All PSAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1073 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The man’s __________ disposition was difficult for his whole family. His continuous verbal assaults unnerved them all.
belligerent
capricious
unmanageable
precarious
mercurial
belligerent
The man’s disposition leads him to assault his relatives. Hence, he is warlike. The best word is therefore, “belligerent,” which is derived from the Latin bellum, meaning war. A related English word would be “bellicose.” Many also know the expression “ante bellum.” While some students think this just means southern, because it is used often in American history to describe the “antebellum South,” what it really means is the South before the Civil War.
Example Question #1074 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The woman’s affection was rather __________, always passing with the whims of her fancy.
unknown
superficial
ephemeral
questionable
pointed
ephemeral
The key is to note that the affections of the woman are not merely surface level (superficial) but that they are passing and changing; therefore, the best answer is “ephemeral.” It is derived from Greek meaning lasting a short time.
Example Question #1075 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After seven months of living with John, Adam was tiring of the former’s overly optimistic, __________ attitude.
unflagging
untiring
pollyanna
upbeat
despondent
pollyanna
The key here is that John’s attitude is not merely “upbeat” but is even “overly” so—“overly optimistic.” The best word is therefore “Pollyanna,” which is derived from the name of a young character in an early-twentieth-century novel by the same name. Pollyanna made it her goal to give a positive interpretation to every situation. The term has taken on this connotation in an almost negative manner.
Example Question #1076 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
If all of the senses really depend on mechanical force and contact, why are they not all merely __________ like the sense of touch?
piercing
carnal
poignant
tactile
subtle
tactile
The question arising here is why all the senses are not based upon contact, which is the case with the sense of touch. The word “tactile” means “perceptible to touch.” It is derived from the Latin tangere, which has a form in which the “g” becomes a “t”—tactus; therefore, “tactile” is related not only to words like “contact” and “intact” but also “tangible” and “tangent.”
Example Question #1077 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Mark was judged to be __________ for the offence committed against the community and therefore was sentenced accordingly.
egregious
destructive
unacceptable
implacable
culpable
culpable
Since Mark was sentenced, we can presume that he was found guilty. A person who is guilty is “culpable” for an offense.
The word is derived from the Latin culpa, meaning “fault.” Related words are “culprit” and “exculpatory.” (The latter is a combination of ex—meaning, out / out of, as in “exit”—and the base from culpa. Exculpatory evidence is evidence that proves (at least in part) the innocence of a party in a court case. It “gets one out of (ex-) guilt (culpa).”
Example Question #1078 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The man’s face was as __________ as the sun as he beamed with joy upon reception of the long-desired award.
enlightened
energetic
refulgent
solar
diurnal
refulgent
The man’s face is apparently “shining”, though in a metaphorical sense. Do not be tempted by “solar” (which really is a metaphorical stretch) or “enlightened,” which really is not appropriate. The best choice is “refulgent,” which is derived from the Latin fulgere, meaning to shine or flash.
Example Question #1079 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The whole affair was __________ to the teams older members, who humorously looked on as the younger members tried the same impracticable solutions that they had attempted in their own youthful days.
redundant
annoying
repetitive
puerile
risible
risible
Here, if we can find a word that matches the “humorous” response of the older members. The word that fulfills this need is “risible,” which means “able to provoke laugher” or—more broadly—“amusing.”
It is derived from the Latin ridere, which means “to laugh.” The “d” becomes an “s” in certain forms, thus giving us “ris-” in English; however, related English words likewise retain the “d,” such as “deride,” “ridicule,” and “ridiculous.”
Example Question #1080 : Sentence Completion
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Although the primary function of the company was to write internet applications, there were many __________ roles that supported the work of the core engineering group.
superfluous
unimportant
demanding
questionable
ancillary
ancillary
A supporting role is an “ancillary” role. The word is derived from the Latin ancilla, which means “slave / servant woman.” Sometimes, one will find reference to the medieval notion that “philosophy is the hand-maiden of theology.” In such cases, philosophy would be called the ancilla of theology.
Example Question #231 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Although he had long been retired from his job as an accountant, the old man could not help but allow himself ample time to reflect upon the __________ matters of his own private household management.
leisurely
pecuniary
repetitive
responsible
tedious
pecuniary
The key here is to note that the man was an accountant. This will aid in singling out “pecuniary,” which means “related to or consisting of money,” particularly given the hints in the sentence that the former accountant just cannot help returning to his old ways of paying heed to such financial matters.
The history of this word is rather interesting. It comes directly from the Latin pecunia (and related words), meaning property, riches, or wealth; however, more remotely, it comes from pecus, which means “cattle”—a distinct type of wealth in more agrarian societies.
Example Question #232 : Adjectives And Adverbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
To this day, the Catholic Church has an army of Canon Lawyers to address the needs of its own __________ law.
specious
corrupt
sacerdotal
ecclesiastical
outmoded
ecclesiastical
None of the evaluative words are justified by the rest of the sentence, so do not read any implications into the words provided. Based on the given data, we are only justified in calling this law “church-related.” The word “ecclesiastical” fits this well, as it means that—of or related to a (Christian) church. It is directly taken from the Latin “ecclesia” (which is taken from nearly identical Greek roots), meaning assembly or (later) church.
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