SAT Critical Reading : Sentence Completion Questions

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Critical Reading

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Example Questions

Example Question #1711 : Sat Critical Reading

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

After forty years of reading, writing, and researching topics concerning embryology, the scientist felt that his new textbook represented the __________ of his life-long devotion to his subject.

Possible Answers:

codification

culmination

representation

publication

declaration

Correct answer:

culmination

Explanation:

A number of the options presented as answers to this question are tempting, as they seem to apply to the case of the textbook being considered. Certainly, the new textbook would represent or declare the scientist’s work. These are all insufficient, when one notes the key expression, “after forty years.” The implication is that the textbook is the summary or “high point” of a long process of work. A “culmination” is the pinnacle or high point of some process, often implying that such a process took significant time to complete. It comes Latin roots meaning “summit.”

Example Question #1712 : Sat Critical Reading

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

During the tedious meetings at work, Theodore would often allow himself to partake in a wholly imaginative __________ in order to keep himself sane in spite of the tedium of his surroundings.

Possible Answers:

discourse

discussion

lunacy

dementia

reverie

Correct answer:

reverie

Explanation:

A “reverie” is a state of daydreaming.  When the term is used to describe a type of music, it implies that the music is meant to invoke the feeling of such a dreamy state.  The other options either exceed the implications of the sentence (“dementia” and “lunacy”) or do not capture this sense of dreaming (“discussion” and “discourse”). 

Example Question #221 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences

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

Gregory tied the shirt around his arm as an ad hoc __________ to stop the steady bleeding of the fresh wound.

Possible Answers:

cincture

sling

bandage

strap

tourniquet

Correct answer:

tourniquet

Explanation:

The key thing to note in reading this sentence is that the shirt is functioning to stop bleeding at its source. Although a bandage or strap might do this, a tourniquet is the best choice because this is explicitly a device used for stopping the flow of blood by constricting the vessel through which it is flowing.

Example Question #222 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences

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

The précis provided a __________ presentation of the rather lengthy article.

Possible Answers:

monotonous

succinct

superficial

inadequate

tedious

Correct answer:

succinct

Explanation:

Here, it is necessary to know the meaning of “précis” in order to be certain about the necessary meaning of the needed word. Strictly speaking, a précis is a summary of some longer text. It is not necessarily superficial or reductive in its presentation of the longer source. It merely provides a short summary. Therefore, the best option for our sentence is “succinct,” which means brief in form or expression. It is derived from root words that mean “encircled.” The word “cincture,” meaning a belt, is an example of another related word.

Example Question #341 : Sentence Completion Questions

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

The cave functioned as a __________ in which the intellectual teenagers could avoid social persecution while discussing their favorite mathematical and literary subjects.

Possible Answers:

blockade

barrier

chamber

haven

spelunk

Correct answer:

haven

Explanation:

The teenagers, in looking to escape persecution, are seeking a place of safety. Such a place would be a “haven,” a word that we often see in the combined expression “safe haven.” The word can also be used to indicate an inlet or port at which ships can dock.

Example Question #223 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences

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

The man’s heart had grown too large for his ribcage on account of an inherited condition leading to such cases of __________.

Possible Answers:

ailment

hypertrophy

grotesqueness

extremity

emergency

Correct answer:

hypertrophy

Explanation:

When an organ enlarges because of an increase in cellular size, it is said to undergo hypertrophy. This word is derived from a prefix that likely is familiar, “hyper,” and a base “trophy,” that is perhaps not as familiar in its root meaning. “Hyper” means “above” or “beyond,” as found in words like “hyperbole,” “hyperactive,” and “hypersensitive.” The “trophy” portion is derived from the Greek “trophe,” meaning “nourishment.” Something that is “hypertropic” is “over-nourished” in the sense of having too much fluid and material within its cells.

Example Question #311 : One Blank Sentences

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

Sadly, the accident had ended in Susanne being a barely conscious __________, unable to speak or even to feed herself.

Possible Answers:

elder

invalid

comatose

patient

layabout

Correct answer:

invalid

Explanation:

Since Susanne could barely function as a human being, she would most exactly be considered an “invalid,” a word indicating a person who has been disabled from injury or illness. Literally, the word means “lacking strength.” The “-valid” portion comes from root words related to the notion of strength, as found in other English words like “valor,” “valid,” and “prevail.” Do not be tempted to choose “comatose.” First, there is no direct indication that she has been put into a coma. Secondly, the form of the word does not fit in the sentence, as “comatose” is an adjective that really cannot be used substantively as a noun (as is needed in this sentence).

Example Question #232 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences

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

Having received the nation’s most prestigious scientific award, Julius believed himself to have reached the __________ of his career.

Possible Answers:

fulfillment

intention

pinnacle

completion

end

Correct answer:

pinnacle

Explanation:

Since we are told nothing about Julius’ goals and career expectations, it would be unacceptable to choose a work implying that the award marks the completion of his career or the fulfillment of his motives for doing his work; therefore, it is best to interpret the sentence as merely asserting that Julius believes himself to have reached the “high point” of his career. Strictly speaking, a “pinnacle” is a high, steep rock or mountain, though the word by extension means “high point,” understood both physically as well as with regard to human accomplishment.

Example Question #1727 : Sat Critical Reading

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

Although the music originally had been written for the harpsichord, a number of __________ have been performed by playing the works on full organ.

Possible Answers:

sonatas

duplicates

renditions

copies

derivatives

Correct answer:

renditions

Explanation:

The key phrase in this sentence is “have been performed . . .” This indicates that the focus is on a given interpretive performance of the works, here playing the original harpsichord music on the organ instead. Such interpretive activity is often called a “rendition,” a word related to “render,” in the sense of “giving something back but in an another form.” There is implied, therefore, some kind of “translation,” as would be the case here when the harpsichord music is “translated” into an organ performance.

Example Question #1728 : Sat Critical Reading

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

In the late Middle Ages, many authors provided extensive outlines and explications of the works of Aristotle; however, they were not mere __________, for they also undertook many creative works on topics not directly related to Aristotle’s texts.

Possible Answers:

stenographers

clerks

reproductions

copyists

commentators

Correct answer:

commentators

Explanation:

Since the authors in question are said to have written outlines and explications, these works would best be called “commentaries.” Such works are written with the explicit intention of giving an explanation of someone else’s works. The persons writing such works are called “commentators.”

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