GRE BIG BOOK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS 3

GRE BIG BOOK SENTENCE COMPLETIONS

GRE TEST 8

1. Despite the apparently bewildering complexity of this procedure, the underlying----is quite----.
(A) simplicity.. calculated
(B) principle.. elementary
(C) confusion.. imaginary
(D) purpose.. effective
(E) theory.. modern

2. In television programming, a later viewing time often----a more----audience and, therefore, more challenging subjects and themes.
(A) requires.. critical
(B) evinces.. affluent
(C) implies.. mature
(D) eliminates.. realistic
(E) invites.. general

3. The cultivation of the emotion of natsukashii, interpretable as "pleasant sorrow," brings Japanese to Kyoto in the spring, not to----the cherry blossoms in full bloom but to----the fading, falling flowers.
(A) mourn.. exclaim over
(B) honor.. protect
(C) describe.. rejoice over
(D) arrange.. preserve
(E) savor.. grieve over

4. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) is still worth reading, more to appreciate the current----of Smith's valid contributions to economics than to see those contributions as the ----of present-day economics.
(A) disregard.. outgrowths
(B) reaffirmation.. concerns
(C) relevance.. precursors
(D) acceptance.. byproducts
(E) importance.. vestiges

5. At several points in his discussion, Graves, in effect, ----evidence when it does not support his argument, tailoring it to his needs.
(A) addresses
(B) creates
(C) alters
(D) suppresses
(E) substitutes

6. Regardless of what----theories of politics may propound, there is nothing that requires daily politics to be clear, thorough, and consistent-nothing, that is, that requires reality to conform to theory.
(A) vague
(B) assertive
(C) casual
(D) vicious
(E) tidy

7. Exposure to sustained noise has been claimed to----blood pressure regulation in human beings and, particularly, to increase hypertension, even though some researchers have obtained inconclusive results that----the relationship.
(A) sharpen.. conflate
(B) increase.. diminish
(C) aggravate.. buttress
(D) disrupt.. neutralize
(E) impair.. obscure

8. After a slow sales start early in the year, mobile homes have been gaining favor as----to increasingly expensive conventional housing.
(A) reaction
(B) an addition
(C) an introduction
(D) an alternative
(E) a challenge

9. Just as such apparently basic things as rocks, clouds, and clams are, in fact, intricately structured entities, so the self, too, is not an "elementary particle," but is ----construction.
(A) a complicated
(B) a convoluted
(C) a distorted
(D) an amorphous
(E) an illusory

10. Considering how long she had yearned to see Italy, her first reaction was curiously----.
(A) meditative
(B) tepid
(C) categorical
(D) unoriginal
(E) insightful

11. The successful----of an archaeological site requires scientific knowledge as well as cultural----.
(A) evolution.. awareness
(B) revelation.. depth
(C) reconstruction.. sensitivity
(D) analysis.. aesthetics
(E) synthesis.. understanding

12. As painted by Constable, the scene is not one of bucolic----; rather it shows a striking emotional and intellectual----.
(A) intensity.. boredom
(B) complacence.. detachment
(C) serenity.. tension
(D) vitality.. excitement
(E) nostalgia.. placidity

13. Our times seem especially ----to bad ideas, probably because in throwing off the shackles of tradition, we have ended up being quite----untested theories and untried remedies.
(A) impervious.. tolerant of
(B) hostile.. dependent on
(C) hospitable.. vulnerable to
(D) prone.. wary of
(E) indifferent.. devoid of

14. Although he attempted repeatedly to----her of her conviction of his insincerity, he was not successful; she remained----in her judgment.
(A) remind.. forceful
(B) convince.. unfeigned
(C) exorcise.. indulgent
(D) disabuse.. adamant
(E) free.. unsure

15. Although adolescent maturational and developmental states occur in an orderly sequence, their timing----with regard to onset and duration.
(A) lasts
(B) varies
(C) falters
(D) accelerates
(E) dwindles

16. Many of the earliest colonial houses that are still standing have been so modified and enlarged that the----design is no longer----.
(A) pertinent-relevant
(B) intended.. necessary
(C) embellished.. attractive
(D) appropriate.. applicable
(E) initial.. discernible

