Sat - MC Grawhill part 24 pot

But don’t give up immediately just because you can’t think of a good way to complete the sentence right away.. The beauty of this strategy is that you don’t have to know all of the words

SAT Practice 3: Structural Keys

6 His - maintained that Mr Frank was con-stantly at odds with the corporate officers; yet the truth was that his ideas were not at all - with the officers’ reasonable goals

(A) detractors in accord (B) supporters at variance (C) advocates harmonious (D) disparagers incompatible (E) apologists in conflict

7 In spite of the - of Larry’s speech, most of the audience was - well before he had finished (A) conciseness cheering

(B) humor intrigued (C) appropriateness enrapt (D) brevity asleep

(E) cleverness reluctant

8 If a child is - by arbitrary parental restric-tions and denied the opportunity to exercise per-sonal responsibility, at adolescence the child is likely to engage in dangerous and self-destructive behavior

(A) nurtured (B) appeased (C) confined (D) fascinated (E) liberated

9 Although the government has frequently -some parental responsibilities, at heart it must still be parents, not agencies, who are - to care for children

(A) obscured assumed (B) precluded adjured (C) exulted incompetent (D) disavowed impelled (E) usurped obligated

1 The - of the neighborhood is revealed by

sub-tle practices, like the fact that so many people in

the community use the same hand gestures when

speaking

(A) diversity

(B) adaptability

(C) modernization

(D) cohesiveness

(E) creativity

2 During the day, crabs move slowly and -, but

at night, they roam - across sandy sea

bot-toms, climbing reefs or foraging for kelp

(A) frantically wildly

(B) cautiously freely

(C) gradually sluggishly

(D) deliberately carefully

(E) rashly rapidly

3 Because the President was used to receiving the

support of his advisers, he was - when he

dis-covered that their views on the handling of the

crisis were - with his own

(A) stunned irreconcilable

(B) relieved inconsistent

(C) amused consonant

(D) oblivious compatible

(E) sorry commensurate

4 The building should be - not only for its

long-recognized architectural merit but also for its

- in the history of Black American theater

(A) designed role

(B) commissioned usefulness

(C) preserved importance

(D) demolished future

(E) constructed place

5 The lecture on number theory and its

applica-tions might have been particularly trying for the

nonspecialists in the audience had the professor

not - it with humorous asides

(A) exhorted

(B) leavened

(C) intercepted

(D) countermanded

(E) rebuffed

Answer Key 3: Structural Keys

Concept Review 3

detractors = critics; accord = agreement; variance = disagreement; advocates = supporters; harmo-nious = in pleasant agreement; disparagers = crit-ics; incompatible = difficult to reconcile; apologists

= those who make supportive arguments

7 D In spite of shows irony It would certainly be

ironic if the speech were short and yet still put people to sleep

conciseness = brevity; enrapt = enthralled; brevity =

briefness

8 C Parental restrictions by definition are things that confine; nurtured = cared for; appeased = made less angry; liberated= freed

9 E Although indicates contrast The sentence makes it clear that although government has over-taken some parental responsibilities, still, parents, not agencies, should care for children.

obscured = made less clear; precluded = prevented; adjured = commanded solemnly; exulted = rejoiced; disavowed = renounced; impelled = urged to action; usurped = took over; obligated = morally

compelled

1 but, however, in contrast, nevertheless, whereas,

although, etc.

2 because, therefore, thus, by, etc.

3 Colons indicate that an explanation or a list of

ex-amples will follow; semicolons indicate that the

statement that follows will extend or develop the

previous one

4 Although (contrast)

5 In order to (cause and effect); semicolon (support); that is (definition)

6 not only but also (support)

7 Because (cause and effect); discovered (contrast)

8 by (cause and effect); such as (support)

SAT Practice 3

1 D The word like indicates examples What are

common hand gestures examples of? The unity or

sameness of the community

diversity = variety; adaptability = ability to fit in;

cohesiveness= unity

2 B The but indicates contrast The first missing

word must fit well with slowly.

frantically = wildly; sluggishly = slowly; rashly =

hastily

3 A Because indicates cause and effect The word

discover indicates surprise If the President was

used to receiving the support of his advisers, then it

would be surprising to discover that they didn’t

agree with him on something

irreconcilable = unable to be made to agree;

con-sonant = in agreement with; oblivious = unaware;

compatible = fitting well together; commensurate =

in proportion to

4 C Not only but also indicates a

support-ive relationship between the ideas

commissioned= paid for an artistic work to be

cre-ated; demolished= destroyed

5 B It might have been trying (difficult to tolerate)

had the professor not - it with humorous asides.

