The breadth and depth of his masterwork stunned most of Salk’s contemporaries and perplexed many of them; indeed, in private, some admitted they found the work to be__________.
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Solution
(E. recondite, F.abstruse)
Of the choices given, only recondite (difficult to understand) and abstruse (difficult to understand) create sentences with the same meaning; both are also supported by the fact that Salk’s contemporaries are perplexed (confused) by his work.
The intrinsic complications of the appropriately named tax code have spawned an entire industry devoted to its esoterica; it is a small wonder that the layman often finds himself__________the code’s intricacies.
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Solution
(B. frustrated with, E. irked by)
The tax code must be difficult for the layman (nonprofessional), since it is intrinsically (by nature) complicated and because an industry is devoted to its esoterica (things known only to a select few). Of the choices, only frustrated by and irked (annoyed) by are synonyms.
Stranded far at sea in a lifeboat, the survivors of the shipwreck faced a quandary: they could hardly__________seawater, for they knew that it might hasten their demise, but they could also not go more than another day without drinking something.
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Solution
(A. consume, F. drink)
Start with the shift: “but they could not go … without drinking.” Since there is a shift to this statement, the first part of the sentence must be something nearly opposite. Using either drink or consume creates the necessary shift from drinking to not drinking.
The politician’s debate strategy, to capitalize on his opponent’s __________ by drawing her into a discussion of her favorite topic, tax law, and luring her into boring their audience, backfired when she explained her ideas about the law succinctly and powerfully.
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Solution
(B. proclivities, C. predilections)
The politician is trying to draw his opponent into a topic that he thinks will work against her. “Favorite topic” indicates that she likes the topic, so either proclivities (inclinations toward something) or predilections (preferences) would make sense.
The saleswoman thought that she had been both friendly and polite to the new customer; her boss agreed, but pointed out that she had also been overly __________ when she inquired about the health of their client’s goldfish.
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Solution
(A. solicitous, F. attentive)
Inquiring about the health of someone’s goldfish, in most cases, goes beyond politeness to the realm of being overly solicitous (concerned about the well-being of) or overly attentive (considerate).
Dubbed a “walking contradiction” by his friends, the man offered sweet compliments from a gruff visage and offered __________ debate that belied his usually languid manner.
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Solution
(D. spirited, E. mettlesome)
If the man is a walking contradiction and his manner is usually languid (lacking energy), an appropriate contrast could be created with spirited (lively) or mettlesome (full of vitality and energy).
The positions of electrons were once thought to be definable; however, recent research has shown that, since measuring an electron affects its position, their locations are, in fact,__________.
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Solution
(B. nebulous, E. enigmatic)
The phrase “in fact” indicates a shift, so if the positions of electrons were once thought to be definable, they must now be the opposite. Both nebulous (vague) and enigmatic (mysterious) create the necessary contrast.
Although the sheriff had become accustomed to a certain level of __________ from the town’s elected officials, he was still surprised by the way the new mayor quickly acceded to his
requests.
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Solution
(A. deference, C. yielding)
Since the sheriff is “still surprised” by the way the new mayor quickly acceded (agreed), it is implied that he is surprised even though he has become accustomed to such behavior. Therefore, he would be accustomed to either deference (submission) or yielding (giving way to).