SAT Critical Reading : One-Blank Sentences

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Critical Reading

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Example Questions

Example Question #197 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences

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

__________ by his pacifism, Gandhi knew he had to find another solution for his people, rather than violence.

Possible Answers:

Incensed

Emboldened

Liberated

Envenomed

Constrained

Correct answer:

Constrained

Explanation:

"Constrained" means restricted. Restricted by his belief in nonviolence, Gandhi knew he had to find another way to achieve his goals.

Example Question #198 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences

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

The scientist was __________ when it was discovered that he had falsified his research data in order to get results that would make him famous.

Possible Answers:

corroborated

emulated

imputed

substantiated

discredited

Correct answer:

discredited

Explanation:

To "discredit" is to harm the reputation of or to disgrace.

Example Question #621 : One Blank Sentences

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

The king __________ the throne after his infidelity to the country became public, allowing his son to ascend the throne.

Possible Answers:

tarnished

took

descended

beatified

abdicated

Correct answer:

abdicated

Explanation:

"Abdicate" means give up royal power. Since the king had created a scandal with his infidelity or disloyalty, he would likely given up the crown. “Beatify” means make extremely happy or make a saint, “descend” means lower, and “tarnish” means lessen in value—none of which logically answer the question.

Example Question #1571 : Psat Critical Reading

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

The composer was masterfully able to __________ the very different styles of music into a beautiful score.

Possible Answers:

integrate

scramble

clash

delineate

burden

Correct answer:

integrate

Explanation:

"Integrate" means bring together into a unified whole, and in this context we are looking for a word that expresses the merging of the two pieces into one. The contextual clues of "masterfully" and "beautiful" tell us that it should be a positive thing, and this is why "integrate" is chosen over "clash" or "scramble." "Clashing" would imply a bad combination and "scramble" would imply randomness.

Example Question #1572 : Psat Critical Reading

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

Although he won the election in a landslide vote, the senator soon __________ his constituents by reneging on his campaign promises.

Possible Answers:

propitiated

alienated

placated

appeased

mollified

Correct answer:

alienated

Explanation:

The correct answer refers to how the senator, although initially receiving the support of his constituents in the election, lost that support by not following through on his campaign promises ("alienated"). The incorrect answers refer to how the senator pleased his constituents, the opposite of what occurred.

Example Question #622 : One Blank Sentences

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

During the XYZ Affair, President Adams' advisors __________ in favor of war, but Adams wisely refused to listen to their advice.

Possible Answers:

exacerbated

mitigated 

deplored

audited

counseled 

Correct answer:

counseled 

Explanation:

From the second part of the sentence you know that Adam’s advisors were given him some form of advice; this means the blank has to mean to give advice. The correct answer is counseled. Exacerbate mean to exaggerate; audited means to check efficiency or finances; deplored means to find something unacceptable; mitigated means to have partly excused an offense.

Example Question #1574 : Psat Critical Reading

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

The priest __________ the young boys about their troublesome behavior.

Possible Answers:

sermonized 

accepted 

rewarded

commended

reviled

Correct answer:

sermonized 

Explanation:

This question involves a small amount of critical thinking on your part. Although it might be possible that the priest would reward, commend, revile or accept the boys for their troublesome behavior it does not seem particularly logical. The SAT will never trick you in this manner; the most reasonable answer choice will always be the correct one. In this instance the correct answer is sermonized which means to lecture someone about their behavior.

Example Question #222 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences

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

Thanks to his years of experience, the scientist felt confident he could __________ from his findings and claim new theories.

Possible Answers:

excise

deduce

extrapolate

extract

pontificate

Correct answer:

extrapolate

Explanation:

While all the answers make some sense in the sentence, only “extrapolate” has the correct sense of making further claims than the evidence shows precisely. In this case, going through each word for the best fit is the appropriate method to get the answer.

Example Question #541 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences

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

The masseuse __________ her patient's back until it was free from knots and tension.

Possible Answers:

kneaded

whisked

limped

maneuvered

patrolled

Correct answer:

kneaded

Explanation:

We can infer that because the sentence is discussing a "masseuse" who is freeing his patient's back from "knots and tension," we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "massaged." "Kneaded," a verb that can mean "massaged or squeezed with the hands," best describes the masseuse's massaging of his patent's back, so "kneaded" is the correct answer.

Example Question #224 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences

Choose the word that best completes the following sentence.

After he broke the fence post, Quinn’s mother sent him to __________ his action by repairing the fence for the neighbor.

Possible Answers:

declaim

begrudge

lament

confess

rectify

Correct answer:

rectify

Explanation:

Since Quinn’s mother wants him to repair the neighbor’s fence, she wants him to set right the state of affairs that he had disrupted. To “rectify” means to correct or make right. The word is derived from the Latin root “rectus”, meaning “right or straight” (found in English words like “correct”, “rectitude”) and is also related to “reg-” words like “regulate” and “regular.” The “-fy” at the end of the word means to make and has many uses in English, being derived from the Latin for “to do or make” (a root that has many derivatives, from “factor” and “factory” to “perfect” and “affair”).

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