All PSAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1271 : Sentence Completions
The crime committed by Leonardo was so __________ that he was condemned and __________ from his homeland, never to return thereto.
surprising . . . celebrated
heinous . . . banished
horrific . . . scoffed
amazing . . . belittled
condemned . . . litigated
heinous . . . banished
There are several options that do have an acceptable first word, namely "heinous," "horrific," and (perhaps) "amazing." The problems with the wrong options are their second words. The primary clue for the second word is the subordinate "never to return thereto." This describes Leonardo's state after he is condemned for his crime. When someone is punished by being sent from their homeland, that person is exiled or banished; therefore, the best option is "heinous . . . banished." The word "heinous" means extremely bad or evil, which works well (given the modifier "so," which indicates the gravity of the matter).
Example Question #11 : Verbs And Adjectives Or Adverbs In Two Blank Sentences
Sentence Completions: Select the words or phrases that most correctly complete the sentence.
Instead of assigning the tedious tasks to the experienced programmers, the manager would __________ such __________ work to the junior team members.
eliminate . . . farcical
abnegate . . . unseemly
proffer . . . annoying
lament . . . elementary
delegate . . . dull
delegate . . . dull
The word "instead" indicates that the manager would not assign the tedious tasks to his experienced workers but would assign them to the junior team members. That is, the word "instead" triggers a parallel between the verb of the main clause and the participle "assigning" in the introductory dependent clause. To "delegate" something is to assign something to a less senior person in a group or team. The blank before "work" needs to be an adjective describing that work. Given that the tasks are called "tedious," it is best to choose "dull," which is closest in meaning to the earlier description of the work.
Example Question #181 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences
Sentence Completions: Select the words or phrases that most correctly complete the sentence.
Because of the extremely __________ nature of the crime, the judge __________ the man to fifty difficult years of digging salt in the mines.
questionable . . . delegated
alienating . . . directed
perturbing . . . commuted
contested . . . assigned
heinous . . . condemned
heinous . . . condemned
There are two words to notice in order to answer this question correctly. First, there is the adverb "extremely" and secondly there is the adjective "difficult." Since the punishment given to the man is difficult, we can presume that the crime is not a minor or "light" matter. It must have been extremely bad or grave. The word "heinous" means extremely wicked or bad. When the judge sentences such a criminal, it would be likely be a strong "condemnation" of this crime. Among other meanings, to "condemn" means to give a punishment sentence that is very strong.
Example Question #15 : Verbs And Adjectives Or Adverbs In Two Blank Sentences
Sentence Completions: Select the words or phrases that most correctly complete the sentence.
The beauty of the scene __________ the spectators, who completely stopped and became utterly __________ with the view.
distracted . . . bewildered
challenged . . . aesthetic
surprised . . . scholarly
entranced . . . engrossed
greeted . . . belittled
entranced . . . engrossed
Since the spectators completely stopped because of the scene, it is likely proper to say that their attention was completely "taken" by it. When someone is "engrossed," he or she is utterly absorbed in or by something. One could be engrossed in work, music, or—indeed—a beautiful scene. Because the spectators were so "taken in" by the scene, it is acceptable to say that they were "entranced" by it, meaning that their attention was completely absorbed in it. (Think of being in a "trance" to understand this meaning.)
Example Question #12 : Verbs And Adjectives Or Adverbs In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Sally built a paper boat and sailed it in the pool, and while it stayed __________ for half an hour, gliding around on the water's surface, it __________ when her brother cannonballed off the diving board and sent waves crashing into it.
garbled . . . shambled
adjacent . . . embarked
doused . . . sank
buoyant . . . nourished
afloat . . . capsized
afloat . . . capsized
We can tell from the context of the sentence that for the first blank, we're looking for an adjective that means not sunk, as it describes the boat before Sally's brother jumped off the diving board and sunk it. Of the available choices, "afloat" (floating) and "buoyant" (able to stay afloat) could work. For the second blank, we can infer that we need a word that means something like overturned, since we can picture what would happen to a paper boat in a wavy pool. Either "capsized" (overturned in water) or "sank" could work. Of the potentially correct answers we've identified, only "afloat" and "capsized" appear in a single answer choice, so "afloat . . . capsized" is the correct answer.
