Both the kingdom’s poets and princes tended to speak of the storm-plagued mountain range in its northern territory as (i)___________that (ii)___________its inhabitants, while the eastern tribes,who were known for their reckless belligerence toward the kingdom, considered it to be a (iii)___________that even their most savage warriors would not dare to cross.
| Blank I | Blank II | Blank III |
| (A) an encumbrance | (D) jeopardized | (G) vulnerability |
| (B) a boon | (E) stymied | (H) nadir |
| (C) an augur | (F) safeguarded | (I) juggernaut |
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Solution
(B) a boon, (F) safeguarded, (I) juggernaut
It’s easiest to start with blank (iii): if the savage warriors dare not cross the range, they would consider it to be a juggernaut (overwhelming force). Then, blank (i) could be boon (something beneficial), since the eastern tribes are known for their belligerence (warlike nature) toward the kingdom. Blank (ii) would then have to be safeguarded (protected), since the mountains are protecting the inhabitants by keeping out the tribes.
The renewable energy companies in competition for funding all had compelling ideas, but despite the (i)___________nature of the solar panel firm and its research, it bested the more inveterate competitors in attendance, (ii)___________the lion’s share of the acclaim at the festival.
| Blank I | Blank II |
| (A) veteran | (D) demurring |
| (B) inchoate | (E) relinquishing |
| (C) indefatigable | (F) garnering |
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Solution
(B) inchoate , (F) garnering
For blank (ii), garnering makes sense because the solar panel company “bested” its competitors. A clue for blank (i) is provided with the word “despite,” which signifies that the blank is the opposite of inveterate (established), so inchoate (in an early stage) would fit.
The premise that corporations are (i)___________to the opinions of their stockholders is a concept underlying much of modern investment advice. But in a world where the exhortations of even the largest shareholders are (ii)___________by many of the world’s biggest companies, it can be difficult to imagine how these monoliths might be influenced. Though most large companies are publicly owned, businesses with omnipotent boards of directors are so (iii)___________that changing the current system seems almost futile.
| Blank I | Blank II | Blank III |
| (A) inured | (D) trivialized and disregarded | (G) pervasive |
| (B) subject | (E) assimilated and utilized | (H) puissant |
| (C) privy | (F) classified and considered | (I) deviant |
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Solution
(B) subject, (D) trivialized and disregarded, (G) pervasive
A clue for blank (i) is provided in the second sentence, with the phrase “it can be difficult to imagine how these monoliths (large organizations) might be influenced.” Since the second sentence begins with “but,” the first sentence must express an idea in contrast to this difficulty, and subject (under the power of) creates that contrast. For blank (ii), the same clue can
be used, and the phrase “even the largest shareholders” implies that the companies cannot be swayed. Therefore, trivialized and disregarded logically fits. Blank (iii) must support the last
sentence, and if omnipotent (all-powerful) boards of directors are pervasive (spread throughout), it would be difficult to effect change.
The author’s current prose is so (i)___________that it is almost unrecognizable in light of his former writing, which was usually noted for its flourishes and flair but often criticized for those same instances of what many considered to be (ii)___________.
| Blank I | Blank II |
| (A) eloquent | (D) grandiloquence |
| (B) rhetorical | (E) severity |
| (C) sparing | (F) asceticism |
-
Solution
(C) sparing ,(D) grandiloquence
Since the author’s earlier writing was noted for its “flourishes and flair,” it must have a decorative, showy style. If blank (i) was sparing (restrained), it would make sense that the current work is unrecognizable. Blank (ii) should fit “flourishes and flair” but have a more negative connotation; grandiloquence (marked by excess) fits.
After research began to overwhelmingly support the connection between the consumption of transfats and heart disease and the city’s electorate began an outcry against their use, it seemed___________that lawmakers would refrain from banning them from restaurants.
| (A) improbable |
| (B) plausible |
| (C) precarious |
| (D) tacit |
| (E) furtive |
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Solution
(A) improbable
Since the research shows transfats are harmful and the electorate (group of voters) has an outcry against them, lawmakers will probably ban them, i.e., it is improbable (unlikely) that they’ll refrain from banning them.
Despite his occasional___________, the professor was, all in all, a tolerant man who avoided judgment of others’ views.
| (A) epigram |
| (B) interpidness |
| (C) perspicacity |
| (D) fulmination |
| (E) equanimity |
-
Solution
(D) fulmination
The word despite indicates that the professor’s occasional behavior contrasts with his usual tolerance, so fulmination (strong condemnation) would work.
