Card 0 of 96
Which of the following words best completes the sentence below in an appropriate tone and connotation?
Between the rain that forced everyone inside with muddy clothes, the pastor calling her by the wrong name, and the fight that broke out between the groomsmen, Becky could only describe her wedding day as _______.
Note that, by the context of the sentence, none of the things that happened could be considered good things in Becky’s mind, so the word that fills in the blank cannot have a positive connotation - it must be negative or at least neutral. “Exciting,” “exceptional,” and “exhilarating” all have positive connotations, whereas “eventful” is neutral.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Which of the following words best completes the sentence below in an appropriate tone and connotation?
Her friends admire that Amanda is so __________, constantly jumping between new hobbies and projects and happy to change directions at any moment.
We know that her friends admire this quality in Amanda, so we’re looking for a word with a positive connotation. “Unplanned,” “disorganized,” and “haphazard” all have negative connotations, but “spontaneous” is positive, so that is your correct answer.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Adapted from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883)
He was a very silent man by custom. All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope; all evening he sat in a corner of the parlor next the fire and drank rum and water very strong. Mostly he would not speak when spoken to, only look up sudden and fierce and blow through his nose like a fog-horn; and we and the people who came about our house soon learned to let him be. Every day when he came back from his stroll he would ask if any seafaring men had gone by along the road.
I was far less afraid of the captain than anybody else who knew him. There were nights when he would sometimes sit and sing his wicked, old, wild sea-songs, minding nobody; but sometimes he would call for glasses round and force all the trembling company to listen to his stories or bear a chorus to his singing. His stories were what frightened people worst of all. Dreadful stories they were—about hanging, and walking the plank, and storms at sea, and the Dry Tortugas, and wild deeds and places on the Spanish Main. By his own account he must have lived his life among some of the wickedest men upon the sea, and the language in which he told these stories shocked our plain country people almost as much as the crimes that he described. My father was always saying the inn would be ruined, for people would soon cease coming there to be tyrannized over and put down, and sent shivering to their beds; but I really believe his presence did us good. People were frightened at the time, but on looking back they rather liked it; it was a fine excitement in a quiet country life, and there was even a party of the younger men who pretended to admire him, calling him a "true sea-dog" and a "real old salt" and such like names, and saying there was the sort of man that made England terrible at sea.
The simile in the underlined sentence tells us that the man being described __________.
The underlined sentence is as follows:
Mostly he would not speak when spoken to, only look up sudden and fierce and blow through his nose like a fog-horn; and we and the people who came about our house soon learned to let him be.
Where is the simile in this line? A simile compares two things using "like" or "as," so the simile is that the man "blow\[s\] through his nose like a fog-horn." Why is the author comparing this nose-blowing to a fog horn? What aspects of a fog horn is he indicating are similar to the character's blowing his nose? Well, fog horns warn sailors about dangers in fog when they cannot see very well. This aligns with the answer choice "blows his nose to warn others of danger," but it doesn't make much sense in the sentence itself. The character isn't blowing his nose to warn other people of any danger. Another aspect of fog horns is that they need to be very loud for sailors on the water to hear them. This goes with the answer choice "blows his nose loudly." This is the correct answer! The author is comparing the character's blowing his nose to a fog horn because both of them make loud noises.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
The union had made it clear: without a deal the workers would begin their strike at midnight. The company’s lawyers, however, remained resolute: it would be far worse to make a bad deal than to make no deal at all. The two sides were at loggerheads with neither side optimistic about the potential for compromise. But then the executive’s assistant spoke up. Softly but confidently she articulated her plan one sentence at a time, as if willing to stop forever at each period unless encouraged to say more. It’s hard to say which did the most work, her innovative solution or her calming presence; regardless, she broke the stalemate.
Based on the passage, what does “at loggerheads” most likely mean?
Answer: ”Engaged in a dispute” From the context of the passage you know that the two sides, union and company, are in a disagreement that appears unlikely to be solved. You also know from the same sentence as “at loggerheads” that neither side is optimistic about a positive outcome. This rules out “patiently waiting” and “cautiously optimistic.” There’s nothing to suggest violence, so “violently quarreling” is too strong. What you know is that the two parties are very much in disagreement - in other words, engaged in a dispute - until someone unexpected comes in to find a resolution.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
The union had made it clear: without a deal the workers would begin their strike at midnight. The company’s lawyers, however, remained resolute: it would be far worse to make a bad deal than to make no deal at all. The two sides were at loggerheads with neither side optimistic about the potential for compromise. But then the executive’s assistant spoke up. Softly but confidently she articulated her plan one sentence at a time, as if willing to stop forever at each period unless encouraged to say more. It’s hard to say which did the most work, her innovative solution or her calming presence; regardless, she broke the stalemate.
