Sentence Completions: Conjunctions and Sentence Logic

To "settle" for something means to become satisfied with it after your first option becomes unavailable or unattainable. Since Tania and her mom really want a dog, but decide they can't care for it, they "settle" for a cat. The other options do not adequately convey the idea of choosing your second best option.

Since the researcher disagrees with the skepticism of the scientists, she would be "optimistic" - hopeful and confident - about her experiments. None of the other answer choices make sense in the sentence's context: "indifferent" means apathetic, "doubtful" means skeptical, "expressive" means expressing emotion, and "poor" means lacking money.

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.

The speaker here is saying that the group's old plan is not working for them and as a result they need to come up with a new one. The correct answer is therefore "formulate" because that means come up with, develop. To provide further help, "inundate" means flood, overwhelm; "eradicate" means get rid of; "dominate" means take control over; "replicate" means copy.

The speaker of this sentence is an immigrant living in America. Based on the context of this sentence you know that the correct answer must mean something like removed from the country for committing a crime. The correct answer is therefore "deported." To provide further help, "daunted" means frightened, intimidated; "exhumed" means dug up, as in dug up a corpse; "infected" means made sick; "reinstated" means brought back, allowed to rejoin something.

There are two important clues in this sentence. First of all, notice that the sentence begins with "in contrast with." Therefore, what follows in the main clause will be contrasted with the robust health that Sebastian had in his youth. Notice, however, that this is not a matter of being healthy or sick (in the sense of having diseases or other directly health-related issues). Instead, the sentence states that he could not perform many tasks at all. This means that he is now weak—perhaps because of disease but perhaps merely because of age. The only option that expresses weakness is "feeble."

The key words in this sentence are "determined" and "despite." These words indicate that Li is facing an obstacle. We can infer that an obstacle to finishing a race would be poor weather conditions. "Adverse" means not ideal, which fits the sentence. "Averse" means against and "inverse" means opposite.

Because the subject of this sentence had a large amount of money (“a fortune”) but was later reduced to poverty, it can be determined that he must have wasted, or “squandered,” his fortune. “Invested” means spend money with the expectation of making more money back; “throttled” means strangled; “uttered” means spoke; and “adorned” means decorated with.

The subject of this sentence has made an assumption that he is above average at basketball; however, the author’s use of the word “but” suggests that the subject’s assumption was incorrect and that he is in fact average or below average. When someone is considered average in a negative way, we call them “mediocre.” So, the correct answer is “mediocrity.” To provide further help, “supremacy” means dominance; “ascendency” means rising up or improving; “misery” means great sadness; and “frivolity” means playfulness.

The parallel in this sentence is between being "horrible" and whatever it is that bribes do not necessarily do to politicians. To become horrible or morally bad is to become "corrupted." This is much better than "wealthy," as the sentence is not focusing directly on the wealth gained by some politicians; it is focused on the overall negative impact of political life on their character. This is best noted by "corrupted." Note also that the sentence does not necessarily say that they become tyrants—though political corruption might in fact lead to that.