The (i)________ of online marketplaces has facilitated the “flipping,” or quickly reselling at a profit, of original artwork. Though this practice is (ii)________ by artists and critics who seem to think art should be kept from the hands of the (iii)________, is it surprising that goods in the private sector find their way to the highest bidder?
| Blank I | Blank II | Blank III |
| (A) proliferation | (D) ignored | (G) mercenary |
| (B) stagnation | (E) reviled | (H) orthodox |
| (C) sanctimony | (F) regaled | (I) hackneyed |
-
Solution
(A) proliferation , (E) reviled , (G) mercenary
The proliferation (growth) of online marketplaces would facilitate (help) reselling. Since the author poses the question “is it surprising…bidder?,” one can infer that the artists and critics do not like this fact because the word “though” prefaces a shift from their opinion; therefore, it makes sense they have reviled (sharply criticized) this reselling. Mercenary (motivated by profit) fits because of the passage’s topic: those who buy and sell art for monetary gain.
During the Cold War, amidst the threat of a nuclear attack, both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. endeavored to prepare their populaces for the worst by offering survival tips. In order to give (i)________ to the efficacy of these strategies, the countries often downplayed the severity of a post-nuclear war scenario, not wanting a potential panic on their hands. It was therefore necessary for the countries to hire physicists who were (ii)________ in this deception to write informational pamphlets about nuclear fallout.
| Blank I | Blank II |
| (A) credence | (D) spurious |
| (B) gravity | (E) particulate |
| (C) benignity | (F) complicit |
-
Solution
(A) credence, (F) complicit
Since the countries didn’t want a panic, they must have wanted their people to believe the survival tips would work. They downplayed a potential war’s severity to add credence (believability) to the tips’ ef icacy (effectiveness). Given their goal, hiring physicists who were complicit (acting as an accomplice in a crime) in this deception made sense.
Most studies of academic preparedness rank U.S. students far below their peers in math and science. Ever the contrarian, Phillips, in his new book, suggests that the studies’ metrics are misguided. His (i)________ of the studies has perhaps founded a school of thought that uses a new measure of success, but unsurprisingly, traditionalists have usually (ii)___________ his viewpoints.
| Blank I | Blank II |
| (A) touting | (D) reprehended |
| (B) unnerving | (E) comprehended |
| (C) disparagement | (F) eulogized |
-
Solution
(C) disparagement , (D) reprehended
Since Phillips seems to think the studies are “misguided,” it makes sense that his book is a disparagement (belittling) of them. If the “traditionalists” did something unsurprising to this contrarian’s (one who goes against the norm) views, logically they must have reprehended (condemned) those views.
If one considers that most lenders were (i)___________of the tenuousness of the real estate
market last year, it becomes all the more reprehensible that they proffered loans they knew
consumers could not afford. Today, when most experts agree that property values are sliding
rapidly, the fact that most lenders are still loaning money demands (ii)___________from
regulators.
| Blank I | Blank II |
| (A) unaware | (D) censure |
| (B) cognizant | (E) endorsement |
| (C) enamored | (F) uncertainty |
-
Solution
(B) cognizant, (D) censure
That lenders were cognizant (aware) of the tenuousness (uncertainty) of the market would make it all the more reprehensible (blameworthy) that they still loaned money. Since they are still loaning money in a worse market, it follows that the author thinks they deserve censure (condemnation) from regulators.
Since the results of his experiments matched those from laboratories with the most stringent quality standards, the scientist was flabbergasted to discover that one of his suppliers had been___________its chemicals all along.
| (A) adulterating |
| (B) pirating |
| (C) refining |
| (D) pervading |
| (E) mincing |
-
Solution
(A) adulterating
If the scientist’s results matched those from labs with stringent (strict) quality standards, it would make sense that finding out that his supplier was adulterating (making impure by adding cheaper ingredients) its chemicals would make him flabbergasted (shocked).
Often, the fame of a certain artist seems to have come out of nowhere when in fact his renown is the product of___________.
| (A) polarization |
| (B) accolade |
| (C) accretion |
| (D) hedonism |
| (E) hubris |
-
Solution
(C) accretion
The phrase “when in fact” signifies a change in the sentence’s direction, so a word such as accretion (growth by gradual addition) is a logical shift from “appear out of nowhere.”