Based on the passage, “stalemate” most nearly means
Answer: “a situation in which no progress is being made” From the context of the passage you know that there was little chance of an agreement until the assistant spoke up. This suggests that, until that point, little progress was being made. You do not have any reason to believe that the situation was violent, so that answer is incorrect. And you also know that the assistant was responsible for the solution, so she did not break “an agreement” but rather broke or changed the exact opposite of an agreement (or friendship).
Compare your answer with the correct one above
With so many problems to solve in the field of genetics, the specific genetic sequences that form the unique characteristics of a mule, the offspring of a horse and a donkey, were both less important and, due to their specificity in the genome, simply hard to see. But new technology that isolates individual genes for research has allowed scientists to zero in on two fascinating genetic constructions in mules: chromosomal translocations and inversions. The lessons being learned in this research may have consequences that can dramatically improve human health.
Based on the context of the passage, the phrase “zero in” most likely means
Answer: “focus” The context surrounding the term “zero in” suggests that scientists haven’t had the time to prioritize these particular gene sequences AND that they haven’t really been able to see them. Since they now can, that means that they have the ability to focus - to see more clearly and to spend time and effort on something.
While that might lead to their ability to explain, “explain” isn’t as directly related to what they’re doing, which is looking at and spending time on these unique characteristics.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
His flight arrived hours late and, with no taxi cabs available, he had to walk over a mile to his hotel to finally rest after a long day’s journey. So it is understandable that, while normally a calm and patient man, John was fit to be tied when he was told that the hotel room he had reserved and paid for was occupied by someone else and he would have to find a new place to stay.
Based on the context in passage, the phrase “fit to be tied” most nearly means
Answer: “angry” Note the context that describes John earlier in the sentence - he is normally calm and patient, but this situation has turned him into the opposite. That suggests that John is angry - and the rest of the context supports it since you know that he has paid for something that he is now being told he cannot have.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
The union had made it clear: without a deal the workers would begin their strike at midnight. The company’s lawyers, however, remained resolute: it would be far worse to make a bad deal than to make no deal at all. The two sides were at loggerheads with neither side optimistic about the potential for compromise. But then the executive’s assistant spoke up. Softly but confidently she articulated her plan one sentence at a time, as if willing to stop forever at each period unless encouraged to say more. It’s hard to say which did the most work, her innovative solution or her calming presence; regardless, she broke the stalemate.
Based on the passage, what does “at loggerheads” most likely mean?
”Engaged in a dispute” From the context of the passage you know that the two sides, union and company, are in a disagreement that appears unlikely to be solved. You also know from the same sentence as “at loggerheads” that neither side is optimistic about a positive outcome. This rules out “patiently waiting” and “cautiously optimistic.” There’s nothing to suggest violence, so “violently quarreling” is too strong. What you know is that the two parties are very much in disagreement - in other words, engaged in a dispute - until someone unexpected comes in to find a resolution.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
The union had made it clear: without a deal the workers would begin their strike at midnight. The company’s lawyers, however, remained resolute: it would be far worse to make a bad deal than to make no deal at all. The two sides were at loggerheads with neither side optimistic about the potential for compromise. But then the executive’s assistant spoke up. Softly but confidently she articulated her plan one sentence at a time, as if willing to stop forever at each period unless encouraged to say more. It’s hard to say which did the most work, her innovative solution or her calming presence; regardless, she broke the stalemate.
Based on the passage, “stalemate” most nearly means
From the context of the passage you know that there was little chance of an agreement until the assistant spoke up. This suggests that, until that point, little progress was being made. You do not have any reason to believe that the situation was violent, so that answer is incorrect. And you also know that the assistant was responsible for the solution, so she did not break “an agreement” but rather broke or changed the exact opposite of an agreement (or friendship).
Compare your answer with the correct one above
With so many problems to solve in the field of genetics, the specific genetic sequences that form the unique characteristics of a mule, the offspring of a horse and a donkey, were both less important and, due to their specificity in the genome, simply hard to see. But new technology that isolates individual genes for research has allowed scientists to zero in on two fascinating genetic constructions in mules: chromosomal translocations and inversions. The lessons being learned in this research may have consequences that can dramatically improve human health.
Based on the context of the passage, the phrase “zero in” most likely means
The context surrounding the term “zero in” suggests that scientists haven’t had the time to prioritize these particular gene sequences AND that they haven’t really been able to see them. Since they now can, that means that they have the ability to focus - to see more clearly and to spend time and effort on something.
