B. ephemeral - designs C. trivial - purchases D. impermanent - furnishings E. innovative - pictures
12. The subtle shades of meaning, and still subtler echoes of association, make language an instrument which scarcely anything short of genius can wield with ____ and ____ .
A. confidence - aloofness B. definiteness - certainty C. sincerity - hope D. conservatism - alacrity E. eloquence - ruthlessness SAT Sentence Completion Test 5
1. To reach Simonville, the traveller needs to drive with extreme caution along the ____ curves of the mountain road that climbs ____ to the summit.
A. serpentine - steeply B. jagged - steadily C. gentle - precipitously D. shady - steadily E. hair-raising - languidly
2. The cricket match seemed ____ to our guests; they were used to watching sports in which the action is over in a couple of hours at the most.
A. unintelligible B. inconsequential C. interminable D. implausible E. evanescent
3. Our present accountant is most ____ ; unlike the previous _____ incumbent, he has never made a mistake in all the years that he has worked for the firm.
A. unorthodox - heretical B. dependable - assiduous C. punctilious - painstaking D. asinine - diligent E. meticulous - unreliable
4. The refugee's poor grasp of English is hardly an _____ problem; she can attend classes and improve within a matter of months.
A. implausible B. insuperable C. inconsequential
D. evocative E. injudicious
5. We appreciated his ____ summary of the situation; he wasted no words yet delineated his position most ____ .
A. comprehensive : inadequately B. succinct : direfully C. cogent : persuasively D. verbose : concisely E. grandiloquent : eloquently
6. His musical tastes are certainly ____ ; he has recordings ranging from classical piano performances to rock concerts, jazz and even Chinese opera.
A. antediluvian B. eclectic C. harmonious D. sonorous E. dazzling
7. I cannot conclude this preface without ____ that an early and untimely death should have prevented Persius from giving a more finished appearance to his works.
A. rejoicing B. lamenting C. affirming D. commenting E. mentioning
8. Before his marriage the Duke had led an austere existence and now regarded the affectionate, somewhat ____ behavior of his young wife as simply ____ .
A. restrained - despicable B. childish - elevating C. playful - sublime D. frivolous - puerile E. unpleasant - delightful
9. Wilson ____ that human beings inherit a tendency to feel an affinity and awe for other living things, in the same way that we are ____ to be inquisitive or to protect our young at all costs.
A. argues - encouraged B. maintains - trained C. contends - predisposed D. fears - taught
E. demurs - genetically programmed
10. The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of ____ smells and of oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills.
A. fragrant B. evocative C. dolorous D. resonant E. fetid
11. There have been great ____ since his time, but few others have felt so strongly the ____ of human existence.
A. pessimists - futility B. skeptics - exaltation C. heretics - sagacity D. optimists - tremulousness E. cynics - joy
12. While war has never been absent from the ____ of man, there have been periods in History which appear remarkably ____.
A. archives - ambivalent B. posterity - serene C. mind - desultory D. annals - pacific E. life - belligerent 1.Correct Answer: A Explanation:
Clue: Since the driver needs extreme caution, the road must be dangerous. Therefore, the curves could be serpentine, and the road could climb steeply.
(serpentine = highly curved; jagged = having rough edges; precipitously = steeply; languidly = in a relaxed manner)
2.Correct Answer: C Explanation:
Clue: The part after the semicolon gives the clue. It states that they were used to watching things that get over fast, and therefore the cricket match seemed interminable (never ending). None of the other words is about the time factor except ‘evanescent’ which means short-lived and would not fit the sense.
(inconsequential = unimportant; implausible = cannot be believed) 3.Correct Answer: E Explanation:
Clue: ‘unlike’ indicates that the two men are opposites. Since the present accountant has never made a mistake, he is dependable or punctilious or meticulous whereas the previous
person was unreliable. Thus, the choice for the second blank fixes the word for the first, and we choose meticulous.
