Statements presented as fact in a patent application are (i)_________ unless a good reason for doubt is found. The invention has only to be deemed “more likely than not” to work in order to receive initial approval. And, although thousands of patents are challenged in court for other reasons, no incentive exists for anyone to expend effort (ii)_________ the science of an erroneous patent. For this reason the endless stream of (iii)_________ devices will continue to yield occasional patents.
| Blank 1 | Blank 2 | Blank 3 |
| (A) presumed verifiable | (D) corroborating | (G) novel |
| (B) carefully scrutinized | (E) advancing | (H) bogus |
| (C) considered capricious | (F) debunking | (I) obsolete |
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Solution
Ans : (A) presumed verifiable, (F) debunking, (H) bogus
The paragraph appears to be explaining some odd or unexpected aspect of the patent process. The third sentence helps to clarify what this aspect is; it discusses challenges to patents. The only choice for Blank (ii) that is concerned with challenging a patent is “debunking,” since “corroborating” and “advancing” suggest support instead. This in turn provides the answer for the third blank, since the preceding sentence does explain how “bogus” devices may nonetheless get a patent. And we can also now better understand the first sentence — it too must help explain how bogus devices get patents, which it can do only if the blank is filled with “presumed verifiable,” suggesting that patent applications are taken at face value and not dismissed out of hand nor subjected to careful scrutiny.
Thus the correct answer is presumed verifiable (Choice A), debunking (Choice F), and bogus (Choice H).
Richard M. Russell said 52 percent of the nation’s growth since the Second World War had (i)_________ invention. He said, (ii)_________ research, the government’s greatest role in assuring continuing innovation is promoting a strong, modern patent office. “Unless we can (iii)_________ original ideas, we will not have invention,” Mr. Russell said. Speculating on the state of innovation over the next century, several inventors agreed that the future lay in giving children the tools to think creatively and the motivation to invent.
| Blank 1 | Blank 2 | Blank 3 |
| (A) been at the expense of | (D) in addition to restricting | (G) evaluate |
| (B) no bearing on | (E) aside from Supporting | (H) protect |
| (C) come through | (F) far from exaggerating | (I) disseminate |
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Solution
Ans : (C) come through, (E) aside from Supporting, (H) protect
A quick overview of the paragraph shows that its topic is the encouragement of invention and innovation. This implies that Blank (i) should be filled with “come through,” which emphasizes the importance of invention; the other choices suggest that invention is irrelevant or somehow harmed by growth. Again, the only one of the choices for Blank (ii) that continues the theme of encouraging invention is “aside from supporting.” Finally, the second sentence emphasizes the importance for innovation of a strong patent office, and this thought is reaffirmed in the following quotation from Mr. Russell, which requires “protect” in Blank (iii).
Thus the correct answer is come through (Choice C), aside from supporting (Choice E), and protect (Choice H).
Political advertising may well be the most (i)_________ kind of advertising: political candidates are usually quite (ii)_________, yet their campaign advertisements often hide important differences behind smoke screens of smiles and empty slogans.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| (A) polemical | (D) interchangeable |
| (B) effective | (E) dissimilar |
| (C) deceptive | (F) vocal |
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Solution
Ans : (C) deceptive, (E) dissimilar
Looking at Blank (i), it is hard to select a correct answer, since all three answer choices fit the immediate context well. Looking to the second part of the sentence, however, we can see such expressions as “hide” and “smoke screens,” both of which suggest that the correct answer for Blank (i) is “deceptive.” Making that assumption, we can go on to see that the answer for Blank (ii) is “dissimilar,” since what is deceptive about political advertisements is that they hide important differences. Reading the sentence again with “deceptive” and “dissimilar” in place confirms those choices.
Thus the correct answer is deceptive (Choice C) and dissimilar (Choice E).
Like Béla Bartók, Ruth Crawford not only brought a composer’s acumen to the notation of folk music, she also had a marked (i)_________ the task. This was clear in her agonizing over how far to try to represent the minute details of a performance in a written text, and this (ii)_________ makes her work a landmark in ethnomusicology.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| (A) reverence for | (D) fastidiousness |
| (B) detachment from | (E) didacticism |
| (C) curiosity about | (F) iconoclasm |
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Solution
Ans. (A) reverence for, (D) fastidiousness
In this example, both blanks can be filled by focusing on the statement that Crawford agonized over the details in her representations of folk music performances. The only choice for blank (ii) that matches this description is “fastidiousness”; neither “didacticism” nor “iconoclasm” reflects the notion of agonizing over details. Similarly, only “reverence for” fits in Blank (i), since neither “detachment from” nor “curiosity about” reflects the degree of care Crawford took.
