SAT Critical Reading : Context Clues in One-Blank Sentences
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Critical Reading
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Example Questions
Example Question #21 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In One Blank Sentences
The graduate student was given a __________ in order to pay for his living expenses during his years of research.
stipend
contribution
waiver
profit
draft
stipend
In this sentence, it is really a matter of knowing the vocabulary, though you can likely eliminate several options as being a bit too limited. The most tempting wrong answers are both “contribution” and perhaps (if one thinks too much) “waiver.” Strictly speaking, the latter would imply more than what is said in the sentence. Against the option of “contribution,” the word “stipend” is better, as it means “a fixed salary, payment, or allowance.” “Contribution” is more vague than “stipend,” and therefore is less acceptable.
Example Question #21 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word that best completes the following sentence.
Although the story was an enjoyable read on the whole, it was often rather __________ in portraying eighteenth-century characters often with manners more akin to those of the mid-nineteenth century.
anachronistic
ridiculous
ambiguous
loose
imprecise
anachronistic
If something is “anachronistic,” it does not really belong in its given time period. Sometimes, the adjective can merely mean that something is old-fashioned, but it often is used to indicate the situation when someone describes something in one time period according to the customs or historical contingencies of another period. The prefix “ana-” comes from the Greek preposition meaning “backward” (among other things). The familiar “-chronistic” comes from the Greek word for time and has familiar English derivatives (such as “chronological”).
Example Question #130 : Isee Upper Level (Grades 9 12) Verbal Reasoning
Choose the word that best completes the following sentence.
The __________ was the only person in the group with the knowledge to choose the correct wine to pair with the main course.
dilettante
epicure
esoteric
armature
glutton
epicure
While “dilettante” may be related to the sentence and appear a potential choice, it indicates a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as food, but without any real commitment, only dabbling in it. The sentence indicates that the person in question has a knowledge more extensive than the rest of the group, so “epicure” is the more suitable answer choice.
Example Question #22 : Style, Intensity, And Connotation In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word that best completes the following sentence.
The entire family was awoken by a disruptive __________ resonating from the alleyway outside their home.
beep
cacophony
whisper
noise
whistle
cacophony
A "cacophony" is a clamor or harsh noise, which is implied by "disruptive" and "resonating."
Example Question #91 : Context Clues In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word that best completes the following sentence.
The room was a veritable __________; the temperature continued to rise to amounts so deadly that plastic began to melt and every animal would pass out within seconds.
misery
persecution
sauna
punishment
inferno
inferno
The adjective “veritable” is used to intensify noun that it describes. It could be translated “quite truly.” (It is related to words like “verity”, “veridical”, and “verify.” All of these come from the Latin "verus," meaning true.) Since the room was deadly in its heat, it is best called an "inferno," at least metaphorically speaking. An inferno is generally a large fire. The word is related to the late Latin word for “Hell.” It communicates the idea of great amounts of heat and does so without the “health benefits” that are somewhat connoted by “sauna.”
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