SAT Critical Reading : One-Blank Sentences

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Critical Reading

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Example Questions

Example Question #236 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Vanessa rarely was tempted to lie to her friends and therefore regularly expressed her opinions with unabashed __________, even if it seemed harsh at times.

Possible Answers:

joviality

brashness

candor

recklessness

outspokenness

Correct answer:

candor

Explanation:

Vanessa’s honesty meant that she was clear and “in the open” regarding her opinions; therefore, she could be called “candid” or be said “to have candor,” meaning to be honest in presenting one’s opinions. The word comes form Latin roots for “white”—which could be thought of as being pure.

Example Question #237 : Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The old woman’s eyes clearly showed her __________ for others. Her many years of serving the needs of her family gave her an acute ability to share in other’s needs, joys, and sorrows.

Possible Answers:

awareness

understanding

recollection

empathy

despair

Correct answer:

empathy

Explanation:

If one is able to share in the feelings of others, they are able to understand them from within, so to speak. The word “empathy” is derived from the prefix “in,” combined with “pathos;” the latter meaning feeling. To have empathy therefore means to “be within” the feelings of another.

Example Question #134 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

John Kennedy once remarked that Thomas Jefferson, dining alone, brought more genius to the old room than the many men there gathered. Although the remark might have been an overstatement, it definitely captures the fact that Jefferson was a true __________, deeply knowledgeable in numerous subjects.

Possible Answers:

philosopher

politician

genius

polymath

prodigy

Correct answer:

polymath

Explanation:

If one is knowledgeable in many subjects, they are called a “polymath”—a word that almost literally translates into that definition. You likely know the prefix “poly,” which comes from the Greek root for many and is used in English words like “polygamy” and “polyglot.” The second half, “math,” comes from a Greek root that does not only mean mathematics but more broadly indicates learning (although “mathematics” is related to the same set of roots).

Example Question #135 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Eugene was a man of great __________, always kind to those he met and never self-seeking in his deeds.

Possible Answers:

justice

benevolence

piety

rectitude

magnanimity

Correct answer:

benevolence

Explanation:

To wish well to others is to have “benevolence.” Literally, the word means good-willing. The first half (“bene-”) comes from roots meaning good or well and is found in other English words like “beneficent,” “benign,” and “benefit.” The second half (“-volent”) is derived from Latin roots for to wish or to will and has English relatives in words like “volition” or “voluntary.”

Example Question #151 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

After a morning of meetings, Scott was glad to give his ears a __________ from the constant barrage of questions and presentations.

Possible Answers:

covering

respite

reward

detachment

distance

Correct answer:

respite

Explanation:

A “respite” is a short period of rest after something unpleasant—such as the constant barrage of questions and presentations.

Example Question #141 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The crazy old woman uttered words of __________ against her adversaries, cursing them for a thousand generations.

Possible Answers:

wrath

fury

malediction

judgment

indignation

Correct answer:

malediction

Explanation:

A “malediction” is a vocal expression of meaning to bring a curse or evil on to someone. It is derived from the Latin “malus,” meaning bad or evil and “dicere” meaning to speak.  Related words for the former are “malady” and “malice,” and the latter has many, such as “diction”, “dictionary”, and “dictator.”

Example Question #1651 : Sat Critical Reading

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Douglas thought his long talks were masterful examples of oratory, but all of his listeners could rarely follow the meandering threads of his __________ around whatever topic he attempted to explain.

Possible Answers:

circumlocutions

discussions

meanderings

bombasts

orations

Correct answer:

circumlocutions

Explanation:

The key word is “around” (and this allows you to eliminate the potentially tempting “meanderings,” though that would be a redundant usage given the antecedent “meandering”). The word means to walk around in a circular fashion. It is derived from the Latin “circum” and “loqui.” The former means “around” or “about” and is reflected in many English words (“circumference”, “circumnavigate”, etc). “Loqui” means to speak or to tell. English derivatives are not only words with “loq” (like “colloquial” or “eloquent”) but also words with the related sound “loc” (like “locution” or “interlocutor”).

Example Question #271 : Sentence Completion Questions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Jeremy was an unabashed __________, and this disposition led him both to search obsessively for many texts and to purchase such a great quantity that he was nearly placed in utter poverty.

Possible Answers:

bibliophile

controversialist

raconteur

scholastic

academic

Correct answer:

bibliophile

Explanation:

The key is that Jeremy buys many texts and likewise searches for them; therefore, the best word is “bibliophile” which captures this compulsion. It is derived from two Greek roots that are very familiar to us in other contexts. “Biblio-” is derived from Greek for book and is reflected in English words like “bibliography” and “bible.” The second half comes from the Greek words for love of friendship or merely friendship. The city of Philadelphia is named from Greek brotherly love. (The “brotherly” portion comes from "adelphos," brother).

Example Question #272 : Sentence Completion Questions

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

In the sad case of __________, the young man took out his frustration for his abandonment by his father by assaulting the only parent he had left.

Possible Answers:

vexation

matricide

vengeance

revenge

iniquity

Correct answer:

matricide

Explanation:

This sentence is not very difficult and only slightly hides the correct answer. Had it said that he assaulted “his mother,” it would have been extremely easy. The correct answer is “matricide.”

The first half comes from the Latin for mother. (Think of related words like “maternal”). The second half comes from Latin for “to kill.” (Think of related words like sui + cide—to kill oneself—or homo + cide—to kill a human being).

Example Question #1652 : Sat Critical Reading

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Explaining each and every step in excruciating detail, the man was less an instructor than he was a tiresome __________.

Possible Answers:

pedant

scholiast

lecturer

fogey

pedagogue

Correct answer:

pedant

Explanation:

A pedant displays knowledge excessively (and hence is really tiresome for a student, who might not need to have such shows of details all the time). The word is related to “pedagogue,” which is derived from the Greek for teacher, but it has taken on these additional shades of meaning.

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