. "Belittle" means to criticize or detract. "Kindle" means excite or ignite. "Eschew" means to avoid, shun, or have nothing to do with. "Corroborate" means to authenticate or confirm.
Example Question #1434 : Psat Critical Reading
Answer the following sample question. Select the word or pair of words that most correctly completes the sentence.
Some people want nothing more out of life than to __________ huge wealth.
abridge
rant
laud
mollify
amass
amass
"Amass" means to gather or accumulate. "Abridge" means to shorten, abbreviate, or truncate. "Laud" means to acclaim or praise. "Mollify" means to calm or pacify. "Rant" means to yell or rave.
Example Question #1435 : Psat Critical Reading
Select the word or word pair that best completes the sentence.
Tired of seeing my two best friends fight, I finally sat down with them together to try to __________ the situation.
assimilate
ameliorate
arouse
allocate
ameliorate
If your friends were fighting you would want to make the situation better. This is the sense of "ameliorate." The same sense is carried by the less-common form, "meliorate" (sometimes a prefixed "a" will make a word mean its opposite—as in "moral" and "amoral," but in this case "ameliorate" and "meliorate" both mean to make better).
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