Example Question #191 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The fluffy cat, which had been contentedly lounging on the lawn, looked utterly __________ after it was __________ when the sprinkler system came on without warning.
animated . . . drenched
veritable . . . harried
woeful . . . doused
pretentious . . . derived
miserable . . . arid
woeful . . . doused
Let's start with the second blank. Since we know that the sprinkler system came on unexpectedly, we can guess that the cat got wet, so we should pick out an adjective that means something like soaked. Either "doused" (drenched) or "drenched" could work. For the first blank, we can guess that a wet cat wouldn't be too happy, so either "woeful" (sorrowful) or "miserable" (sad or uncomfortable) could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "woeful" and "doused" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "woeful . . . doused."
Example Question #192 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Unfortunately, the digitally encoded message was affected by a virus which __________ it, making it _________ to anyone who tried to read the confused jumble of letters that the damage file contained.
scrambled . . . inconsiderate
garbled . . . incomprehensible
unveiled . . . invisible
elongated . . . indecipherable
contaminated . . . lucid
garbled . . . incomprehensible
For the first blank, we need to pick out an word that means something like messed up, since we know that after the virus affected the file, it resulted in the message being a "confused jumble of letters." Either "garbled" (having its meaning distorted) or "scrambled" (jumbled) could be correct. For the second blank, we know that people tried to read the file but could not, so we should look for an adjective that means something like unreadable. Either "incomprehensible" (not able to be understood) or "indecipherable" (not able to be read) could be correct; while "inconsiderate" also begins with the prefix "in-," "inconsiderate" means rude, so it cannot be the correct answer. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "garbled" and "incomprehensible" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "garbled . . . incomprehensible."
Example Question #193 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Sally __________ when she saw the __________ height restriction for the roller coaster she had wanted to ride because she assumed that she was not tall enough to ride; while no one under five feet tall could ride with no exceptions, she was luckily exactly that height.
despaired . . . compulsory
celebrated . . . mandatory
saddened . . . encouraged
forgot . . . jubilant
participated . . . overturned
despaired . . . compulsory
For the first blank, we need to pick out a word that means something like grew sad, because we know that Sally wanted to ride the roller coaster and assumed she could not because of the height restriction. Either "despaired" (gave up) or "saddened" (grew sad) could be correct. For the second blank, since we know that there no were exceptions to the height rule, either "compulsory" (obligatory) or "mandatory" (compulsory) could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "despaired" and "compulsory" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "despaired . . . compulsory."
Example Question #194 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Awed by the park's natural beauty, the tourist __________ through the Yosemite valley floor, allowing every sight __________ time to sink in.
dashed . . . sparse
plodded . . . plenteous
hurried . . . harried
ambled . . . ample
meandered . . . meager
ambled . . . ample
For the first blank, "ambled" (to walk at a relaxed pace) or "meandered" (to take a winding course) would work. "Plodding" would be about the same speed, but with a sense more of fatigue or resentment than of awe, and you might want to "hurry" or "dash" on to see what's around the next turn, but the context suggests a pace that allows sufficient time to meditate on the beauty. For the second blank (for the word pairs that we have not yet eliminated), "ample" (plenty) makes the most sense.
Example Question #1347 : Sentence Completion Questions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
I am not a particularly __________ person, so I have had difficulties __________ into new communities after moving to a new city.
sociable . . . assimilating
nonchalant . . . meandering
dissolute . . . wandering
dynamic . . . sequencing
prosperous . . . rendering
sociable . . . assimilating
In this problem, there are few clues to help you solve for the words apart from seeing which two words fit together when plugged in for the blank terms. “Nonchalant” means not caring and “meandering” means walking indirectly; would someone who does not care about things have trouble walking indirectly? No, that makes no sense. We can eliminate that answer choice. Eventually, it should become clear that the correct answer is “sociable” and “assimilating.” “Sociable” means friendly and good at talking to people and “assimilating” means fitting in to a new culture. Would someone who is not good at talking to people have trouble fitting in a new city? Yes, that makes sense. To provide further help, “dissolute” means immoral and “wandering” means walking aimlessly; “prosperous” means successful and wealthy and “rendering” means depicting or showing; and “dynamic” means forceful or exciting and “sequencing” means putting in order.
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