The transformation of the NFL from a running-oriented game to a passing-oriented game demonstrates that, in any profession, when the _________ proves more successful than the time-honored, industry leaders will embrace the new with alacrity.
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Solution
Novel.
The correct answer must match the clue “new” and the structure that contrasts the blank with “timehonored.”
While the author’s first collection of short stories presented a (i) _________ hodgepodge of voices, the second collection presents a remarkably (ii) _________ set of tales presented by a (iii) _________ narrator.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
| motley | insightful | lonely |
| variegated | even | disingenuous |
| homogeneous | facetious | sole |
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Solution
Motley, even, sole.
This question is an excellent lesson in the principle, “Don’t add anything to your reading of the sentence that wasn’t there already.” What were you told? Just that the first short story collection had many diverse voices, and the second collection has “a ________ narrator” — in other words, just one speaker. Therefore, you don’t know that the stories or narrator are insightful, facetious, lonely, or disingenuous.
Introverts prefer a quiet, reflective lifestyle, whereas extroverts are more _________.
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Solution
Convivial.
Extroverts are sociable, outgoing, etc. Only convivial matches.
The beauty pageant contestant told the judges she wanted world peace, but her suggestion to bring about world peace was _________ —apparently, she naively thinks everyone could just be told to “love one another” and all the world’s disagreements would fade away.
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Solution
Facile.
The contestant’s suggestion is rather childish; you also have the word naively as a clue. Facile matches well, and has the sense of “superficial;so simple it’s actually stupid.” Note that convoluted often describes an unconvincing argument, but a complicated one — this choice does not match the clue “naively.”
The (i) _________ young employee was soon (ii) _________ for making a serious mistake that cost the company thousands of dollars.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| banal | enamored |
| ginger | castigated |
| verdant | deposed |
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Solution
Verdant, castigated.
You know that the employee is young and makes mistakes. Verdant means either “green and lush” (like a forest), or “new and inexperienced” (the use of “green” as a metaphor, as in, “She’s still green at her job.”) Since the mistake was so expensive, it makes sense that the employee would be castigated, or severely criticized. (He wouldn’t be deposed — that word is for kings, dictators, etc., forced out of power.)
The substitute French teacher accidentally walked into the wrong classroom, creating _________ situation when she began speaking French to 15 mystified physics students.
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Solution
A risible.
The substitute teacher is speaking French in the wrong room and confusing everyone? Hilarious! Risible means “laughable” and is the only choice that makes any sense here. Note that arch can mean “mischievous, playful, roguish,” but is not appropriate here because the French teacher did this “accidentally.”
He has such a pleasingly (i) _________ personality that it’s hard to be bothered by the (ii) _________ in his past.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| sanguine | peccadilloes |
| high-handed | incendiaries |
| salubrious | achievements |
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Solution
Sanguine, peccadilloes.
You know that the man’s personality is pleasing — so pleasing that it’s hard to be bothered by something in his past. So, the first word should match pleasing and the second should be something negative that others might overlook. Sanguine means “cheerful and optimistic.” (Note that high-handed might sound positive, but actually means “tactlessly overbearing.”) Peccadilloes are minor faults or sins — small enough that they might be overlooked if the person has other virtues.
That the CEO’s son was pleasant enough was not in doubt, but the (i) _________ young man was hardly (ii) _________ enough to bargain on the company’s behalf.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| puissant | egoistic |
| restive | blithe |
| complaisant | artful |
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Solution
Complaisant, artful.
You know from the sentence that the boss’s son is “pleasant” but that he is not a good person to bargain on behalf of the company. In the first blank, complaisant means “tractable, manageable” and in the second, artful means “crafty, cunning, shrewd” — qualities important for bargaining.
The property, hidden by overgrown plants, had not only fallen into (i) _________, but appeared positively (ii) _________ by vermin.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| misanthropy | overrun |
| desuetude | outdone |
| debauchment | hampered |
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Solution
Desuetude, overrun.
Desuetude means “disuse,” although the word is usually used in a legal context (a law that has not been enforced in a very long time may fall into desuetude and in some legal codes be no longer valid). Overrun matches the idea of having many vermin (rats and other undesirable animals). Don’t fall for trap answer hampered — the house couldn’t be hampered because it wasn’t trying to accomplish anything.
The Paris Commune was a government that ruled France for about two months in 1871; despite its (i) _________ reign, it was at the time (ii) _________ as a sign of the emergence of a powerful working class.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| equivocal | discounted |
| ephemeral | recanted |
| omnipotent | heralded |
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Solution
Ephemeral, heralded.
Since the government lasted only about two months, it was ephemeral, or “short-lived.” Despite this, it was regarded, or celebrated, as the emergence of a powerful working class: only heralded matches.