Sentence Completions - PSAT Critical Reading

For this sentence, the best way to consider the options is to consider the answer words in combination. While all of the pairs other than “overwrought, cajole” might seem acceptable, “demoralized, rouse” really works best, both in meaning and in grammatical form in the sentence. The general sense of the sentence is that the team lacks enthusiasm and that they cannot bring themselves to start the season. To this end, the couplet “demoralized, rouse” captures the meaning best. Although very old usages of “demoralize” indicate corruption of one’s morals, it now is generally used to indicate a lack of hope.

A number of the options provided for the first blank immediately contrast with the assertion that the old man did not intend any ill (e.g. “malevolent,” “malicious,” and “vindictive”). Likewise, there is nothing in the sentence implying that he was “dolorous,” that is, sad; therefore, the best option is “cantankerous . . . abide.” When someone is cantankerous, they might just be argumentative, not necessarily out of ill will. When one cannot “abide” something, he or she is said to be unable to tolerate its existence.

The sense of the sentence is that Sandy is continuing to accumulate expenses for care that is given after the surgery. Note that we cannot say anything specific about the care except the fact that it is implied to be after the surgery. Therefore, the best option for the second blank is “subsequent,” meaning “following after.” The word comes from Latin roots for “to follow” and is found in English words like “consequence,” “sequence,” and “antecede.” When one “incurs” something, he or she is subjected to that thing as a consequence of some former action, the incurred thing generally having a negative connotation.

For the first blank, we need to pick out an word that means something like messed up, since we know that after the virus affected the file, it resulted in the message being a "confused jumble of letters." Either "garbled" (having its meaning distorted) or "scrambled" (jumbled) could be correct. For the second blank, we know that people tried to read the file but could not, so we should look for an adjective that means something like unreadable. Either "incomprehensible" (not able to be understood) or "indecipherable" (not able to be read) could be correct; while "inconsiderate" also begins with the prefix "in-," "inconsiderate" means rude, so it cannot be the correct answer. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "garbled" and "incomprehensible" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "garbled . . . incomprehensible."

Let's start with the second blank. Since we know that the sprinkler system came on unexpectedly, we can guess that the cat got wet, so we should pick out an adjective that means something like soaked. Either "doused" (drenched) or "drenched" could work. For the first blank, we can guess that a wet cat wouldn't be too happy, so either "woeful" (sorrowful) or "miserable" (sad or uncomfortable) could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "woeful" and "doused" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "woeful . . . doused."

This question requires you to choose which of the answer pairs would most logically fit into the structure of the sentence. The first blank refers to an emotion felt by Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators in response to an action taken by the King’s guard that is described in the second blank. Most of the answer choices do not make logical sense, for example, Guy Fawkes would not be jubilant (which means ecstatic) to know his plans had been discovered. Nor would he be miserable to know his plans had been embellished (to add details or increase the beauty of something). The most logical answer is that Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators would be enraged (made angry) after the guards thwarted (to prevent someone’s plans from being fulfilled) their plans.

For the first blank, we need to pick out a word that means something like grew sad, because we know that Sally wanted to ride the roller coaster and assumed she could not because of the height restriction. Either "despaired" (gave up) or "saddened" (grew sad) could be correct. For the second blank, since we know that there no were exceptions to the height rule, either "compulsory" (obligatory) or "mandatory" (compulsory) could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "despaired" and "compulsory" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "despaired . . . compulsory."

For the first blank, we know that the subject of our sentence tried to use the same vocabulary as her favorite author, but found it awkward, so we can guess that she tried to mimic his style, and we need to pick out a verb that means something like "mimic." Either "emulate" or "imitate" could be correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out an adjective that describes what kind of vocabulary would have been popular in the 1700s but awkward to use today. Either "archaic" ("very old or old-fashioned" or when used of a word or a style of language, "no longer in everyday use but sometimes used to impart an old-fashioned flavor") or "outdated" could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "emulate" and "archaic" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "emulate . . . archaic."

In this sentence the only clue as to the meaning of the two blanks is the word “adequate.” The word adequate indicates that the British must have been able to cope with the uprisings. This in turns suggests that the Indian uprisings must have proved ineffectual. Futile and quell are the correct answers. Futile means unsuccessful or pointless and quell means to stop something. Undermine could have fit into the blank, but acceptable could not. The British would not want to support the uprising so you can eliminate that option; although, for the record, deleterious means harmful. Likewise, the British would not be likely to condone the uprising, as condone means to tolerate something immoral. Timid means shy and would not likely describe a rebellion.

For the first blank, we need to pick out a verb that describes how one would mark a rune into a stone. Either "inscribing" ("writing or carving words or symbols on something, especially as a formal or permanent record") or "carving" could be correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "able to be read" or "able to be understood." Either "legible" ("clear enough to read" and used with handwriting or print) or "readable" could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "inscribing" and "legible" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "inscribing . . . legible."

