Sentence Completions: Context Clues - ISEE Middle Level Verbal Reasoning

The word "document" can be used as a verb to indicate the act of recording information. "Documentation" is the product of such recording. Clearly, the boss wants to have a clear record of any accidents. This means that he would like to see careful documentation of them. While "writing" might be tempting, the sentence is more specifically talking about the kind of writing involved in reporting. Thus, "documentation" is much better than "writing."

We can infer from the sentence's context that we need to pick out a word for the first blank that means something like "not realistic," because the type of art that the blank describes is being contrasted against "art which clearly depicts recognizable figures and objects." Given that, the best answer choice is "amorphous," an adjective that means "without a clearly defined shape or form."

There are two facts in this sentence that will help you get the correct answer. The first is the fact that George is intelligent. Therefore, it is not the case that his low grades can be blamed on stupidity or something of that sort. The second hint is that he is said to show "laziness." This seems to indicate that he lacks a work ethic for his school work. This means that he likely is not very "motivated" to work. Therefore, of the options provided, this is the best. It is related to words for "motion." Motivation leads someone to do something—it moves him or her to do it.

Do not read into a sentence more than is provided by the given words. We are told nothing about how the child was warned about placing his or her hand on the stove. Perhaps the person is warning gently or, perhaps, very loudly and even nastily. What we do know, however, is that the child is placing his or her hand on the stove multiple times. This is hinted at by the words "once again." Therefore, it would seem that the warnings happened many times as well. Among our options this is the only real possibility. Therefore, the best answer is "repeated."

This sentence only discusses the fact of police gathering information in a general sense. It does not tell us whether they gathered it on paper, film, computer, or anything else. We can only tell that they came in order to gather such data. This means that they examined the data, perhaps gathering various kinds of details for their investigation—photographs, written testimony, audio testimony, etc. The most we can say is that they came to "look into" the details, that is, to "examine" them.

This sentence is a case of increasing intensity. The words "not merely . . . but instead" indicate that some people are not just unhappy. They are indeed very unhappy. To be "miserable" is to be extremely unhappy. This is the best choice for expressing a great degree of unhappiness.

In a storm it is logical that people onboard a boat would be worried about the boat turning over in the water and possibly sinking. The correct answer then is "capsize" which means (of a ship) to turn over in the water. To provide further help, "smitten" means in love with; "economize" means make a decision that will save money; "aggrandize" means increase power, wealth, or status; "elevate" means rise up.

There are no clues in this sentence to help you answer this question other than that it must be very impressive for the driver to win the race having begun so far behind. It becomes necessary to plug words in to see which best fits. The correct answer is “scintillating,” because this means brilliant, bright and impressive, and amazing. “Horizontal” means level with the horizon or oriented in this direction; “divergent” means different, going separate ways, or fragmenting; “egregious” means appalling or terrible; and “deplorable” means deserving of hatred and disgust.

You are told that the subject of this sentence was "suffering dramatically" in the heat. The correct answer must therefore reflect that intensity. "Sweltering" means extremely and uncomfortably hot. To provide further help, "obdurate" means stubborn; "frivolous" means pointless; "nimble" means agile, flexible and capable of quick movement; "ambidextrous" means equally skilled at using either the right or left hand.

The use of the words "critical" and "scathing" (harsh, critical, attacking) provide you with the necessary information to solve this problem. Newspaper articles usually should contain no bias or strong judgment, except in "editorials" in which a newspaper's editor is free to express subjectivity and opinion. If the article was "critical" and "scathing" it must have been an editorial.

If the girl kept "turning heads" it makes sense that she looked beautiful, attractive, or "gorgeous." To provide further help, "chivalrous" means noble, honorable; "frantic" means rushed, stressed; "vengeful" means seeking revenge for some wrong done to you; "grumpy" means in a bad mood, moody.

Pay attention to the words used in this sentence: "smell," "spices," and "restaurant" all refer to food. A "pungent" smell is very intense, and could lead to people in a restaurant stepping outside for a break. While the word "hateful" may be used in this context, "pungent" is more commonly tied to very stong smells, which is what is being referred to here with the words "smell," "spices," and "restaurant." "Flavorful" and "pleasant" describe something good as opposed to bad, and "unquestionable" does not fit in this context.

If something you read or listen to offends you, what does it do or sound like? While a "humorous" or "serious" piece of writing may offend some people, more people are likely to be offended by "abrasiveness" (which is, by definition, not pleasant) than by humor or seriousness. An "abrasive" tone means overly aggressive in how it addresses its audience, which the article described in the sentence clearly is, since all students felt offended upon reading it. The sentence is looking for a negative word as opposed to a positive one like "cheerful" or "pleasant."

If the author is "thankful" and the girl made a "complete recovery" then the poison must not have been deadly, likely to cause death, or "lethal." To provide further help, "superb" means excellent; "paltry" means small, an insufficiently little amount of something; "hilarious" means very funny; "muddled" means confused.

In order to appear to have disappared, the rabbit must be hidden from sight under the table. The correct answer is "concealed," which is a synonym of "hidden." None of the other answer choices make sense in the sentence's context: "discovered," when used as an adjective, is an antonym of "concealed" and means revealed or exposed; "compiled" means put together; "drenched" means soaked; and "visible" is another antonym of "concealed," and means able to be seen.

Since the book received something that is the opposite of rejection from some critics, the correct choice is "acclaim", which means praise. None of the other answer choices have anything to do with the sentence's context: "frenzy" means panic, "parapet" refers to a short wall that encloses a raised part of a building, "lull" means pause or respite, and "criticism" means censure or denunciation.

From the context of the sentence, you know that the blank word must describe the king’s lack of mercy and compassion. The correct answer is therefore “ruthless," which means showing no mercy or violent. To help you, "benevolent" means good-natured, "supple" means flexible, "intelligent" means smart, and "gregarious" means sociable.

The sentence suggests that the author is feeling nervous walking home alone at night. The answer choice that most closely resembles nervous is “wary,” which means nervous and cautious. To further help you, "enamored" means in love with; "passive" means restrained or not aggressive; "rage" means anger; "effusive" means demonstrative.

The situation described in the second clause is very negative, which means the blank word must mean something opposite to the negative situation. The correct answer is "ideal,” which means perfect. To further help you, "fruitful" and "abundant" are two words that both describe something there is plenty of.

Clearly, this sentence is contrasting Albert's method of working with the unmethodological approach taken by his peers. When someone works "with a method" (or "methodologically"), he or she works with a plan and procedure. The so-called scientific method has its name because it describes a procedure for arriving at scientific truths. If Albert's peers are "unmethodical," he must be "methodical." This means that he works "systematically" or according to a plan.