All SAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #531 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The scent of the old books __________ in the room even though they had been relocated some years earlier.
stank
drifted
wafted
reeked
lingered
lingered
The implication in this sentence is that the scent of the books remained for many years after their removal. There is nothing mentioned concerning the quality of the smell or about it being transported into the room. The word “linger” in general means “to remain for a long time.” It is related to the family of words connected to “long,” here in the sense of “staying for a long time.”
Example Question #488 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Gina’s friends __________ her from the group, for they did not wish to be associated with someone of her crass manners.
derided
condemned
berated
criticized
ostracized
ostracized
The trap answers to this question are “condemned” and “criticized,” for the reader might think that Gina’s friends made some official judgment on her crass manners. Instead, the key phrase is “they did not wish to be associated.” Therefore, they must have acted so as to exclude Gina from their group. When someone is “ostracized,” he or she is excluded from society. The word comes from the name of the hard material on which Greeks would write their decisions to banish someone from society (thus ostracizing them).
Example Question #1471 : Psat Critical Reading
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
For years, the students at the local high school were permitted to chew gum in class, but recently the principal decided to __________ this permission in order to prevent damages that were being done to school property.
questioned
inquire
scrutinize
manage
revoke
revoke
Since the sentence states that the principle did his action “in order to prevent” the damages from gum, it is safe to say that he did not merely consider the permission or even “scrutinize” (look carefully at) it. The sense conveyed is that he no longer allowed this permitted act. When someone “revokes” something, he or she literally “calls it back.” The word comes from the prefix “re-”, here used in the sense of “back,” and the “-voke” portion, which means “to call or name.” The latter is found in words like “invoke,” “invocation,” and “provoke.”
Example Question #534 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Instead of paying his own bills, Bob decided to __________ off his parents, living in their house, using all of their utilities and food without paying at all.
leech
rip
swindle
pilfer
steal
leech
Although one might say that Bob is stealing from his parents, the sentence only uses language of using without payment. When someone relies upon another party without giving anything in return, such a person is often called a “leech” from the name for the small worm that often lives by sucking fluid from a host organism. This is what Bob is doing, at least with regard to his parents’ housing, utilities, and food.
Example Question #661 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The riot police were careful not to __________ the angry crowd that had gathered in the central plaza.
nullify
placate
disdain
foster
incite
incite
"Incite" means to provoke or agitate. "Foster" means to promote or support. "Disdain" means to scorn or despise. "Placate" means to soothe or pacify. "Nullify" means to cancel or revoke.
Example Question #662 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Although Robert had an even temper about most matters, he would become greatly __________ when someone would misquote him to others.
infuriated
surprised
disturbed
perplexed
quizzical
infuriated
The contrast in this sentence is between an even temper and something that is “greatly” different to it. When someone is “infuriated,” he or she is extremely angered. The word has an obvious relationship to the English “fury,” which is an extreme form of anger. To be “infuriated” literally means “to be led into extreme anger.”
Example Question #561 : Sentence Completion Questions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Joseph was assigned the task of __________ any company-wide emails, taking particular care to amend any remotely offensive wordings.
studying
reading
censoring
reviewing
perusing
censoring
Although Joseph might be said to have to oversee, study, or review the emails, note that he has to “amend (i.e. change) any remotely offensive wordings;” therefore, his task is more than mere “review” or “perusing.” Instead, he must censor the contents. While we often think of censoring as “bleeping” out offensive words on television, it more broadly means the process of removing anything offensive before something enters the public forum.
Example Question #1947 : Sat Critical Reading
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Since the small pond rarely received any inflow or outflow, its waters often would __________, encouraging the breeding of insects and the growth of scum.
sicken
erode
clot
nauseate
stagnate
stagnate
The key expression in this sentence is “rarely received any inflow or outflow.” Since the pond had little movement of water, it could be said to “stagnate,” which means having no flow (either of a body of water or air). It comes from the Latin for “pool” in the sense of a “still” body of water.
Example Question #664 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The reduction of qualified workers at the clothing factory only served to __________ the quality of the material produced; this caused the company to lose a great deal of business.
eradicate
enforce
improve
remedy
compromise
compromise
From the context of the sentence you know that whatever happened to the quality of the material produced caused the company to lose business. From this you can infer that something negative has occurred. Of the five answer choices only compromise matches the context of the sentence. Compromise, in this sense, means to lessen the quality of value of something and is one of the secondary meanings of the word. Enforce means to make people obey a rule; improve means to make better; eradicate means to get rid of; remedy means to fix.
Example Question #1951 : Sat Critical Reading
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
“Isn't there anything we can do to __________ this situation?” the president of the company asked his lawyer.
amalgamate
aggrandize
ameliorate
distend
extol
ameliorate
"Ameliorate" means to improve or make better. "Aggrandize" means to cause something to seem or be grander or bigger. "Amalgamate" means to blend or intermix. "Distend" means to inflate from within. "Extol" means to acclaim or sing the praises of.