Thus the correct answer is reverence for (Choice A) and fastidiousness (Choice D).
It comes as no surprise that societies have codes of behavior; the character of the codes, on the other hand, can often be _________ .
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Solution
Ans : B. unexpected
The words “on the other hand” indicate that while the existence of societal codes of behavior is no surprise, their character may be quite surprising. Thus the correct answer is Choice B, unexpected, which means the same as surprising. “Predictable” is the very opposite of surprising, and none of the other answer choices means “surprising.”
Thus the correct answer is unexpected (Choice B).
In stark contrast to his later (i)_________, Simpson was largely (ii)_________ politics during his college years, despite the fact that the campus he attended was rife with political activity.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| (A) activism | (D) devoted to |
| (B) apathy | (E) indifferent to |
| (C) affability | (F) shaped by |
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Solution
Ans : (A) activism, (E) indifferent to
The sentence tells us that there is a contrast between the way Simpson related to politics in his college years and how he related to politics later in life. So the choices that complete the blanks must contrast with each other. The part of the sentence beginning with “despite” indicates that Simpson’s relation to politics in his college years did not involve engagement in the political activity that was “rife.” Of the choices for Blank (ii), only “indifferent to” conveys that nonengagement. And of the choices for Blank (i), only “activism” supplies the required contrast with “indifferent to.”
Thus the correct answer is activism (Choice A) and indifferent to (Choice E).
It is (i)_________ that so many portrait paintings hang in art museums, since the subject matter seems to dictate a status closer to pictures in the family photograph album than to high art. But perhaps it is the artistic skill with which the portraits are painted that (ii)_________ their presence in art museums.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
| (A) surprising | (D) challenges |
| (B) understandable | (E) justifies |
| (C) irrelevant | (F) changes |
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Solution
Ans: (A) surprising, (E) justifies
In the part following “since,” the first sentence of the paragraph suggests that the subject matter of portraits might not seem to fit with the idea of “high art.” So the suggestion is that the presence of portrait paintings in art museums is in that sense odd or unfitting. Of the choices available for Blank (i), “surprising” is the one that expresses this sense. The second sentence, in contrast to the first, offers a point in favor of portraits — “artistic skill.” So the second sentence is offering a reason why portraits should be in art museums. Of the choices for Blank (ii), “justifies” is the one that completes that thought.
Thus the correct answer is surprising (Choice A) and justifies (Choice E).
An investigation that is _________ can occasionally yield new facts, even notable ones, but typically the appearance of such facts is the result of a search in a definite direction.
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Solution
Ans: B. unguided
As the words “can occasionally” and “but typically” indicate, the missing word describes an investigation that contrasts with a “search in a definite direction.” Among the answer choices, only “unguided” provides a contrasting description; none of the other choices suggests an appropriate contrast.
Thus the correct answer is unguided (Choice B).
Kagan maintains that an infant’s reactions to its first stressful experiences are part of a natural process of development, not harbingers of childhood unhappiness or _________ signs of adolescent anxiety.
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Solution
Ans. A. prophetic
The sentence contrasts the infant’s reactions, part of a normal developmental process, with future unhappiness and anxiety. The missing word describes signs of adolescent anxiety as they relate to the infant. Choice A is correct: “prophetic” signs, like harbingers, foretell future occurrences, and for the infant, adolescent anxiety is a future occurrence. Since an infant cannot literally display signs of adolescent anxiety, “normal,” “monotonous,” and “typical” are all incorrect. And “virtual” is incorrect, because virtual signs are not real signs, and what Kagan is denying is that the infant’s reactions are not real signs of later unhappiness.
Thus the correct answer is prophetic (Choice A).
Dominant interests often benefit most from _________ of governmental interference in business, since they are able to take care of themselves if left alone.
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Solution
Ans: E. elimination
The sentence explains why dominant interests often benefit from a certain condition. Since the explanation is that they are able to take care of themselves if left alone, it follows that the condition is one in which interference is absent. Thus the best answer is “elimination.” None of the other answer choices suggests an absence of interference indeed “intensification,” “authorization,” and “centralization” suggest quite the opposite.
Thus the correct answer is elimination (Choice E).