What do humorous asides do to make something

easier to tolerate? They lighten it up.

exhorted = urged strongly; leavened = lightened

with humor; intercepted = caught in transit;

coun-termanded = cancelled; rebuffed = refused abruptly

6 D It’s not particularly good to be constantly at

odds with the corporate officers, so this is

some-thing that critics would say of him The word yet

indicates a contrast If the officers’ goals were

rea-sonable, then one would likely not disagree with

them

Lesson 4: Simplifying the Sentence

Simplify

Some sentences are hard to interpret But don’t give

up immediately just because you can’t think of a good

way to complete the sentence right away When that

happens, try to simplify your task using one of these

strategies

Process of Elimination

Example:

Without David’s -, the dispute between the parties might never have been resolved so tactfully

(A) conciliation (B) antagonism (C) embarrassment (D) indelicacy (E) ridicule

The right word might not come right to mind, but it

should be pretty clear that whatever David used was a good thing, because it helped resolve the dispute tact-fully Therefore, if you notice any words that are

nega-tive or neutral, you can eliminate them! The beauty of this strategy is that you don’t have to know all of the words: just go to the ones you do know, and eliminate them if they’re not the right tone (The answer, by the way, is (A).)

Paraphrase

If you understand any part of the sentence, see if

that understanding can help you to rule out any

choices.

If a sentence does contain two blanks, it is

usu-ally easier to complete the second blank first.

Why? Because by the time you get to the

sec-ond blank, you will have read more context

clues Of course, the example we just used is an

exception, but you will find that usually the

sec-ond blank is easier to complete than the first

You may also often find it helpful to para-phrase the sentence, that is, restate it in your own words This helps you to focus on the

logic of the sentence as a whole, without

get-ting stuck on any particular words or phrases.

Just read the sentence completely, then try to restate the idea in the simplest terms possi-ble When you read the sentence again, you will probably find it easier to complete it, or

at least to eliminate wrong choices

Remember that you don’t have to find the per-fect word to fill the blank; you simply want to capture the right idea Often, you will find it easy to just pick a word (or a form of a word) from elsewhere in the sentence

If you can’t find the right word or words to

com-plete the sentence, try to at least determine the

tone of the word, that is, whether it’s positive,

negative, or neutral Then eliminate any choices

that don’t have the right tone

Example:

Statistics are often - information, but this

is an - impression, because they must, by

definition, obscure data by reducing many

val-ues to a single number

(A) equated with erroneous

(B) mistaken for aesthetic

(C) superior to inaccurate

(D) relegated to insidious

(E) substituted for interesting

This sentence may be tough to understand at the first

reading (or two) But you may know that statistics

can’t be relegated to (assigned to the lower status of)

information, because data is information If you just

focus on the relationship between statistics and

infor-mation, you can probably eliminate choices (C), (D),

and (E) From there, you can try out the remaining

choices and see that (A) works best

Focus on Tone

Don’t Be Afraid to Cut and Paste

Example:

Her account was so sterile that it made all of the other - seem - by contrast.

To complete the sentence, just reuse the words:

accounts and unsterile sound a bit redundant, but they

do the job!

Concept Review 4: Simplifying the Sentence

1 Why is it important to pay attention to tone?

2 What does paraphrase mean?

Place a + (positive), − (negative), or = (neutral) next to each word based on its tone

3 lurid 6 innocuous 9 rejuvenate

4 purchase 7 pretentious 10 modify

5 euphoria 8 overwhelm 11 insidious

Place a +, −, or = in each blank to indicate whether the word should be positive, negative, or neutral in tone, then use the tone to determine and check the answer

12 A - politician, Congresswoman Andrews worked hard and made so few mistakes that her opponents seemed to be - by contrast

