One-Blank Sentences - PSAT Critical Reading

Since the sentence specifically mentions that Robert is dehydrated, it is best to choose the answer that best describes the removal of said condition. When one “slakes” his or her thirst, he or she quenches it or satisfies it. Although the word is distantly related to the notion of “slackening” (as in loosening), it is most often used to describe the act of quenching or reducing thirst.

The key phrase is “in the hopes of dissuading buyers from purchasing.” Since the city wishes to reduce purchasing, it is safe to think that it wishes likewise to reduce consumption. When something is “curtailed” it is reduced or restricted.

"Avow" means to declare openly. The sentence provides the exact definition of the correct answer choice, making this question a quiz of the test-taker’s vocabulary. If you know the definition of “avow,” you’ll be quick to choose the correct answer.

The sentence implies that the employees were left to their own devices after the incident in question, and “marooned” means to be left isolated and alone and without means of escape. “Marooned” is the correct word choice to describe the feelings of the employees.

We can infer that the sentence's subject walks around both aimlessly (because he does not "\[walk\] immediately to a destination") and clumsily (because he "often trip\[s\] over his own shoelaces or run\[s\] into stationary objects on the way"). So, we need to pick out a verb for the blank that means something like "walk aimlessly and clumsily." "Bumbling," a verb that can mean moving or speaking in a clumsy way, is the best answer because it best fits the context of the sentence.

From the second part of the sentence you know that Adam’s advisors were given him some form of advice; this means the blank has to mean to give advice. The correct answer is counseled. Exacerbate mean to exaggerate; audited means to check efficiency or finances; deplored means to find something unacceptable; mitigated means to have partly excused an offense.

This question involves a small amount of critical thinking on your part. Although it might be possible that the priest would reward, commend, revile or accept the boys for their troublesome behavior it does not seem particularly logical. The SAT will never trick you in this manner; the most reasonable answer choice will always be the correct one. In this instance the correct answer is sermonized which means to lecture someone about their behavior.

Although one might say that Bob is stealing from his parents, the sentence only uses language of using without payment. When someone relies upon another party without giving anything in return, such a person is often called a “leech” from the name for the small worm that often lives by sucking fluid from a host organism. This is what Bob is doing, at least with regard to his parents’ housing, utilities, and food.

The key word is in the second half of the sentence, namely “convince.” The implication is that the family was trying to convince Carol not to drink heavily. It was not attempting to force her to stop. The word literally means “to convince away from.” The “dis-” prefix can mean “away from” or some other form of reversal of an action. It is thus used in words like “disease” and “dismay.” The “-suade” portion of the word comes from the Latin for “to urge or recommend.” Related English words are “persuade” and “persuasive.”

Since it was not very cold, the two blankets presumably were sufficient for warming Raul that evening. That is, they “did the job” well enough, given the circumstances. When something “suffices,” it meets the needs of a given situation. Given that the sentence stresses the fact that it was not extremely cold, this is the best option, as it conveys the sense implied in remarks comparing the number of blankets to the moderate weather.

The key phrase in this sentence is “into a single list.” The idea conveyed by this is the act of gathering; therefore, the notions of publishing or announcing are not correct. When things are “garnered,” they are gathered together. The word is distantly derived from the Latin for “grain.” To memorize the word, one can think of “garnering” things into a “granary.”

When you first read the sentence without looking at the options, the sense of the blank is that the argument is “based” on one shaky assumption. The sense of “shaky” is unreliable—a secondary but legitimate use of the word. It would be a stretch to refer to the assumption as being “unstable” on that assumption. The best option is that which conveys the sense of “founding” or “basing.” The word “premised” is the verb form of the noun “premise.” A “premise” to an argument is a statement upon which later parts of the argument are based. One can say that when an argument is “based” on a given assumption, it is “premised” upon it.

The key phrase in this sentence is “eliminating extraneous concerns.” When someone “cuts out” extra content, he or she helps to show the exact boundaries of a problem or question. The word “delimit” means to set the limits or boundaries of. Here, such delimitation is being done by selecting the specific questions to be asked, thus setting the appropriate limits for research into the problem.

By using the word “instead,” this sentence is establishing a contrast between responding to others’ desires and the word that is needed to answer the question. When someone “anticipates” something, he or she considers it before it happens (as opposed to responding to it once it happens). Based on its Latin roots, the word literally means “to take beforehand.” The “anti-” prefix does not mean “against.” Instead, it is a form of “ante-”, meaning “before.” The title, “the Antebellum South,” is used to describe the southern states in the United States before the civil war. (Bellum here means “war.”) The “-cipate” part of the word is related to a number of words like “capture,” “participate,” and “emancipate.”

The key phrase in this sentence is “so that no aspect would be misunderstood.” Aaron’s presentation must be comprehensive and understandable, reviewing every detail of the project in a manner that is clear. When someone “articulates” a position, he or she explains it in a clear manner, making all necessary distinctions. The word comes from the Latin for “joint,” so to articulate something is to “cut it at its joints” (that is, at its smallest separable parts).

The sense of this sentence is that it was necessary for all six people to work together on this project (in order to bring all of their talents to bear on its various aspects). When people work together on something, they are said to “collaborate,” which literally means “to work together.” The “col-” prefix is really the “cum-” or “con-” prefix meaning “together” or “with,” as is found in “cumulative” and “congregation;” however, here, it alters to fit with the “l” of “-laborated.” In this regard, think or “collect.” The second part of the word is derived from the Latin for “to work” and is found in English words like “labor” and “laborious.”

Since the sentence states that the principle did his action “in order to prevent” the damages from gum, it is safe to say that he did not merely consider the permission or even “scrutinize” (look carefully at) it. The sense conveyed is that he no longer allowed this permitted act. When someone “revokes” something, he or she literally “calls it back.” The word comes from the prefix “re-”, here used in the sense of “back,” and the “-voke” portion, which means “to call or name.” The latter is found in words like “invoke,” “invocation,” and “provoke.”

The most important aspect of this sentence is the professor's suspicion of the student's essay. The correct answer needed to convert some sense of wrongdoing. "Plagiarism," the taking of credit for someone else's writing or work, is the only answer choice with such a sense.

This question is an example of finding the best fit among the answer choices, not just a word that makes sense in the sentence, which all the answer choices do. The inclusion of "previously unknown" in the sentence indicate that the correct answer has some meaning of fame for achievements, which is the definition of "renown."