Sentence Completion Exercises Question Answers with PDF

A. The first noun could be any of the five except “similarities,” although at first glance, A “differences” looks like the best. The second blank needs a verb that follows from “understanding,” and A “appreciate” is the closest to the earlier word. Choices B and C make little sense with the fabric metaphor (how can one “resolve” or “combat” a “fabric”?).  

The phrase “facts, not wishful thinking” is parallel to “realities, not _____,” so you need a word that is opposite to “realities” and similar in effect to “wishful thinking.” Only “myths” describes something that contrasts with “realities.” .  

The verb “fell” tells you that the first noun must mean “decline” or fall. Choices B “decrease,” C “decline,” and E “drop” are all possibilities. The adjective describing this economy must also denote falling, so you can eliminate “steady” B and “booming” E, but C “sagging” is appropriate.

The first adjective must be consistent with the information that the skills have won over both liberals and conservatives. Choices A, B, and D would fit, and “organizational” C or “intimidating” E would not. The second blank requires an adverb that parallels or accords with “openly.” Both “equivocally” (ambiguously) and “deceptively” are clearly the opposite of what is needed. The correct choice is B “frankly.” .  

The missing adjective here should describe the actions of a slanderer. The noun “dissemination” means spreading abroad; the action of spreading a “libel” or “slander” is not well described by any of these choices except by D “irresponsible.”.  

The final adjective must describe songs that satirize love as “foolish” or “compromised.” The best choice is “antiromantic.” The four other choices conflict with the assertion of the first half of the sentence. .  

If signaling the horse by the voice is part of a “clever ruse,” the missing adverb must be something signifying “secretly” or “without being observed.” Only C “covertly” has this meaning. The verb that fills the second blank must mean something like expose, and C “unmask” fits the requirement..  

The needed word here is a strong way of saying “changeable” or “unpredictable.” Of the five choices, “mercurial” (volatile, “changeable”) is clearly the best.  

The sentence presents two related definitions and is a straightforward test of vocabulary. A “cynic” distrusts “human goodness;” a “misanthrope” hates “people in general.” A “pessimist” looks on the dark side of things and expects the worst; an “ingrate” is an ungrateful person. A “siren” is a temptress; a “tyrant” is an absolute ruler, usually a cruel or despotic one. An “altruist” is unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others; an “anarchist” opposes all forms of government. A “philanthropist” is a generous lover of humankind; a “misogynist” is a person who hates women. .  

The informative phrase here is “mistakes we made last week or last year.” These mistakes we understand by looking back, by “hindsight.” None of the other choices fits the rest of the sentence so well. .  

The parallel phrases here are “something everyone possesses” and “imagination is not a gift ________ to poets.” The right word must be the opposite of universal, since the word “not” precedes it. The best choice is “unique,” different from all others. With “not,” this is equivalent to “something everyone possesses.” .  

The phrase “less is more” is not a “hope,” a “question” (that would be “is less more?”), an “enigma” (riddle), or an “image.” It is a “paradox,” an apparent self-contradiction, since less should be less, not more..  

Choices A, C, and D would seem to fit the first blank, but the second noun, which describes something the senator did that the president ignored, could be only B or C, and B has already been eliminated. Both of the nouns in C make very good sense in this context.

Since the action is described as stupid and indifferent, it cannot be something that has helped our resources, so we are left with two possible answers: “wasted” C or “squandered” E. The second blank must be a word meaning “ability; capacity” E makes good sense, but “failure” C does not.  

. Reports of “freewheeling” corporate spending are unlikely to be “favorable” or “encouraging,” but choices A and B fit well, and C is a possibility. The “despite” at the beginning of the sentence tells us that the reports are not true, and the missing adverb should be very different from “freewheeling.” Both B “unfairly” and C “secretly” contradict the “despite,” but A makes good sense. The reports must be “lurid,” that is, sensational or startling, and the adverb is “equitably,” that is, fairly or even-handedly.  

The first phrase tells us the crime will be described by an “understatement.” Choices B, C, D, and E all call a crime a crime, but “peccadillo” suggests that stealing four million dollars is insignificant, a minor fault, a petty crime. This is “understatement.” .  

The second adjective modifies “countries that have no savings at all,” so it cannot be any of the words meaning rich (A, B, C, and D). The correct choice is “indigent,” that is, poor. Although A, C, or E might have fit the first blank, choice E also makes the most sense. 

The sentence tells us that Pierce refused to read about positions different from his own. You need first a noun to describe a quality of a man like this, and all of the answers except E are possibilities. The second blank calls for a word to go with “to travel” that will also fit this parochial, insular, bigoted, or narrow-minded man. The right answer must mean something like “failure” or refusal. Either A or E will do, but only A has the first word right.

If the doctor must be brave to continue her work, the missing verb must describe something to be resisted. The best choices are “vilified” B and “attacked” E. The result of the brave work is acceptance by other doctors of the “probability” or the “tenets” of her theories. “Tenets” usually refers to doctrines or principles of a school of thought and is not quite right in this context. But both “vilified” (reviled, defamed) and “probability” fit well..