While that might lead to their ability to explain, “explain” isn’t as directly related to what they’re doing, which is looking at and spending time on these unique characteristics.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Knowing that he didn’t have time to walk home between the end of his soccer practice and the time of his dentist appointment, John killed that half-hour flipping through magazines in the grocery store.
Based on the context of the prompt, the word “killed” most nearly means:
“Killing time” is a figure of speech that means wasting time, and you can tell from the general context here that it fits: John didn’t have the ability to go home with his time so he flipped through magazines in a store to have something to do while he waited. He wastefully spent that time, which is what “killing time” means.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Matthew: I had never been to a church like that before, so I felt really out of place when everyone knew exactly which hand movements to do at each part of the prayer.
Joshua: So what did you do?
Matthew: I watched the person next to me with laser focus and just did everything that she did, as quickly as I could so it would look like I knew what I was doing.
Which of the following figures of speech would make the most sense for Joshua to respond with?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
At the final track meet of the year, Brittany ran like the wind on her way to a first place finish and new school record.
The figure of speech “ran like the wind” most nearly means that Brittany ran
The phrase “ran like the wind” means that someone ran fast or quickly. You can also tell by the context clues that she ran quickly enough to set a new record and win first place, so the context can help you realize that “quickly” is the best answer choice.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
The phrase “Blin eats like a _______” means that he eats _______.
Which of the following combinations would NOT complete the blanks above with a commonly-used figure of speech?
The phrases “he eats like a pig,” “he eats like a bird,” and “he eats like a horse” are all common figures of speech. “He eats like a bull” is not.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
If someone is described as being “larger than life,” that figure of speech means that they are
The figure of speech “larger than life” refers to someone who attracts a lot of attention and therefore is very important. It does not directly refer to actual size.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
If someone is described as being “as sharp as a knife” that figure of speech means that they are
The figure of speech “sharp as a knife” (or “sharp as a tack,” a similar usage) is used to refer to mental sharpness, describing someone who is highly intelligent and generally quick to have answers to challenging questions.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Discovered by accident in 1940, Frances Lascaux Caves are covered in breathtaking Paleolithic artwork portraying a wide variety of animals in motion. Ever since that discovery, tourists have flocked to the caves, but such a high rate of tourism has damaged the art, causing chemical changes as well as the introduction of lichen and black 3 mold, as well as other deposits. Over-interaction with the caves has turned them from a fascinating tourist destination into a world wonder desperately in need of preservation.
Which of the following would be the LEAST appropriate replacement for the underlined word?
Answer: “renovation” While all these words have similar meanings, notice the context of the passage - the goal is to protect these caves from damage, not to make them better or more modern or anything of that sort. So “renovation” which means to redo something is the meaning that doesn’t work - the goal is to preserve the caves as they originally were, so renovation would go against that goal.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
While acknowledging that the investment in the project is indeed costly - and in fact would be the most ever spent on a project of its type - advocates argue that the expense would not be _________ given that the benefits will pay off in the long run.
Which of the following words best fills in the blank above?
Answer: “excessive” Note from the context that the advocates have already agreed that this is an expensive project, so they are not trying to say that the expense isn’t “big.” What they are trying to say is that the expense isn’t “too big” given that the benefits will outweigh the costs. “Massive,” “large,” and “major” all mean “big” or “really big” but “excessive” means “too big” (or too much) - and that is the connotation that the sentence calls for.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Once a timid child terrified of public speaking, Hannah benefitted from the self-confidence of team sports and the mentorship of an excellent teacher. So it was no surprise how proud Hannah’s father was to see her looking so ______ on the debate stage.
Which of the following words best fills in the blank above?
Answer: “confident” While all the answer choices express a form of confidence, “arrogant,” “brash,” and “presumptuous” all connote overconfidence to the point of being rude. That’s unlikely what Hannah’s father would be proud of while watching her compete in debate - he’s more likely to be proud of her confidence.
Compare your answer with the correct one above
Tarik had studied hard for the exam and knew that he had mastered the material. But given how hard he had worked and how nervous he was the night before the exam, he had to admit that he was pleasantly _______ when he finally saw the A next to his name when results were released.
Which of the following words best fills in the blank above?
Answer: “surprised” Note that the words all mean some form of surprised, but “shocked” and “stunned” don’t work well with the fact that Tarik knew he had earned an A and with the qualifier “pleasantly” beforehand. He’s not completely shocked as though the grade came out of nowhere - he’s more relieved, so a softer form of “surprised” is the right choice here.
Compare your answer with the correct one above