For the first blank, we need to pick out a word that describes how the pirates spent their money in a way that was not beneficial. Either "wasted" or "squandered" ("wasted something, especially money or time, in a reckless and foolish manner") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we know that the pirates wasted their money by buying the swords referred to because those swords were not sharpened. So, we need to pick out a word that means "not sharpened"; either "dull" (when used of a blade, "blunt") or "blunt" (when used of a blade, "having a worn-down edge or point; not sharp") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "squandered" and "blunt" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "squandered . . . blunt."

Here, the best option is to pay heed to the second blank. The scientist wants to make his competitor’s work seem "dubious," that is, doubtful; therefore, he would like to make its credibility questionable by the broader community. It is best to say that he wishes to “discredit” it. Regarding the first blank, we really are not told anything about the first scientist’s character in the sentence. This means that the best option is the one that merely states what we can imply from the rest of the sentence, namely, that he is a "\[competitor\]," or a "rival" scientist.

The implication of the sentence is that the speakers overpowered John’s voice to such an extend that those who were next to him could not hear him at all. On this count, his voice could be considered “inaudible,” meaning, “unable to be heard.” The “audible” portion of “inaudible,” is derived from the Latin root for “to hear,” and is found in other English words like “audio,” “audience,” and “auditorium.” The word render has a number of meanings. Here, it means “to make.”

For the first blank, we can infer that Hannah's teacher might assume that her claim "to have written three lab reports in a single evening" might be untrue, so we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "false" or "probably false." Either "doubtful" ("not known with certainty; improbable; not established as genuine or acceptable") or "dubious" ("not to be relied upon; suspect") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, the word is describing what Hannah's teacher will not be able to do to her story because it is true. So, we need to pick out a word that means something like "reject" or "prove false." Either "disprove" ("prove that something is false") or "debunk" ("expose the falseness or hollowness of a myth, idea, or belief") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "dubious" and "debunk" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "dubious . . . debunk."

For the first blank, because we know that Harry "apologized for his rude humor," we can guess that his joke was a borderline insult. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "similar to." Either "akin to" ("of similar character") or "equivalent to" ("having the same or a similar effect as") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a word that describes the emotion that Harry felt that prompted him to apologize; either "guilty" or "contrite" ("feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "akin to" and "contrite" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "akin to . . . contrite."

Because we know that Eleanor wrote a five page paper for an assignment "which was intended to be about two pages at the most," we can infer that we need to pick out an adjective for the first blank that means something like "too long" and can be applied to written works. Either "verbose" ("using or expressed in more words than are needed") or "wordy" ("using or expressed in too many words") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a verb that means something like "cut down on the size of," because we can infer that Eleanor's teacher would offer her tips on how to get rid of extraneous material, not on how to add more. Either "excise" ("cut out surgically" or "remove a section from a text or piece of music") or "trim" (" make (something) neat or of the required size or form by cutting away irregular or unwanted parts") could be potentially correct. Of the potentially correct answers we've identified, only "verbose" and "excise" appear in a single answer choice, so "verbose . . . excise" is the correct answer.

The correct answer identifies that government interference had very negative effects on personal liberty ("pernicious") and that as a result, the makers of the Constitution designed it to protect the rights of individuals ("safeguard"). The incorrect answers either mistake government interference as a positive factor ("anodyne" and "palliative") or wrongly assert that the Constitution limited rights ("degrade," "circumscribe," and "terminate").

For the first blank, we need to pick out a word that describes the nature of art works that can "\[fly\] through the air and \[travel\] across land with . . . complex moving parts." Either "kinetic" ("of, relating to, or resulting from motion," or of a work of art, "depending on movement for its effect") or "moving" could be correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a verb that describes how the crowd "point\[ed\] and star\[ed\] with open mouths and wide eyes." Either "marveled" ("was filled with wonder or astonishment") or "gaped" ("stared with one's mouth open wide, typically in amazement or wonder") could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "kinetic" and "marveled" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "kinetic . . . marveled."

We can infer that because Karen "stamp\[ed\] her foot, \[made\] annoyed noises, and demand\[ed\]" help with getting her kite back, she must have been angry. So, we need to pick out an adjective that means something like "angry" for the first blank. Either "frustrated" ("feeling or expressing distress and annoyance, especially because of inability to change or achieve something") or "irate" ("feeling or characterized by great anger") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we can infer that we need to pick out a verb that means something like "get back," because we know that Karen's intention was to get her kite back. Either "recover" ("find or regain possession of something stolen or lost" when used with an object) or "retrieve" ("get or bring something back; regain possession of") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "irate" and "retrieve" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "irate . . . retrieve."