SAT Critical Reading : Parts of Speech in Two-Blank Sentences

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Critical Reading

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Example Questions

Example Question #121 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences

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

The __________ between the two men is unmistakable; they __________ at the mere sight of each other.

Possible Answers:

enmity . . . seethe

malevolence . . . cavort

hatred . . . beam

discord . . . rejoice

amity . . . rage

Correct answer:

enmity . . . seethe

Explanation:

"Enmity" means hatred and hostility, while "seethe" means to be in a state of turmoil or anger but not show it overtly.  Two men who hate one another would, of course, find themselves in an agitated and angry state upon the sight of one another.

Example Question #122 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences

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

With the classroom already in __________ after the student incited a mini-riot, the teacher threw his hands up in exasperation, helpless as the room __________ into a scene of crumpled papers and screaming children.

Possible Answers:

archetype . . . tempted

disarray . . . deteriorated

demand . . . placated

gloom . . . harmonized

junction . . . cautioned

Correct answer:

disarray . . . deteriorated

Explanation:

The words “mini-riot” and “exasperation” and the phrase “scene of crumpled papers and screaming children” indicate that the classroom fell into the lesser state of disorganization. Only "disarray" (a state of disorganization) and "deteriorated" (falling into a lesser state) meet these definitions.

Example Question #123 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences

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

There was no need to __________ when you had made your point quite clearly with your previous __________.

Possible Answers:

chastise . . . tirade

castigate . . . machinations

indulge . . . amelioration

belabor . . . rant

extol . . . presentiment

Correct answer:

belabor . . . rant

Explanation:

To "belabor" means to go on in excessive detail about something. A "rant" is a long speech about something in a passionate way.

Example Question #101 : Two Blank Sentences

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

Our high school football team’s offensive line has really __________ into a __________, moving as one gigantic thing.

Possible Answers:

atomized . . . gargantuan

merged . . . diminution

coalesced . . . colossus

amalgamated . . . convolution

dissipated . . . ephemera

Correct answer:

coalesced . . . colossus

Explanation:

"Coalesced" means merged into a whole, while a "colossus" is a gigantic statue or thing. A football team's offensive line merging into one unit would certainly move like a gigantic thing, a colossus.

Example Question #125 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences

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

The utter __________ of repetitious office work often __________ workers to the point of exasperation.

Possible Answers:

noxiousness . . . poisons

insensitivity . . . inspires

guilelessness . . . depresses

tedium . . . agitates

monotony . . . bores

Correct answer:

monotony . . . bores

Explanation:

"Monotony . . . bores" is the only pairing that makes logical sense since “monotony” means tedious sameness and “bores” means to causes one to lose interest in something. Although "tedium . . . agitates" looks like an appealing choice, “agitates” actually means excites, the exact opposite of the meaning needed in the second blank.

Example Question #126 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences

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

Demonstrating his __________ on the piano, the musician was able to __________ three different melodies in his performance.

Possible Answers:

virtuosity . . . juxtapose

ineptitude . . . melded

proficiency . . . promulgate

adroitness . . . transmute

unfamiliarity . . . unite

Correct answer:

virtuosity . . . juxtapose

Explanation:

The correct answer will refer to the musician's skill on the piano ("virtuosity") and as a result, how he is able to combine ("juxtapose") three different melodies in his performance. The incorrect answers either dismiss the musician's skill ("ineptitude" and "unfamiliarity") or do not use a verb that indicates that the musician combined the melodies ("transmute" and "promulgate").

Example Question #127 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences

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

The bishop wanted to __________ the expansion of the heretical __________ in the rural areas. If it could be stopped there, it would likely fade out of existence in the cities.

Possible Answers:

persecute . . . group

prosecute . . . dissidents

quarter . . . renegades

lambast . . . fools

arrest  . . . sect

Correct answer:

arrest  . . . sect

Explanation:

The second sentence indicates that the bishop wishes to stop the movement.  It does not indicate any desire to persecute.  The word “arrest” might seem, at first glance, to carry the same negative, “persecuting” sense as some of the other options, but the word likewise can mean “to stop” as in the usage “arrested development” to describe someone who is stunted with regard to some kind of growth.  A “sect” is group differentiated by their beliefs, often with a negative connotation in regard to an accepted orthodoxy.

Example Question #128 : Parts Of Speech In Two Blank Sentences

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

When the __________ began sweating, his guilt __________ itself for everyone in the courtroom to see.

Possible Answers:

defendant . . . concealed

analgesic . . . revealed

barrister . . . allayed

suspect . . . allocated

litigant . . . manifested

Correct answer:

litigant . . . manifested

Explanation:

A "litigant" is someone involved in a lawsuit, while to "manifest" means, in this instance, to show plainly. Arguably, a sweating and presumably nervous litigant would reveal himself to be guilty.

Example Question #102 : Two Blank Sentences

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

Othmar’s fame was barely beginning to __________, and many people anticipated many more years of increasing __________.

Possible Answers:

wax . . . renown

ferment . . . influence

change . . . notoriety

register . . . voracity

wane . . . popularity

Correct answer:

wax . . . renown

Explanation:

The sense of the sentence communicates that Othmar’s fame is increasing. When something “waxes,” it is increasing in size or intensity. The word is normally used to describe the increasing of lunar light as the moon becomes larger (at least in its visibility, that is). This primary usage is often transferred in order to describe the growing of things other than the moon. The opposite term (i.e. the term for decreasing lunar light exposure) is “wane.”

The second word, “renown,” means fame, particularly in the sense of being discussed by many people. It is derived from roots related to words like “nominate” and “nominal”—words that have to deal with the notion of names (the “nom-” root).

Example Question #103 : Two Blank Sentences

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

For years upon years, the people grew ever more tired under the reign of the tired old king, who refused to alter the power structure even in his aging __________. At last, in a sudden turn of events, he __________ from his rule and granted the kingship to his heir.

Possible Answers:

lineaments . . . weaseled

narcolepsy . . . perished

conditioned . . . absconded

confusion . . . tyrannized

dotage . . . abdicated

Correct answer:

dotage . . . abdicated

Explanation:

As one ages (and becomes tired), they can be said to be in a state of “dotage,” meaning that they are old and weak. To step down from rule is to “abdicate” from it.

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