(A) shrewd sages (B) slothful drones (C) canny blunderers

(D) dynamic firebrands (E) conscientious geniuses

13 His inability to relate to the latest trends in art led him to fear that his critical faculties had - during his long hiatus

(A) diversified (B) atrophied (C) converted (D) enhanced (E) multiplied

14 To her chagrin, Ellen soon learned that she could not hide her -; her friends at the party could see the signs of weariness on her face

(A) amusement (B) incoherence (C) gratitude (D) sorrow (E) exhaustion

15 McLanham’s - prose, particularly when compared to that of his more flamboyant -, illustrates how artists of the same era can reflect startlingly different perspectives on the same reality

(A) stark contemporaries (B) spartan enemies (C) imprecise role models

(D) flowery friends (E) well-crafted teachers

SAT Practice 4: Simplifying the Sentence

1 In genetic research, - mice are often essential

because their - allows scientists to pose

ques-tions answerable only if all the mice in a group

have similar hereditary traits

(A) sedated temperament

(B) cloned unpredictability

(C) adaptable vigor

(D) inbred uniformity

(E) adult familiarity

2 Historians generally - the film, not only for its

excessive sentimentality and unrealistic

dia-logue, but because it did not - a true

under-standing of the problems of the era

(A) advocated exhibit

(B) challenged hinder

(C) panned demonstrate

(D) exalted ascertain

(E) censured eliminate

3 The fact that even the most traditional European

languages have - such words as “e-mail”

seems to indicate that no language is impervious

to foreign influences

(A) originated

(B) prohibited

(C) invalidated

(D) recounted

(E) incorporated

4 Although many have - the theoretical

under-girdings of her research, her experimental

proto-cols have always been beyond reproach

(A) lingered over

(B) disputed

(C) presumed

(D) interpreted

(E) publicized

5 Director T C Kehrwuld, whose mastery of stark

objectivity in film has long been recognized by

critics, has released another cinematic

master-piece which, while bound to satisfy those same

critics, may be too - for public acceptance

(A) flamboyant

(B) maudlin

(C) ecstatic

(D) austere

(E) humane

6 The humanists in the class emphasized the

-of scientific discovery, asserting that although the world could have formulated calculus without Newton, it would never have produced the Ham-merklavier Sonata without Beethoven

(A) monotony (B) triviality (C) symmetry (D) impersonality (E) intricacy

7 Even Emily, who had to be - to participate at first, eventually confessed that she - a great deal from the workshop

(A) cajoled benefitted (B) inclined intuited (C) restrained resented (D) persuaded obscured (E) discouraged recalled

8 Although his manner was didactic and imperi-ous, this fact was generally - and occasionally even - as qualities befitting a man of his stature

(A) encouraged dismissed (B) overlooked ignored (C) discussed denounced (D) criticized glorified (E) tolerated applauded

9 The novel’s realistic depiction of social injustice

in early-nineteenth-century America was an un-mistakable - of the new republic’s - to its democratic ideals

(A) denunciation infidelity (B) disavowal reversion (C) trivialization devotion (D) revelation gratitude (E) commendation allegiance

Answer Key 4: Simplifying the Sentence

13 B His inability to relate to the latest trends in

art led him to fear that his critical faculties had (−) during his long hiatus

diversified = made more various; atrophied = weakened from disuse; converted= changed;

enhanced= made more valuable, effective, or beautiful

14 E To her chagrin, Ellen soon learned that she

could not hide her (−); her friends at the party could see the signs of weariness on her face

incoherence= confusion

15 A McLanham’s (=) prose, particularly when com-pared to that of his more flamboyant (=), illus-trates how artists of the same era can reflect startlingly different perspectives on the same reality

stark = plain; contemporaries = peers; spartan =

stark

Concept Review 4

1 Because it is often easier to attend to tone than to

meaning, and it can be used to eliminate

inap-propriate choices

2 To restate in your own, simpler terms

3 lurid (−)

4 purchase (=)

5 euphoria (+)

6 innocuous (+)

7 pretentious (−)

8 overwhelm (=)

9 rejuvenate (+)

10 modify (=)

11 insidious (−)

