SAT Critical Reading : One-Blank Sentences

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Critical Reading

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Example Questions

Example Question #1031 : One Blank Sentences

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

Carly thought that the poem she had to read for her English class was rather __________; in her opinion, its treatment of its subject was far too simplistic and none of its other features caught her interest.

Possible Answers:

boisterous

jejune

ambiguous

exciting

weathered

Correct answer:

jejune

Explanation:

Because we know that Carly thought "[the poem's] treatment of its subject was far too simplistic" and "none of its other features caught her interest," we can infer that she thought the poem to be dull. So, we need to pick out a word that means something like "too simple" or "dull." We can rule out "exciting" as a potential answer because "exciting" is an antonym of the word that we're looking for. "Jejune," however, is an adjective that means "naive, simplistic, and superficial" or when used of ideas or writings, "dry and uninteresting." Because "jejune" is the answer choice that best fits the sentence's context, it is the correct answer.

Example Question #1032 : One Blank Sentences

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

The bulldog is often stereotyped as a(n) __________ breed, because once it latches its jaws onto something, it takes an immense amount of force to make it let go; some people assume that the breed has a similarly intractable personality.

Possible Answers:

crude

bustling

friendly

meek

obdurate

Correct answer:

obdurate

Explanation:

We can infer from the sentence that we need to pick out a word that means something like "stubborn," because "some people assume that the breed has a[n] . . . intractable personality," and "intractable" is a synonym of "stubborn." So, "meek" cannot be the correct answer because "meek" is an antonym of "stubborn," not a synonym. "Obdurate," however, is an adjective that means "stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action," and because "obdurate" is the answer choice which best fits the context of the sentence, it is the correct answer.

Example Question #1033 : One Blank Sentences

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

Although the question of the soul’s immortality was interesting to the physicist, he was not currently concerned with it, as it was __________ to the questions he was asking in his experiment on the rotation of the earth on its axis.

Possible Answers:

extraneous

disconcerting

absurd

ridiculous

upending

Correct answer:

extraneous

Explanation:

The important thing to note in this sentence is that, in his experiment at least, the physicist is unconcerned with the question of the soul’s immortality. The question could be said to be “outside” of his concerns or irrelevant for his considerations. When something is called “extraneous” it is being described as being thus unrelated. The word comes from the Latin for “external” or “foreign.”

Example Question #831 : One Blank Sentences

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

While working in retail, I encountered many __________ customers, who always considered thelmselves superior to me.

Possible Answers:

haughty

brazen

fortuitous

benevolent

empathetic

Correct answer:

haughty

Explanation:

Because the customers considered themselves superior, they were most likely arrogant while talking down to me, making them "haughty."

Example Question #1035 : One Blank Sentences

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

For twenty years he lived a _________ existence before finally marrying and settling down.

Possible Answers:

content

quaint

peaceful

peripatetic

reclusive

Correct answer:

peripatetic

Explanation:

The key word in this sentence is “settling.”  The opening phrase of the sentence stands in contrast to the second clause, and the missing word needs to be the opposite of “settling.”  Only “peripatetic” is an antonym of “settling.”

Example Question #1036 : One Blank Sentences

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

Lauren could calmly accept any true criticism, but she found the remarks made by John to concern ultimately insignificant matters and be rather __________ in nature.

Possible Answers:

unreflective

petty

questionable

playful

quizzical

Correct answer:

petty

Explanation:

The key expression here is “insignificant matters.” Therefore, she found John’s critiques to be rather small or insignificant. The best word to describe such things would be “petty,” which means “small” or “trivial.” It is related to the French “petit,” meaning small, and which is often used in English in the same sense.

Example Question #1037 : One Blank Sentences

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

Never one to waste words, Julius Caesar's military dispatches were __________ and almost curt.

Possible Answers:

noble

effusive

bellicose

dreary

laconic

Correct answer:

laconic

Explanation:

The idea here is that Caesar never wasted words, so that should mean his dispatches were short. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like short. "Effusive" is the opposite of short; it means overflowing, unreserved, and exuberant.  "Dreary" means boring or uninteresting—it doesn't fit with our expectation of being short.  Neither does "noble," which means upstanding or righteous, nor does "bellicose," which means warlike. The best answer choice is "laconic," which means terse, concise, or using few words.

Example Question #1038 : One Blank Sentences

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

Zachary took the numerous encouraging events to be _________ signs of a positive turn of events in his life.

Possible Answers:

questionable

felicitous

fortuitous

inconstant

auspicious

Correct answer:

auspicious

Explanation:

The best word here is “auspicious,” thought “felicitous” is a very tempting trap word. The latter indicates that something is pleasing or very appropriate for the given circumstances. When something is “auspicious” it is not merely a “happy chance” but moreover indicates (or at least forecasts) future success, something for which Zachary was hoping, as indicated by the interpretation of these signs as hopefully indicating “a positive turn of events.” The word “auspice” literally means a token of prophecy, coming from the Latin word for one who looks at birds to discover the will of the gods. When one says that something was “done under the auspices of X,” he or she means that X supported the given undertaking.

Example Question #1039 : Sentence Completion

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

Although he tried to find a pattern amid the __________ stock prices, the markets’ volatility was too great for him to discover any short-term or long-term order.

Possible Answers:

receding

fluctuating

soaring

falling

unkempt

Correct answer:

fluctuating

Explanation:

When something fluctuates, its changes in an irregular manner, making it hard to predict that which is fluctuating. That this is the case in our sentence is hinted by the fact that the “volatility was too great” for any kind of forecasting. The word is derived from the Latin verb for “to flow,” and has related English words like “flux” and “influx” as well as “influence” and “fluid.”

Example Question #1040 : Sentence Completion

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

Although the house was relatively new, it was in a state of significant disrepair, to the point that it looked much worse than many old, __________ buildings in town.

Possible Answers:

Victorian

outdated

outmoted

venerable

dilapidated

Correct answer:

dilapidated

Explanation:

The implication in this sentence is that the house was in more disrepair than even many other deteriorating houses in town. The best word to match this sense is “dilapidated,” which means “falling apart due to age or lack of care.” It is derived from the prefix “di-” meaning “apart or down from” and the Latin word for stone, “lapis.” The stone lapis lazuli is so named because it is the stone (lapis) from the place in Persia (now Iran) that was Latinized as Lazulus.

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