Sentence Completion Practice

1. Unwilling to admit that they had been in error, the researchers tried to ____ their case with more data obtained from dubious sources


Ascertain
Buttress
Refute
Absolve
Dispute



ANSWER: Buttress


2. Archaeology is a poor profession; only ____ sums are available for excavating sites and even more ____ amounts for preserving the excavations


paltry – meagre
miniscule – substantial
average – augmented
judicious – penurious
modest – generous

ANSWER: paltry – meagre


3. The student was extremely foolhardy; he had the ____ to question the senior professor's judgment


Wisdom
Temerity
Interest
Trepidation
Condescension

ANSWER: Temerity


4. The formerly ____ waters of the lake have been polluted so that the fish are no longer visible from the surface.


Muddy
Tranquil
Stagnant
Pellucid
Rancid

ANSWER: Pellucid


5. After the accident, the nerves to her arm were damaged and so the muscles ____ through disuse


Atrophied
Contracted
Elongated
Invigorated
Dwindled

ANSWER: Atrophied


6. Some critics maintain that Tennyson's poetry is uneven, ranging from the ____ to the ____


sublime – elevated
trite – inspired
vacuous – inane
succinct – laconic
sonorous – voluble

ANSWER: trite – inspired


7. After grafting there is a ____ of lymphocytes in the lymph glands; the newly produced lymphocytes then move in to attack the foreign tissue


Diminution
Proliferation
Obliteration
Paucity
Attraction

ANSWER: Proliferation


8. One ____ the new scheme is that it might actually ____ just those applicants that it was intended to encourage


highlight of – stimulate
feature of – attract
problem with – induce
attraction of – intimidate
drawback of – daunt- selecting few people

ANSWER: drawback of – daunt- selecting few people


9. Corruption is ____ in our society; the integrity of even senior officials is ____


growing – unquestioned
endangered – disputed
pervasive – intact
rare – corrupted
rife – suspect numerous

ANSWER: rife – suspect numerous

10. In their day to day decision making, many senior managers do not follow the rational model favored by orthodox management experts, but rather rely on intuitive processes that often appear ____ and ____


cerebral – considered
heretical - judgmental
conscientious – logical
irrational – iconoclastic trditional idea is not accepting
capricious – deliberate

ANSWER: irrational – iconoclastic trditional idea is not accepting


11. His characteristically ____ views on examination methods at university level have aroused (generate)____ in those who want to introduce innovative and flexible patterns of assessment.


hidebound – antagonism
moderate – anger
reactionary – admiration
rigid – support
accommodating – annoyance

ANSWER: hidebound – antagonism


12. Our grandfather was an entertaining ____; he used to ____ us with marvelous anecdotes that we, in our childlike simplicity, accepted unquestioningly


rascal – bore
orator – intimidate
raconteur – regale
curmudgeon – surprise
tyrant – stupefy

ANSWER: raconteur – regale