(unorthodox = heretical = opposed to tradition or orthodoxy; punctilious = painstaking = meticulous = diligent; asinine = stupid)
4.Correct Answer: B Explanation:
Clue: Since the refugee can improve rapidly, her poor English is not a major problem. It can be overcome, and is therefore not an insuperable problem.
(implausible = cannot be believed; insuperable = cannot be overcome; inconsequential = unimportant; evocative = drawing out ideas etc.; injudicious = unwise)
5.Correct Answer: C Explanation:
Clue: Since the part of the sentence after the semicolon indicates he ‘wasted no words’, he could be succinct or cogent. We also need a positive word for the second blank since we appreciated his summary. Therefore we eliminate ‘direfully’, and choose persuasively.
(succinct = short and well expressed; direfully = dreadfully; cogent = clear and persuasive; verbose = using too many words; concise = short and to the point; grandiloquent = pretentious; eloquent = able to speak well)
6.Correct Answer: B Explanation:
Clue: The second part of the sentence explains or amplifies the part before the semicolon. Since his recordings range widely, his tastes could be described as wide-ranging, or eclectic.sat
(eclectic = taking things from diverse sources; antediluvian = old fashioned; sonorous = full of sound)
7.Correct Answer: B Explanation:
Clue: The sentence states that the early death of Persius prevented him from properly finishing his work, hence it is likely that the author of the preface would regret (lament) that fact. [Note that the tone of the sentence is important; positive words would not fit the sense. Also ‘commenting’ or ‘mentioning’ might fit if it were not for the word ‘should’ - you cannot say that you ‘comment that something should prevent someone’.+
(lament = express regret) 8.Correct Answer: D Explanation:
Clue: The behavior of the wife is described as ‘affectionate’ and so we require a word of similar weight for the first blank.
Hence we eliminate ‘restrained’ and ‘unpleasant’. Also the Duke is described as ‘austere’ and is unlikely to approve of affectionate behavior. And so from the remaining choices we choose the negative word puerile.
(frivolous = non-serious; sublime = awe-inspiring; puerile = childish) 9.Correct Answer: C Explanation:
Clue: The words ‘in the same way’ shows that we are looking for parallel ideas. Hence, if we ‘inherit’ a certain tendency, then, in the same way, we will inherit another tendency. Either ‘predisposed’ or ‘genetically programmed’ would fit. But since the latter is paired with ‘demurs’ which means hesitates or refuses, this is inappropriate. Contends, which means ‘argues’ is a better choice.
10.Correct Answer: E Explanation:
Clue: The words ‘reek and corruption’ tell us that the pond is full of decay. Hence, bad smelling or fetid is the best choice.
(evocative = reminiscent; dolorous = sad; resonant = echoing) 11.Correct Answer: A Explanation:
Clue: The sentence structure indicates that whatever quality the person has, is stronger in him than in others. So, a negative for the first blank will require a negative for the second.
Therefore, we can take pessimist (one who imagines the worst), because he would feel the futility of human existence.
(futility = pointlessness; skeptics = people who doubt; exaltation = joy; heretics = people who speak out against orthodoxy; sagacity = wisdom; tremulousness = hesitation; cynics = people who do not believe in the goodness of human nature)
12.Correct Answer: D Explanation:
Clue: ‘While’ here indicates that something opposite follows. So, while war has never been entirely absent, there have been some periods that appear remarkably peaceful. Hence, ‘serene’ or ‘pacific’ might suit the second blank. But serene is coupled with ‘posterity’, which means ‘future generations’ and so does not fit.
(archives = documents or stored records; ambivalent = vague; serene = peaceful; desultory = intermittent; annals = records or chronicles; pacific = peaceful; belligerent = aggressive)
SAT阅读Sentence Completion习题 6
1. The crew of the air balloon ____ the sand bags to help the balloon rise over the hill. A. capsized B. jettisoned C. salvaged
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