All SAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #191 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Fleeing from persecution in their homeland, the family sought __________ in France so that they might live a life free from the political ills of their native land.
settlement
domicile
housing
asylum
peace
asylum
Fundamentally, “asylum” means “refuge,” a meaning derived from a similar Greek root. Normally, people think of “asylum” in the sense of a “mental asylum,” but even that term implies such “refuge,” though in that case it is a refuge for persons suffering form mental illness. Often, the term is used to imply that someone is seeking refuge from political persecution. Since the sentence speaks of the political ills and persecution in the family’s native land, “asylum” is the best choice.
Example Question #192 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After many years of __________, the two friends decided that it was best to move into separate apartments.
cohabitation
friendliness
amity
quarreling
bickering
cohabitation
Here, you must be careful not to imply anything in the sentence. Nothing is said about the state of the two person’s friendship. Therefore either “amity” / “friendliness” or “quarreling” / “bickering” would imply that something has changed with regard to the relationship between the two persons. However, since we have the word “cohabitation,” it would be best to choose this option, as it merely implies that the two friends had been living together. The word comes with from the root “co-” meaning together (as found in “cooperate” and “correlate”) combined with “-habitate,” which is derived from Latin roots meaning “to live / inhabit.” The later has many related English derivatives such as “habitat,” “habitual,” and “inhabitant.”
Example Question #297 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The legislators convened as a __________ in order to address the recent poisoning of the emergency foodstuffs.
diet
victual
throng
group
congregation
diet
This sentence might be difficult because of the temptation to ignore the word “diet.” In actuality, this word is the most specific and matching for our purposes. The word is used to name the legislative assemblies of some countries and hence is a better option than “group” or “congregation,” which do not match as well. For example, in the city of Worms in 1521, an assembly gathered to address the questions related to Martin Luther. This formal gathering is famously called the “Diet of Worms.” As you can see, it has nothing to do with strange eating habits. It merely means that an assembly within the Holy Roman Empire happened to convene at a city named “Worms.”
Example Question #211 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After many years, the assertion that obsessive hand washing was a mental illness had become an unquestioned __________ within the community of psychological practitioners.
prescription
orthodoxy
diadnosis
conclusion
remark
orthodoxy
Although we often think of “orthodoxy” as being associated with religious beliefs, it is also applicable to any theory or doctrine, meaning that it is authoritative and generally held. This word is the best option, given the adjective “unquestioned,” which does imply that the needed word have sense of implying a certain authority. The word comes from the combination of “ortho,” meaning “straight” or “correct” and “doxos” meaning “opinion” (or “praise.”) An “orthodontist” works to make teeth (“-dontist”) be straight (“ortho-”). A “paradox” is something that seems to be different from the accepted opinion (“doxos”).
Example Question #299 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Many businesses choose to have their server computers in __________ centers, which enable them to save money by having their machines located in a single building with those of other companies and managed together by a smaller staff.
support
hosting
collocation
off-site
technological
collocation
The key thing to note here is that these businesses are choosing to have their computers placed in a place that hosts them together with the computers for other businesses. These computers share the same location (or are located “next to” each other in such a center). “Collocation” indicates such “locating together,” as can be seen by the parts of the word. “Col-” comes from the prefix “Co-” or “Con-”, meaning “together with” and is found in words like “colloquy” and “cohabitate.” The second half, “location,” is obvious in its meaning.
Example Question #201 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Although Ernest had a penetrating mind for much of his life, in his last years he slipped into __________, losing much of his physical vigor and mental acuity.
Alzheimer’s
psychosis
senility
dementia
insantity
senility
Although any of these options apply to certain kinds of mental failure, the best option is the general one—“senility.” This likewise can apply to the general loss of strength in way that the others cannot. The word “senility” first indicates the general signs of aging and weakening from that. It does especially apply to loss of mental ability, though not solely that. The word is derived from the Latin word for old man, “senex.” It is related not only to the English “senile” but also “senior,” as well as “senator.” The last title was chosen because such lawmakers are intended to be the “wise old men” of the country.
Example Question #202 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The foreign government pressed the president of the United States to force the __________ of the man that they claimed to be a criminal who had to be prosecuted within their judicial system.
persecution
extradition
ransacking
expatriation
emigration
extradition
Since the foreign government wishes the United States to send the man to their country for trial, such an act would best be called an “extradition.” To “extradite” someone is to send them to be tried in a country in which they committed a crime. The word is a compound of the prefix “ex-,” meaning “out of” (found in many English words like “exit,” “exfoliate,” and “expropriate”) and the latter portion “-tradition.” This latter half comes from the Latin for “to hand over” (itself a compound), as can be seen in the very form found here “tradition,” a word literally meaning “something handed over (e.g. from generation to generation).”
Example Question #203 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After much research, it became obvious that there was a clear ___________ between drinking too little water and a high occurrence of migraine headaches among elderly patients. In every case of minimal water intake, the migraine symptoms would occur without fail.
justification
prescription
diagnosis
concomitance
causation
concomitance
The sense of this sentence is that drinking too little water is connected with the occurrence of migraine headaches, although we cannot say if there is a direct causality. When two things at least occur at the same time (even if you cannot claim causality) they are said to be “concomitant,” a word meaning “occurring at the same time as something else.” Think of it as meaning “sharing the same company (-comitant) with (con-) something else.”
Example Question #204 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Aaron was not known for __________, as he rarely could start speaking a sentence without ultimately expatiating on the topic for at least five minutes.
reticence
breviloquence
diffidence
humility
silence
breviloquence
The key trait emphasized in this sentence is Aaron’s tendency to continue to speak. Therefore, he is not known for brevity. “Silence” is too strong of an option, and the other wrong answers bring to bear some other character trait. The word “breviloquence” is a rare English word, but its parts can be discerned. The “brevi-” portion is clearly related to the word “brevity” or “brief.” The second half “-loquence” comes from the Latin for “to speak” and is found in other words like “eloquent,” “elocution,” and “colloquy.” Therefore, “breviloquence” means “being brief in speech.”
Example Question #205 : Nouns In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The elaborate __________ were constructed to provide the city with a regular water supply derived from the melting snow in the distant mountains.
pipelines
channels
aquifers
sewers
aquariums
aquifers
Since the sentence does not indicate any specific means by which the water was being supplied, the best option will be the one that is most general, only implying the general function of “carrying water.” The word “aquifer” is derived from Latin roots literally meaning “water carrying.” The “aqui-” portion clearly indicates water as is evident in related words like “aquarium” and “aquatic.” The “-fers” portion comes from the base for “to carry,” found in “differ” (lit. to carry away from something else) and “transfer” (lit. to carry across).