C. imaginative D. educational E. entertaining
8. There is a general ____ in the United States that our ethics are declining and that out moral standards are ____ .
A. feeling - normalizing B. idea - futile
C. optimism - improving D. complaint - deteriorating E. outlook - escalating
9. Homo sapiens, the proud splitter of the atom, inventor of the electronic computer, ____ of the genetic code may be humbled by a lowly ____ of the sewers and soils - the microbe.
A. designer - inhabitant B. discoverer - rodent C. writer - organism D. decipherer - denizen E. author - purifier
10. After centuries of obscurity, this philosopher's thesis is enjoying a surprising ____ . A. dismissal B. remission C. decimation D. longevity E. renaissance
11. The threat of war, far from ____ , lay heavily in the air, and the villagers, while ____ going about their normal activities, were unable to shake off the feeling of impending catastrophe.
A. receding - ostensibly B. diminishing - contentedly C. increasing - apparently D. escalating - joyfully E. subsiding - felicitously
12. Although alarmed by the ____ , Professor Symes had no reason to doubt the ____ of his student's results, for this student was nothing if not reliable.
A. conclusions - folly B. deductions - impudence C. implications - veracity D. errors - truth E. inferences - invalidity
1.Correct Answer: D Explanation:
Clue: He was cast out. An outcast is a pariah.
(ascetic = one who lives a severe existence without indulgences; prodigy = genius, or very talented; prodigal = wasteful person; tyro = novice, beginner)
2.Correct Answer: B Explanation:
Clue: ‘because’ gives a reason for the word that is needed. If the essay is so similar it looks as though it is copied. To copy without giving acknowledgement is plagiarism.
(procrastination = putting off, delaying; celerity = speed; decorum = good and correct behavior)
3.Correct Answer: E Explanation:
Clue: The part after the semicolon explains what kind of age we are talking about. So, since we are told that maximizing pleasure is the point, the word we need is hedonistic (pleasure seeking).
(ubiquitous = found everywhere; propitious = favorable; sporadic = intermittent, not continuous)
4.Correct Answer: D Explanation:
Clue: The part after the semicolon explains the first part of the sentence. So, something that may not recur for some time would be in remission.sat
(sequestration = isolation; quarantine = isolation; remission = temporary improvement in a disease; oblivion = state of being unaware)
5.Correct Answer: A Explanation:
Clue: Since the air is described as ‘pure’ we need a positive word. Also, since doctors recommend it, the air must be good for health.
Therefore, we choose invigorating which means energizing.
(soporific = sleep-inducing; debilitating = weakening; insalubrious = unhealthy; aromatic = pleasant-smelling)
6.Correct Answer: C Explanation:
Clue: \
Therefore, we say that he was faultless (perfect) in his grammar, though his accent was awful. [This is the only pair of opposites.]
(erratic = unpredictable; eccentric = odd) 7.Correct Answer: A
Explanation:
Clue : ‘Though’ indicates the need for opposites in the two halves of the sentence. Also, ‘life-like’ indicates realistic is the word needed.
The sentence means that, though there are no life-like meanderings, the work is presented as realistic fiction. [Note that to get the meaning out of the sentence it sometimes helps to turn the parts around.]
8.Correct Answer: D Explanation:
Clue: \are declining, moral standards are also declining (deteriorating). Almost any word except \
(futile = useless, ineffective; escalating = increasing) 9.Correct Answer: D Explanation:
Clue: The first blank requires something that conveys what man has done to the genetic code - the only two suitable words are ‘discoverer’ or ‘decipherer’. But since a microbe is not a rodent, we can eliminate that pair.
(rodent = animal like a rat or mouse; decipherer = someone who decodes; denizen = inhabitant)
10.Correct Answer: E Explanation:
Clue: The sentence tells us that the thesis has been in obscurity (forgotten or neglected) but now it is being revived. We can say it is undergoing a renaissance (revival).
(remission = temporary cessation of a disease; decimation = destruction; longevity = length of life)
11.Correct Answer: A Explanation:
Clue: ‘Far from’ indicates that an opposite point is being made. So, since there is a feeling of impending catastrophe the threat of war is far from getting less. This indicates that ‘receding’, diminishing’, or ‘subsiding’ might be suitable. We can eliminate these last two since their partner words ‘contentedly’ and ‘felicitously’ are inappropriate for a feeling of danger. So the villagers are only apparently (ostensibly) behaving normally.
(escalating = increasing ; felicitously = happily, suitably) 12.Correct Answer: C Explanation:
Clue: ‘Nothing if not’ means ‘very’. So if the student is very reliable the professor would not doubt the ‘truth’ or ‘veracity’ of the results. Since the student is reliable we can eliminate the ‘error’ choice, and choose ‘implications’.
(folly = foolishness; impudence = cheekiness; veracity = truth; inferences = something we can deduce)
SAT阅读习题SAT Sentence Completion Test 4
1. Scrooge, in the famous novel by Dickens, was a ____ ; he hated the rest of mankind. A. misanthrope B. hypochondriac C. philanthropist D. hedonist E. sybarite
2. A businessman must widen his horizons; a ____ attitude will get you nowhere in this age of global communications.
A. moderate B. petrified C. parochial D. diversified E. comprehensive
3. Our bookshelves at home display a range of books on wide-ranging subjects and in many languages, reflecting the ____ tastes of our family members.
A. anomalous B. limited C. arcane D. furtive E. eclectic
4. Plastic bags are ____ symbols of consumer society; they are found wherever you travel. A. rare B. ephemeral C. ubiquitous D. fleeting E. covert
5. Dr. Stuart needs to ____ his argument with more experimental data; as it stands his thesis is ____ .
A. support - profound B. bolster - acceptable C. refine - satisfactory D. buttress - inadequate E. define - succinct
6. After an initially warm reception by most reviewers and continued ____ by conservative thinkers, Bloom's work came under heavy fire.
A. criticism B. endorsement C. denigration D. counterattack E. refutation
7. Through the 19th Century, the classics of Western Civilization were considered to be the ____ of wisdom and culture, and an ____ person - by definition- knew them well.sat reading
A. foundation - average B. epitome - uneducated C. cornerstone - obtuse D. font - ecclesiastical E. repository - educated
8. In this biography we are given a glimpse of the young man ____ pursuing the path of the poet despite ____ and rejection slips.
A. doggedly - disappointment B. tirelessly - encouragement C. sporadically - awards D. successfully - acclaim E. unsuccessfully - failure
9. All European countries are seeking to diminish the check upon individual ____ which state examinations with their ____ growth have bought in their train.
A. rights - liberating B. liberties - empowering C. spontaneity - tyrannous D. foibles - inevitable E. creativity - soporific
10. In keeping with his own ____ in international diplomacy, Churchill proposed a personal meeting of heads of government, but the effort was doomed to failure, as the temper of the times was ____ .
A. ideas - pluralistic B. predilections - inimical C. aversions - hostile D. impulses - amicable E. maxims - salacious
11. The wall and floor decorations created by Indian housewives are usually ____ , remaining hours, days, or at most, weeks before being worn off by human activity or weather and replaced by new ____ .
A. perennial - drawings