Conjunctions and Sentence Logic in Word-Based Sentence Completions - ISEE Lower Level Verbal Reasoning

If the volcano one day erupted, but previously had not been erupting, then it must have been inactive for a period of time. The correct answer is therefore "dormant." Other synonyms of "dormant" include sleeping, resting, inactive. Additionally, "antagonized" means annoyed and provoked into a conflict; "profitable" means capable of making money, in the process of making money; "intelligent" means smart, clever; "addicted" means unable to stop doing something.

You can immediately eliminate "suspected" because the sentence would be structured "He suspected his favorite football team would win . . . " The only other answer choice that makes sense is "expected" which means think will happen. Additionally, "suspected" means have an idea that something is true; "inspected" means analyzed, looked at, examined; "respected" means admired, widely believed to be impressive; "assisted" means helped.

If people always listened to what the old man had to say it makes sense that his opinion was considered important, of great meaning and significance. So, the correct answer is "weighty." "Weighty" can also mean heavy when used to describe an object. Additionally, "jaunty" means happy and cheerful; "jarred" means disturbed, shocked; "infirm" means sick; "foolhardy" means foolish, stupid, silly.

To start with "inaccessible" means unable to be accessed, unable to be used. The fact that the people had to go down the ladder provides sufficient information to solve this problem. To "descend" means to go down something. Whereas, "ascend" means to go up something. Additionally, "exclaim" means cry out, shout, say loudly; "endanger" means put in danger; "slither" means slide over a surface.

You are told that the subject is always making decisions without thinking about the consequences. The adjective used to describe him must reflect this aspect of his personality. The correct answer is therefore "brash," which means arrogant, cocksure, bold, not modest. Additionally, "cheerful" means happy; "impartial" means not biased, able to judge fairly; "adhesive" means sticky; "wealthy" means rich.

Based on the context and structure of this sentence the correct answer must mean something like incapable of dying, living forever. So, the correct answer is "immortal" which means not mortal, not capable of dying. Additionally, "profitable" means making money, making a profit; "precise" means exact, accurate; "momentous" means of great importance, very significant; "independent" means free, not tied down by responsibilities, not controlled by others.

The children felt excited for dinner so the thing coming from the kitchen was most likely the smell of dinner. The correct answer is therefore "aroma" which means smell, scent. Additionally, "melody" means tune, song; "discord" is disagreement, argument; an "outlier" is a piece of data that is unique within a set of data , something strange and separate from the usual; an "omen" is a warning about the future.

You are told that the best man did not really prepare for the speech and that whatever quality it had was therefore surprising. If the best man had not prepared one might expect his speech to be disorganized and poorly spoken. So, the adjective used to describe his speech must be positive and reflect how he surprised the audience. The correct answer is therefore "eloquent" which means well spoken. Additionally, "feigned" means faked, pretended; "incompetent" means not able to do something, not good enough, not capable; "rabid" means extreme, overly passionate; "spiritual" means relating to religion, or relating to the human soul.

The context of this sentence, and the use of the conjunction "but," suggests that this man changed over the course of his lifetime. Once he had been arrogant and full of energy, so the correct answer must mean something like the opposite of these two words. The correct answer is therefore "mellow" which means relaxed, good-natured, and calm. Additionally, "frantic" means rushed, anxious, and stressed; "toxic" means poisonous; "uncouth" means vulgar, rude; "derelict" means in a very bad condition, falling apart.

Based on the structure of this sentence you are looking for the answer choice that means easily lit on fire. The correct answer is therefore "inflammable." Due to a strange quirk of the English language both "flammable" and "inflammable" mean easily set on fire. Based on normal rules you would expect "inflammable" to mean "not flammable," but this is not the case. Additionally, "inflexible" means not flexible, not bendy; "irresponsible" means not responsible; "implacable" means unable to be placated, unable to be soothed, unforgiving; "irredeemable" means not able to be redeemed, not able to be saved or forgiven.

The subject of this sentence wants to change how well he fits in at school, so it makes sense that he would feel the need to change his appearance. You are therefore looking for the answer choice that means change, alter. So, the correct answer is "modify." Additionally, "ransack" means to search through carelessly and quickly; "reconcile" means make peace with; "deviate" means turn away from, diverge from; "contradict" means argue against.

Based on the context clues in this sentence, we can guess that Ronald didn't realize that the temperature was dropping. As someone who is naturally warm, he probably thought the house was just about the same. Therefore, the implication is that he didn't even think that others might be cold. That means that he likely did not realize it. He was not aware of it.

The sentence talks about how the world is changing and complex. This implies that people rarely "settle" on one political opinion. While this means that people may not be happy with their opinions, we really can't say much about happiness, given our clues. We must be as vague as the sentence itself is. Therefore, the best option is merely "certain." To be "certain" is to be sure and settled about something. This is as much as you can say for this sentence.

This sentence implies that Daniel's accomplishments are not very extraordinary. They are just like everyone else's accomplishments. This means that they are not very impressive. Perhaps he has done some very good things. Still, they just don't "stand out."

The sentence implies that the image in the window was not what it appeared to be. For this reason, the best option is "illusion." When something is an "illusion," it appears to be one thing while being another. Often, we speak of "optical illusions." These are just a particular kind of illusion, namely one that we see with our eyes. (Indeed, in this sentence, the illusion is optical!)

The key thing to notice is the fact that the nation has changed "from" being a foe "to" its current status. Thus, you should pick an option that best expresses this contrast to being a foe. It is for this reason that "ally" is the best option. An "ally" is someone who has friendly relations with another group. Thus, to go from being a foe to being an ally means that someone goes from being an enemy to being a friend. This is the best option among those given.

This sentence is contrasting two things. The second item in the contrast is explicitly stated. It is the effect that showed itself after several days. In contrast to such a delayed effect, an "immediate" effect is one that shows itself right away.

The use of the word "but" is crucial to solving this problem. "But" is used to change the direction of a sentence, to cause it to mean the opposite, so in this instance if the girl is twenty minutes late she must usually not be late. The correct answer is therefore "prompt" which means on time, quick, not delayed or late. Additionally, "dogged" means determined and hard-working; "delayed" means late, halted, paused; "miserable" means very sad; "perilous" means dangerous.

The use of the conjunction "despite" tells you that the day in question did not live up to the "hype" (excitement). The day must therefore have been devoid of action, boring and normal. The correct answer is therefore "uneventful." Something that is described as "uneventful" is something mundane that is not interesting. Additionally, "giddy" means light-headed and dizzy or excited; "optional" means not required, a choice; "insolent" means rude and obnoxious; "degraded" means treated with disrespect and made to feel worthless.