With so many of America’s malls shutting down due to the financial crisis, there might soon be a significant dearth of locations in which teenagers can __________; if we’re not careful, they might soon have to start actually doing useful things with their time.
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Solution
Loaf.
The most important part of this sentence comes at the end. If teenagers haven’t been doing anything useful with their time, you need a word that means do nothing useful with your time. Flirt is something teenagers do, but it isn’t useless by definition (it can be quite fun!). Ruminating can also be useful, as it involves thinking. The correct answer is loaf. Note that the overall tone of this sentence is a bit sarcastic.
Ms. Llewellyn is known to gently __________ students who don’t do their homework, but because of her generally amiable demeanor, she refuses to punish anyone, and seldom even raises her voice.
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Solution
Chide.
The adverb gently is important here, because it’s impossible to “gently” detest someone or “gently” pillory them (pillory means “attack or ridicule publicly”). Malign is also too negative, and you already read that Ms. Llewellyn doesn’t punish anyone, so penalize doesn’t work.
Paleontologists are always shown extracting dinosaur bones from pits in dusty deserts, but most of their research occurs in libraries, and most of their discoveries are ___________ from tomes every bit as dusty as the aforementioned deserts.
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Solution
Gleaned.
You’re told that paleontologists do research in libraries, so their discoveries must come from tomes (i.e., books). Gleaned means “extracted from various sources.” Perused is the act of reading — you can peruse a book, but you cannot peruse a discovery from a book
Americans who were the first to fight fascism in Spain during the Spanish Civil War were not allowed to join the US Army later, as their initiative led to the American government labeling them “_________ anti-fascists,” and thus undesirable.
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Solution
Premature.
The clues are “first” and “initiative.” You don’t know if these fighters were violent or erroneous — avoid opinions or outside knowledge.
The seemingly pious minister, known for his (i) _________ pontifications, actually frequently indulged an unseemly (ii) _________.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| lascivious | ceremony |
| virtuous | vice |
| prudish | era |
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Solution
Virtuous, vice.
The first blank must mirror “pious.” The pivot words seemingly and actually indicate that the second blank contrasts “pious” — a vice is a very bad habit.
Commentators and comedians had a field day with the widespread corruption in politics, so much so that one _________ defined a “gaffe” as a politician accidentally telling the truth.
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Solution
Wag.
The sentence concerns “commentators and comedians.” Since defining a gaf e (a mistake) as a politician accidentally telling the truth is meant to be funny, you need a meaning closer to comedian. A wag is a joker, although not necessarily a professional one.
Some substances toxic to humans induce lassitude and torpor, whereas others incite (i) _________ or (ii) _________.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| convulsions | complaints |
| contretemps | retching |
| apathy | drowsiness |
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Solution
Convulsions, retching.
The two blanks contrast “lassitude and torpor” because of the pivot word whereas. Additionally, the word incite indicates that the blanks will contain words that are active rather than passive. Incorrect choices apathy and drowsiness are somewhat similar to “lassitude and torpor” and are therefore the opposite of what you want.
Once the candidate established herself as the clear frontrunner, it took but a brief interlude in the clamor for all her erstwhile (i) _________ to gather around her and to begin loudly proclaiming their (ii) _________. It seemed, in other words, to cause these newcomers not an iota of discomfort to behave in a manner that a casual observer might have characterized as (iii) _________ outright hypocrisy.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
| factotums | reputability | tantamount to |
| detractors | magnanimity | reciprocal with |
| zealots | fealty | hinging on |
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Solution
Detractors, fealty, tantamount to.
Erstwhile means “past” or “former,” indicating that those who are now gathering around the candidate were once doing something different — that is, criticizing, or detracting. They are gathering around her proclaiming their “loyalty,” or fealty, in a way that is deeply inconsistent with their past actions. Tantamount to, which means “much as the same as” or “equivalent to,” is best here.
Debates over free will have always focused on the extent to which humans may be said to be fully (i) _________ their actions. Dr. Wegner in his article deliberately and artfully (ii) _________ the traditional talking points of the controversy, instead asking a tangential, though possibly more (iii) _________, question: What effect does a person’s belief in free will have on his or her well-being?
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
| responsible for | mitigates | fundamental |
| aware of | eschews | ideological |
| based on | contradicts | flashy |
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Solution
Responsible for, eschews, fundamental.
Your first clue is “free will.” One can only be responsible for the things one decides, or freely wills, to do. For the second blank, the word instead, even though it occurs later in the sentence, implies that Dr. Wegner is avoiding the traditional talking points of the controversy, or eschewing them. The word though indicates that the third blank contrasts with the word tangential. Fundamental is thus the most appropriate answer.
One needn’t resort to arrant (i) _________ in order to demonstrate that one possesses the requisite degree of deference and respect for one’s elders; indeed, oftentimes such blandishments can make one appear (ii) _________ and ignorant—qualities presumably (iii) _________ with the original intent.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) | Blank (iii) |
| flattery | artisan | apposite |
| officiousness | fatuous | incongruous |
| veracity | sardonic | daunting |
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Solution
Flattery, fatuous, incongruous.
You need to go all the way to “blandishments,” a word which denotes flattery, to find the clue for the first blank. Of iciousness, which is the quality of being “annoyingly, domineeringly assertive,” has close to an opposite meaning. The second blank is given away by ignorant: it indicates you are looking for a word that carries a meaning of “silly or foolish,” or fatuous. The third blank requires a word that means “contrary to” or “at odds with” — incongruous. Don’t be confused by apposite, which means “appropriate” or “fitting.”