17. While the delegate clearly sought to----the optimism that has emerged recently, she stopped short of suggesting that the conference was near collapse and might produce nothing of significance.
(A) substantiate
(B) dampen
(C) encourage
(D) elucidate
(E) rekindle

18. The old man could not have been accused of----his affection; his conduct toward the child betrayed his----her.
(A) lavishing.. fondness for
(B) sparing.. tolerance of
(C) rationing.. antipathy for
(D) stinting.. adoration of
(E) promising.. dislike of

19. A leading chemist believes that many scientists have difficulty with stereochemistry because much of the relevant nomenclature is----, in that it combines concepts that should be kept----.
(A) obscure.. interrelated
(B) specialized.. intact
(C) subtle.. inviolate
(D) descriptive.. separate
(E) imprecise.. discrete

20. Among the many----of the project, expense cannot be numbered; the goals of the project's promoters can be achieved with impressive----.
(A) highlights.. efficiency
(B) features.. savings
(C) disadvantages.. innovation
(D) claims.. speed
(E) defects.. economy

21. Though science is often imagined as a-----exploration of external reality, scientists are no different from anyone else: they are----human beings enmeshed in a web of personal and social circumstances.
(A) fervent.. vulnerable
(B) neutral.. rational
(C) painstaking.. careless
(D) disinterested.. passionate
(E) cautious.. dynamic

22. Social scientists have established fairly clearcut----that describe the appropriate behavior of children and adults, but there seems to be----about what constitutes appropriate behavior for adolescents.
(A) functions.. rigidity
(B) estimates.. indirectness
(C) norms.. confusion
(D) regulations.. certainty
(E) studies.. misapprehension

23. As long as nations cannot themselves accumulate enough physical power to dominate all others, they must depend on----.
(A) allies
(B) resources
(C) freedom
(D) education
(E) self-determination

24. We realized that John was still young and impressionable, but were nevertheless surprised at his----.
(A) naivete
(B) obstinateness
(C) decisiveness
(D) ingeniousness
(E) resolve

25. Although Mount Saint Helens has been more----during the last 4,500 years than any other volcano in the coterminous United States, its long dormancy before its recent eruption----its violent nature.
(A) awe-inspiring.. restrained
(B) gaseous.. confirmed
(C) explosive.. belied
(D) familiar.. moderated
(E) volatile.. suggested

26. Changes of fashion and public taste are often--- and resistant to analysis, and yet they are among the most----gauges of the state of the public's collective consciousness.
(A) transparent.. useful
(B) ephemeral.. sensitive
(C) faddish.. underutilized
(D) arbitrary.. problematic
(E) permanent.. reliable

27. The poet W. H. Auden believed that the greatest poets of his age were almost necessarily irresponsible, that the possession of great gifts----the ----to abuse them.
(A) negates.. temptation
(B) controls.. resolution
(C) engenders.. propensity
(D) tempers.. proclivity
(E) obviates.. inclination

28. The self-important can of musicologists on record jackets often suggests that true appreciation of the music is an----process closed to the uninitiated listener, however enthusiastic.
(A) unreliable
(B) arcane
(C) arrogant
(D) elementary
(E) intuitive

GRE TEST 8 ANSWER KEY : BCECC EEDAB CCCDB EBDEE DCAAC BCB 


GRE TEST 9

1. Many artists believe that successful imitation, far from being symptomatic of a lack of----, is the first step in learning to be creative.
(A) elegance
(B) resolution
(C) goodness
(D) originality
(E) sympathy

2. As serious as she is about the bullfight, she does not allow respect to----her sense of whimsy when painting it.
(A) inspire
(B) provoke
(C) suppress
(D) attack
(E) satisfy

3. No one is----about Stephens; he inspires either uncritical adulation or profound----in those who work for him.
(A) neutral.. antipathy
(B) infuriated.. aversion
(C) worried.. anxiety
(D) enthusiastic.. veneration
(E) apprehensive.. consternation

4. Before about 1960, virtually all accounts of evolution assumed most adaptation to be a product of selection at the level of populations; recent studies of evolution, however, have found no----this----view of selection.
(A) departures from... controversial
(B) basis for.. pervasive
(C) bias toward.. unchallenged
(D) precursors of.. innovative
(E) criticisms of.. renowned