12 C A (+) politician, Congresswoman Andrews

worked hard and made so few mistakes that her

opponents seemed to be (−) by contrast

shrewd = smart; sages = wise people; slothful =

lazy; drones = mindless laborers; canny = smart;

blunderers = people prone to mistakes; dynamic =

energetic; firebrands = troublemakers;

conscien-tious= attentive

SAT Practice 4

1 D If mice all have similar traits, they are uniform,

probably because they are very closely related

They must be clones or close family members.

sedated = put to sleep; temperament = disposition;

vigor = energetic health; inbred = bred with family

members; uniformity= lack of variation

2 C If the film has excessive sentimentality and

un-realistic dialogue, historians must not like it They

would criticize the film It must not have shown a

true understanding of the problems of the era.

advocated = spoke in favor of; exhibit = display;

hinder = impede; panned = criticized harshly;

exalted = praised highly; ascertain = determined

the truth of; censured= criticized

3 E If this fact indicates that no language is

imper-vious to foreign influences, it must reveal a strong

influence from foreign sources Incorporating such

words as “e-mail” would show that influence.

originated = started; invalidated = made worthless;

recounted = retold; incorporated = assumed into a

whole

4 B Although indicates contrast Although her

pro-tocols have always been beyond reproach, many

must have questioned the undergirdings of her

research

lingered over = considered carefully; disputed = called into question; presumed = assumed to

be true

5 D Stark objectivity in film means plain, unadorned perspective Stark and austere are synonyms flamboyant = ornate; maudlin = depressed; ecstatic

= very happy; humane = compassionate

6 D To say that the world could have formulated calculus without Newton is to suggest that

scien-tific discovery does not depend on the creativity of particular individuals

monotony = tedium; triviality = ordinariness; impersonality = detachment from personal

qualities; intricacy= complicatedness

7 A If Emily only eventually confessed about the workshop, she must have had to be forced to participate at first, but then she must have gotten

a lot out of it

cajoled = coaxed persistently; intuited = deter-mined by a hunch; restrained = held back;

obscured= made unclear

denunciation = harsh criticism; infidelity = unfaithfulness; disavowal = swearing off; rever-sion = return to a previous state; devotion = strong commitment; revelation = revealing experience;

commendation = praise; allegiance = faithfulness

8 E If being didactic (preachy) and imperious

(overbearing) were thought befitting

(appropri-ate), they must have been accepted.

9 A What is the relationship between a depiction

of social injustice in a society and that society’s

de-mocratic ideals? Such a depiction would certainly

call those ideals into question, perhaps even

denounce them.

Lesson 5: Using Context Intelligently

Parallelism

For instance, consider the sentence

Rather than being dull and arcane, her lecture

on galaxy formation was - and -.

This contains two ideas that are parallel: dull and

arcane, and - and - By the law of parallelism,

the first missing word is an adjective that contrasts

with dull, and the second is an adjective that

con-trasts with arcane (obscure and hard to understand).

The missing words should contrast with the tone and

meaning of the first two adjectives, preferably in

order So a nice, tidy, logical way to complete the

sen-tence would be:

Rather than being dull and arcane, her lecture

on galaxy formation was exciting and easy to

understand.

Modifiers

At first, you might focus on the modifiers clean and regimented These could be positive descriptions, so such a training center might impress people who seek cleanliness and order But no choice really fits this reading The real key word is hard to miss: once This

word implies that people are seeking something that

was once part of boxing but is not any more

There-fore, they would be disappointed by its absence, and

so they must have been seeking something that is the

opposite of clean and regimented, like seedy and undis-ciplined (It may seem strange, but some people like

that kind of stuff!)

Context and Common Sense

Parallelism is often an essential element of the

logical structure of a sentence Noticing parallel

structures often makes completing sentences

much simpler What is parallelism? Well, it’s

discussed in a bit more detail in Chapter 15,

Lesson 3, entitled “Parallelism.” In short, it is

the similarity among phrases that are listing

things or comparing things.

The modifiers (that is, adjectives and adverbs)

in Sentence Completion questions are not

cho-sen casually Modifiers usually play key roles in

the logical structure of the sentence If you read

a sentence a couple of times, and its main idea

isn’t perfectly clear, try reading it through

once more, this time focusing primarily on the

adjectives and adverbs

Your common sense is one of your best tools on Sentence Completion questions For instance, if

a sentence refers to a scientist, it’s not just for

decoration Think: what do scientists do or think that makes them different from nonscientists?

