All SAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #873 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Instead of leveling the forest into which they advanced, the settlers decided instead to incorporate the trees into their plans for the village, giving it a decidedly __________ character.
sylvan
wilderness
roughhewn
luscious
lumbering
sylvan
If something is “sylvan,” it is related to forests or trees. The word ultimately is derived from the Latin “silva,” meaning forest. Its related English words are rarely used in daily discourse: “silviculture” (meaning the practice of maintaining forests) and “silvology” (meaning the study of forests).
Example Question #874 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Even in large cities, one can find whole groups of people that are __________, unfamiliar with the manners of anyone outside of their particular social group.
dullards
insular
fools
remedial
sluggards
insular
If a group is unfamiliar with the outside world, they are often isolated in their mental habits. Such a group is called “insular” because they live as though they were on an island. The word “insular” is indeed derived from the Latin word for “island,” namely, “insula.” Related English words are “insulation” and “peninsula.”
Example Question #875 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After accruing much money by his success, Sebastian decided to turn from business matters to more __________ efforts to raise the standard of living for many of those very people whom he had long overlooked in his own society.
pious
humanist
moralistic
mundane
humanitarian
humanitarian
Do not be fooled by the option “humanist”, which really means having a philosophy or approach to learning that places the study of man, his culture, and life first. If someone is a humanist, they do not necessarily wish to aid other humans (though they might be readily inclined that way); however, someone with “humanitarian” sympathies is such a person who wishes to help in the betterment of the human condition for others.
Example Question #876 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Young scholars often are __________, thinking that their brilliance is displayed in direct proportion to the number of words used in their works.
pretentious
grandiloquent
tedious
arrogant
verbose
verbose
Although many of the options are tempting here, the key phrase is “in direct proportion to the number of words . . .” If someone is “verbose,” he or she expresses something in more words than necessary. The word is clearly related to many other “word-related” words such as “verbal,” “verb,” “verbatim,” and “proverb.”
Example Question #877 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
For many years after he lost all of his money in the stock market, Theodore was very __________, rarely spending money on anything either for himself or for others.
destitute
insolvent
parsimonious
elitist
avaricious
parsimonious
If someone is parsimonious, he or she is either frugal or even stingy. The word is derived from a Latin base meaning to be sparing and is found in the English word “parsimony.” Although this latter word often has the same economic sense as “parsimonious”, it often is used in the expression “principle of parsimony”, which indicates a class of principles used to decide the best hypothesis in a given situation by judging which has the least number of assumptions or presuppositions.
Example Question #901 : Sentence Completion Questions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Robert’s words were almost always __________, having little real content and ultimately no meaning for those to whom they were directed.
vacuous
detached
helpless
distant
tedious
vacuous
The key expression here is “having little real content.” The words were therefore empty or “vacuous,” a word with clearly related terms like “vacuum” and “vacuity.”
Example Question #878 : Sentence Completions
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The small group met __________, for they feared any publicity, given the recent public controversies surrounding their work.
alone
remotely
presumptuously
solely
clandestinely
clandestinely
Since the group fears publicity, they must wish to meet in secret. Particularly given the potential negative overtones associated with their work (see “controversies”), the word “clandestinely” meets the needs of this sentence very well. To do something clandestinely means to do it secretly, particularly because it is unseemly or perhaps even illegal.
Example Question #861 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Having just begun his career, the __________ programmer found that much of his education left many topics to be learned in the field.
youthful
audacious
incompetent
neophyte
humble
neophyte
We have two clues in this sentence. First, the programmer is new to his career. Secondly, there is much to be left learned in his coming years. Do not be fooled by "youthful" or "incompetent." The latter is too strong and the former merely tempts because of its resonances with the beginning of the career. (This could be a middle aged career change, could it not?)
The correct answer, "neophyte." is derived from two Greek components. “Neo” means new (as in words like neonatal—newly born). “Phyte” derives from the Greek for plant that has a particular habitat (indicated by its prefix). Here, neophyte means one newly planted, or something more like a novice.
Example Question #862 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The young man held his grandfather in great respect, for the __________ old man had shown him wisdom in his many pieces of advice over the years.
venerable
awe-inspiring
retired
resplendent
doddering
venerable
The best word is “venerable,” which captures the sense of respect—great but not as overstated as “awe-inspiring.” A venerable person is respectable because of age or character.
The word is derived from related Latin words with similar meanings. We find the word also used in titles of holy men by the Catholic Church, who names someone “venerable” as a stage before potentially naming the person a “saint.”
Example Question #863 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After having spent ten years on the space observatory, the astronaut was quite glad to abandon __________ concerns for more earth-bound affairs.
scientific
astrological
stressful
celestial
isolated
celestial
The key is to note that the astronaut is glad to return to terrestrial (or “earth-bound”) affairs. The answer will be the contrast between these and our word. Do not be tempted by “astrological,” which deals with predicting the future through the stars (as through horoscopes). This is tempting because it has the same “astr-” prefix as is found in “astronomical,” which means dealing with the laws (from Greek nomos—reflected in "nomical") of the stars (from the Greek aster).
Our answer, “celestial,” is equally well derived, however. It comes from the Latin caelum (and related words such as caelestis), which means “heaven” or “sky.” This works better (not having the occult connections of the astrologers).