Although he received many visitors, the _______ old man shooed them away after only a few minutes.
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Solution
( A. misanthropic , B. curmudgeonly )
The man’s response to visitors was that he shooed them away, so you need a word that means something like not social. Both garrulous and affable are nearly the opposite of what you’re looking for, so eliminate choices (E) and (F). Neither sarcastic nor chauvinistic is supported in the sentence, so eliminate choices (C) and (D). Both misanthropic and curmudgeonly can mean not social, so choices (A) and (B) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences.
After a series of storms, the once arid landscape became _______ for the first time in many months.
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Solution
( C. verdant , E. bountiful )
The time triggers after and once indicate that the landscape is no longer arid, so you need a word that means something like not dry and lifeless. Both barren and desolate are nearly the opposite of what you’re looking for, so eliminate choices (B) and (D). Neither innocuous, which means harmless, nor limpid, which means clear, is supported by the sentence, so eliminate choices (A) and (F). Both verdant and bountiful can mean not dry and lifeless, so choices (C) and (E) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences.
In an attempt to _______ voters to support her, the incumbent politician beguilingly greeted a room full of constituents and pledged to lower taxes—even though she had only ever done the opposite while in office.
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Solution
( C. inveigle , C. inveigle )
The blank describes what the politician is doing: she beguilingly greeted a room full of constituents to get their support, so a word like convince would make sense. Both alienate and estrange are nearly the opposite of what you’re looking for, so eliminate choices (A) and (E). Neither abase, which means to degrade, nor eviscerate, which means to gut, makes sense in the blank, so eliminate choices (B) and (D). Both inveigle and entice can mean convince, so choices (C) and (F) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences.
While most of the tasks undertaken by the interns were undemanding, a fact that led to the flood of applicants for the positions each year, there was one _______ duty: cleaning out the garbage bins in the laboratory.
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Solution
( C. arduous , D. onerous )
The trigger while indicates that most of the tasks, which are described as undemanding, differ from the one described in the blank; hence, you need a word like demanding. Both arduous and onerous can mean demanding, so choices (C) and (D) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences. Choices (A) and (F) give you synonymous meanings, but nothing in the sentence supports the description of the tasks as clear.
While interviewing for a job as a computer consultant, Robert consciously provided a _______ of references, knowing full well that he had few former employers who would be laudatory about his past projects.
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Solution
( E. paucity , F. dearth )
Since he had few former employers who would be laudatory about his past projects, Robert could not provide more than a few references. Both dearth and paucity can mean few, so choices (E) and (F) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences. Both multitude and myriad mean the opposite of what you’re looking for, so eliminate choices (A) and (C). Likewise, array and potpourri are synonyms that mean assortment, so eliminate choices (B) and (D).
Jane Austen’s novel, Emma, paints a comedy of errors that result when its heroine tries her hand at creating love matches, an effort which she attributes to her own (i) _______ instead of a selfish need to meddle.
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Solution
( E. refinement , F. magnanimity )
Instead of is a trigger that tells you that the word in the blank must mean the opposite of a selfish need to meddle. Benevolence and magnanimity both mean showing good will toward others, which is the opposite of selfishness. Elegance and refinement are synonyms that mean gracious style, which is not the opposite of selfishness. Gaiety means happiness and viscosity means stickiness, neither of which is the direct opposite of selfishness.
Based on the desire to restrict further water pollution, the Clean Water Act of 1972 began under _______ terms, but opponents soon assailed the bill in the court system and discouraged those who had fought for its ratification.
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Solution
( B. auspicious , E. promising )
The trigger word but is key in this sentence because it denotes a reversal over time. Since you are told that those who had fought for its ratification were discouraged, the word but tells you they were once encouraged. Therefore, auspicious and promising fit the blank as they tell the same story as encouraged. Bleak and unfavorable tell the opposite story and are not correct. Suspicious means distrustful and ineffectual means useless, and neither word fits the meaning of the blank.
In addition to the detailed written regulations regarding play, a novice golfer must also learn the _______, but nonetheless important, rules of etiquette.
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Solution
( A. implicit , D. tacit )
The sentence contrasts the rules of etiquette with the detailed written regulations regarding play, so you need something like vague or unwritten for the blank. Both express and manifest are nearly the opposite of what you’re looking for, so eliminate choices (C) and (F). Be careful about laconic: It means using few words, but not unspoken, so eliminate choice (B). Reclusive, which means withdrawn from society, doesn’t make sense in the blank, so eliminate choice (E). Both implicit and tacit can mean unwritten, so choices (A) and (D) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences.
Bede, the author of A History of the English Church and People, was so widely _______ that he has been almost universally known as “The Venerable Bede” since the ninth century.
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Solution
( C. waning , D. esteemed )
All the sentence tells you about Bede is that he earned the epithet venerable, so something like venerated or honored would make sense in the blank. Both defamed and reviled are nearly the opposite of what you’re looking for, so eliminate choices (A) and (F). Neither consoled, which means gave comfort to, nor mitigated, which means made less severe, makes sense in the blank, so eliminate choices (B) and (E). Both revered and esteemed can mean honored, so choices (C) and (D) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences.
Despite having steeled herself for the worst, the new band director was disheartened to hear the _______ sounds emanating from the freshman orchestra.
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Solution
( C. cacophonous , E. discordant )
What she heard disheartened the band director—and this despite having steeled herself for the worst—so you need a word that means bad-sounding. Both euphonious and harmonious are nearly the opposite of what you’re looking for, so eliminate choices (B) and (F). Neither arduous, which means difficult, nor ample, which means sufficient, makes sense in the blank, so eliminate choices (A) and (D). Both cacophonous and discordant can mean bad-sounding, so choices (C) and (E) give you appropriate, equivalent sentences.