Or how about teachers, or politicians, or advo-cates, or critics, etc.? Of course, the sentences

won’t always show people acting in typical ways, but they generally require you to understand

how these folks typically act or think.

Example:

The training center, clean and regimented,

is - to those seeking the - once associated

with boxing

(A) surprising austerity

(B) disappointing seediness

(C) convincing chaos

(D) refreshing camaraderie

(E) inspiring ambition

Example:

An inveterate procrastinator, Pat could always be counted on to - any assignment he is given.

The only real context clue we have here is the fact that Pat is a procrastinator If you know what a procrasti-nator does, then you know how to complete the

sen-tence Procrastinators postpone things.

Practice Your Verbal Inference Skills

Just like every other reading skill, verbal inference

skills can be improved best by reading Read books and articles with challenging vocabulary so that you can practice “figuring out” the meaning of unfamiliar words Some students think it’s best to look up new

vocabulary words as soon as they encounter them Rather, it’s better to make an educated guess about the meaning before you look it up Of course, once you do look it up, you should make a flashcard using the College Hill flashcard system described in Chapter 3, and practice it so that you never forget it

Concept Review 5: Using Context Intelligently

1 What is parallelism, and how can it help you to complete sentences?

2 What is a modifier?

3 What should you do when you encounter an unfamiliar word in your reading?

Each of the three following sentences contains some of the same information, but in very different logical con-texts Complete each sentence with your own word or phrase according to the logical context.

4 Britain can hardly be considered _, despite the fact that it is separated from the Euro-pean continent both physically and linguistically

5 Even while it maintains a deep respect, even reverence, for its history, Britain can hardly be considered

6 Britain can hardly be considered _, having been reduced to a mere shadow of the vast dominion it once was

Complete the following sentences with your own words or phrases, utilizing any parallelism in each sentence

7 The speakers ran the gamut from the eloquent to the bumbling; some were _ while others spoke with profound _

8 I did not want to sit through another lecture that was rambling and mind-numbing; rather, I was hoping for one that was _ and _

SAT Practice 5: Using Context Intelligently

1 Most art critics regard her early style as

pedes-trian and conventional, utterly devoid of

techni-cal or artistic -

(A) lucidity

(B) analysis

(C) articulation

(D) mediocrity

(E) innovation

2 Historical buildings in many developing towns,

rather than being razed, are now being -

(A) constructed

(B) renovated

(C) described

(D) condemned

(E) designed

3 Some linguists claim that French is characterized

by brevity of expression and therefore may be the

most - of all languages

(A) beautiful

(B) vivid

(C) concise

(D) accessible

(E) concrete

4 The melée that punctuated the meeting between

the rival factions was not entirely -; the

groups have long - each other on many

im-portant issues

(A) surprising supported

(B) unusual copied

(C) explicit evaluated

(D) unanticipated opposed

(E) expected encountered

5 Having been devastated by the earthquake, the

freeway was virtually - to all but the most

rugged of vehicles

(A) destroyed

(B) impassable

(C) improper

(D) winding

(E) unnecessary

6 Those who assume that they can easily be -chefs in the classic tradition are almost as - as those who think they can write a novel if they simply sit down and type

(A) amateur candid (B) renowned skeptical (C) superb timid (D) clumsy pessimistic (E) competent naive

7 Many opponents of psychoanalysis contend that since its assumptions cannot be tested with sci-entific rigor, it is properly characterized as merely - system rather than a reliable thera-peutic method

(A) a concise (B) a courageous (C) a necessary (D) an intuitive (E) an ornamental

8 Paranoia, extreme competitiveness, and many other - of the modern rat race, despite what many cutthroat executives are saying, are hardly - to long-term success in the business world (A) by-products conducive

(B) responsibilities detrimental (C) ornaments helpful

(D) establishments reliable (E) inequities charitable

9 Under certain conditions, the virus can mutate into - strain, transforming what was once simply - into a menacing poison

(A) a new an epidemic (B) a deficient a derivative (C) an erratic a rudiment (D) a virulent a nuisance (E) an advanced a disease