Sentence Completions

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ISEE Lower Level Verbal Reasoning › Sentence Completions

Questions 1 - 10
1

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The government's __________ handling of the crisis made things much worse.

inept

adept

brisk

shrewd

competent

Explanation

If the government's handling of the situation made things much worse than it could probably best be described as incompetent, lacking skill. So, the correct answer is "inept," which means having little skill, demonstrating a lack of ability. Additionally, "adept" means skilled and is an antonym of "inept." Finally, "brisk" means quick, fast-paced; "competent" means capable of doing, good enough at something; "shrewd" means wise, crafty and smart.

2

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The government's __________ handling of the crisis made things much worse.

inept

adept

brisk

shrewd

competent

Explanation

If the government's handling of the situation made things much worse than it could probably best be described as incompetent, lacking skill. So, the correct answer is "inept," which means having little skill, demonstrating a lack of ability. Additionally, "adept" means skilled and is an antonym of "inept." Finally, "brisk" means quick, fast-paced; "competent" means capable of doing, good enough at something; "shrewd" means wise, crafty and smart.

3

Sentence completions: Fill in the blank(s) to complete the sentence.

My grandfather lost an arm in the war, but despite missing a __________, he was easily the best golfer in our family.

limb

sole

skeleton

nose

brain

Explanation

“Limb” is a name given to arms and legs. To further help you, "sole" is the name of the bottom of your feet; "skeleton" is the collection of bones that make up a body.

4

Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.

Maria ran back into her house to get her umbrella when she noticed the sky looked ___________.

gloomy

bright

hot

sunny

Explanation

The correct answer is "gloomy." "Gloomy" means dark or dismal, so when describing the sky, it can mean that it looks like it is going to rain. "Bright" and "sunny" are opposites of the correct answer, and "hot" does not make sense in this sentence.

5

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The fruit was rotten so I had to __________ it.

discard

announce

ponder

haul

annihilate

Explanation

If food was "rotten" (spoiled, no longer edible) then it makes sense that the speaker would have to throw it away. The correct answer then is "discard" which means throw away, get rid of. Additionally, "haul" means carry or transport over long distances; "announce" means say publicly; "annihilate" means completely destroy; "ponder" means think about.

6

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The new statue was quite __________, drawing the attention of almost everyone who walked through the park.

intriguing

massive

expensive

profound

determined

Explanation

All that we know about the statue is that it is drawing people's attention. It might have been very "expensive," or it might have been very large ("massive"); however, we just don't know those details. All that we know is that the statue seems to be very interesting. When something is "intriguing," it draws attention and interest. Among the options provided, the word "intriguing" is the only one that expresses this general idea of being interesting.

7

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Marshall was __________ to discover that he scored poorly on his math exam, given that he had studied extensively and done very well on practice tests.

shocked

annoyed

outraged

unimpressed

horrified

Explanation

Given the context of the sentence, we know that Marshall had studied a lot for his test, and scored well on practice exams, but still scored poorly. This difference between his expectations and reality would cause him to be very surprised, or "shocked." While he might be upset, the words "outraged" and "horrified" are too strong, and "annoyed" is too weak. "Unimpressed" is not appropriate. Therefore, "surprised" is the best answer.

8

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Bill owed his friend some money, when Bill did not pay this led to a(n) __________.

dispute

accord

vague

demonstration

frequent

Explanation

Bill owes his friend some money, but does not pay him. From this information you can determine that this would likely lead to an argument or a fight. The correct answer is therefore "dispute" which means argument, a disagreement over something. To provide further help, "frequent" means happening often; "accord" means agreement; "vague" means unclear; a "demonstration" is a protest, a showing of some thing or some feeling.

9

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

The new statue was quite __________, drawing the attention of almost everyone who walked through the park.

intriguing

massive

expensive

profound

determined

Explanation

All that we know about the statue is that it is drawing people's attention. It might have been very "expensive," or it might have been very large ("massive"); however, we just don't know those details. All that we know is that the statue seems to be very interesting. When something is "intriguing," it draws attention and interest. Among the options provided, the word "intriguing" is the only one that expresses this general idea of being interesting.

10

Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.

Bill owed his friend some money, when Bill did not pay this led to a(n) __________.

dispute

accord

vague

demonstration

frequent

Explanation

Bill owes his friend some money, but does not pay him. From this information you can determine that this would likely lead to an argument or a fight. The correct answer is therefore "dispute" which means argument, a disagreement over something. To provide further help, "frequent" means happening often; "accord" means agreement; "vague" means unclear; a "demonstration" is a protest, a showing of some thing or some feeling.

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