5. During periods of social and cultural stability, many art academies are so firmly controlled by----that all real creative work must be done by the----.
(A) dogmatists.. disenfranchised
(B) managers.. reactionaries
(C) reformers.. dissatisfied
(D) imposters.. academicians
(E) specialists.. elite

6. The First World War began in a context of jargon and verbal delicacy and continued in a cloud of----as----as language and literature, skillfully used, could make it.
(A) circumlocution.. literal
(B) cliche.. lucid
(C) euphemism.. impenetrable
(D) particularity.. deliberate
(E) subjectivity.. enthralling

7. Because no comprehensive----exist regarding personal reading practices, we do not know, for example, the greatest number of books read in an individual lifetime.
(A) records
(B) instincts
(C) remedies
(D) proposals
(E) commercials

8. In our corporation there is a----between male and female----because 73 percent of the men and 34 percent of the women polled believe that our company provides equal compensation to men and women.
(A) contrast.. stereotypes
(B) difference.. perceptions
(C) variation.. salaries
(D) resemblance.. employees
(E) similarity.. aspirations

9. The wonder of De Quincey is that although opium dominated his life, it never----him; indeed, he turned its use to----when he published the story of its influence in the London Magazine.
(A) overcame.. altruism
(B) intimidated.. triumph
(C) distressed.. pleasure
(D) conquered.. gain
(E) released.. necessity

10. The reduction of noise has been----in terms of ----its sources, but the alternative of canceling noise out by adding sound with the opposite wave pattern may be more useful in practice.
(A) justified.. diffusing
(B) accomplished.. tracking
(C) conceived.. concealing
(D) explained.. isolating
(E) approached.. eliminating

11. While Parker is very outspoken on issues she cares about, she is not----; she concedes the----of opposing arguments when they expose weaknesses inherent in her own.
(A) fickle.. validity
(B) arrogant.. restraint
(C) fanatical.. strength
(D) congenial.. incompatibility
(E) unyielding.. speciousness

12. Hampshire's assertions, far from showing that we can----the ancient puzzles about objectivity, reveal the issue to be even more----than we had thought.
(A) adapt.. pressing
(B) dismiss.. relevant
(C) rediscover.. unconventional
(D) admire.. elusive
(E) appreciate.. interesting

13. Usually the first to spot data that were inconsistent with other findings, in this particular experiments she let a number of----results slip by.
(A) inaccurate
(B) verifiable
(C) redundant
(D) salient
(E) anomalous

14. Psychology has slowly evolved into an----scientific discipline that now functions autonomously with the same privileges and responsibilities as other sciences.
(A) independent
(B) unusual
(C) outmoded
(D) uncontrolled
(E) inactive

15. A major goal of law, to deter potential criminals by punishing wrongdoers, is not served when the penalty is so seldom invoked that it----to be a ----threat.
(A) tends.. serious
(B) appears.. real
(C) ceases.. credible
(D) fails.. deceptive
(E) seems.. coercive

16. When people are happy, they tend to give----interpretations of events they witness: the eye of the beholder is----by the emotions of the beholder.
(A) charitable.. colored
(B) elaborate.. disquieted
(C) conscientious.. deceived
(D) vague.. sharpened
(E) coherent.. confused

17. Even those who disagreed with Carmen's views rarely faulted her for expressing them, for the positions she took were as----as they were controversial.
(A) complicated
(B) political
(C) subjective
(D) commonplace
(E) thoughtful

18. New research on technology and public policy focuses on how seemingly----design features, generally overlooked in most analyses of public works projects or industrial machinery, actually---social choices of profound significance.
(A) insignificant.. mask
(B) inexpensive.. produce
(C) innovative.. represent
(D) ingenious.. permit
(E) inopportune.. hasten

19. Paradoxically, Robinson's excessive denials of the worth of early works of science fiction suggest that she has become quite----them.
(A) reflective about
(B) enamored of
(C) skeptical of
(D) encouraged by
(E) offended by

20. Cezanne's delicate watercolor sketches often served as----of a subject, a way of gathering fuller knowledge before the artist's final engagement of the subject in an oil painting.
(A) an abstraction
(B) an enhancement
(C) a synthesis
(D) a reconnaissance
(E) a transcription

GRE TEST 9 ANSWER KEY: DCABA CABDE CBEAC AEABD