Two Adjectives or Adverbs in Two-Blank Sentences - PSAT Critical Reading

"Diminutive" means small in physical stature, while "formidable**"** means daunting and menacing. Were a small fighter to be a fear-inspiring challenge for a much larger opponent, it would be surprising.

"Luminous" means brightly shining, while "ethereal" means otherworldly or angelic. An actress standing in a spotlight would be extremely well-lit and would appear to be like an angel.

“Torrid” means passionate when describing relationships and excessively hot when describing climates or temperatures, and “kindle” means start a fire or stir up. A movie about a passionate love affair caused a romantic spark to stir between Mary and Mark. Although “ardent” means passionate, “squelched” means extinguished, which doesn't make sense in the context of the sentence.

"Fecund" means fruitful and fertile, while "bountiful" means generous, plentiful, copious. A farmer who surveyed a fertile plot of land would certainly expect it to deliver a generous crop.

"Unpredictable" means difficult to foretell or foresee, while "frenetic" means hectic or frantic. It is very reasonable to conclude that a young nephew running at a hectic pace would have a bedtime which is difficult to anticipate, dependent upon his pace subsiding.

"Intransigent" means refusing to compromise, while "intractable" means difficult to manage or unmanageable. Refusing to compromise on his demands, the terrorist made the stand-off unmanageable for the authorities, taking away their options.

This double-blank sentence gives you a clue with “although” since it indicates a change is found in the sentence. The words we are looking for might be opposite or at least related in some way. The first blank means “copied exactly from the master” while the second one means “execution was flawless” so begin by checking the answers to see which ones match the clues as stated in the sentence.

For the phrase “copied exactly from the master”: does exciting, derivative, repetitive, cryptic or interpretive match up best? Only “derivative” works well since it means taken from another source; although “interpretive” sounds good, it does not mean copied exactly.

Now try the second part of this answer: does “perfected” mean about the same as “execution was flawless”? Yes.

“Unattainable . . . discouraging” does not fit since the sentence indicates that the author did get the manuscript published, so he did attain a goal, and yes, that was discouraging but we need a word that relates to why the media lost interest so quickly.

“Onerous . . . gratifying” starts well since onerous does mean difficult and a struggle but why then would the situation be gratifying which means satisfying?

“Vexatious . . . querulous” sounds most promising since vexing could mean struggling as in working out a puzzle and “quer” is a root found in words like inquiry, question and query which indicates that an answer is sought.

“Oblique . . . laudable” does not seem to work in the sentence. “Oblique” is interesting since it might indicate an unusual direction as related to fame but “laudable” includes the Latin word root “laud.” The word refers to praise as in a laudable effort, laudatory and laugh which indicates merriment.

“Irascible . . . subtle” does not seem to work since irascible sounds like irritate, irate and ire which all relate to anger. Anger is different from a struggle and subtle does not relate to the media losing interest quickly.

"Canny" means shrewd and careful, while "impeccable" means flawless and exemplary. An investor with an always profitable portfolio would certainly be very shrewd.

A prestigious school is well thought of and thus has difficult admissions barriers. Thus, both answers must reflect positively on the school; therefore "eminent . . . malleable" and "preeminent . . . insidious" can be removed on the basis of their negative and unstable admissions requirements. Assuming that admission is difficult because the prestigious school is of high caliber, the school could not be "abysmal." The last incorrect choice does not relate to positive or negative qualities of a university at all, in that "empirical" relates to data.

It can be assumed that the class being discussed in the sentence involves a lot of work based on the start of the sentence, so "demanding" and "rigorous" are the options which make the most sense as choices for the first blank. "Beneficial" means easy and "stringent" means strict, though, so "rigorous . . . stringent" is the correct answer.

"Inconceivable" means impossible to comprehend or grasp fully, while "mundane" means concerned with the world rather than with spiritual things or commonplace. Evidently, for many, Robert's concern with the world makes his life incomprehensibly commonplace, so "inconceivably . . . mundane" is the correct answer.

The key here is that the young man lives in a city and that his life apparently is without social contact. The best choice is therefore “urban . . . reclusive.” “Urban” is rather familiar, deriving from Latin for city. “Reclusive” means living outside of regular society in isolation. It is ultimately derived from the Latin claudere, which means “to close up.” Forms of claudere (and related words) change the “d” to an “s.” (There are other changes internally as well). This leads to many derived words, such as “seclusion,” “occlusion,” “include,” and “inclusion.”

Probably the best way to begin eliminating answers to this question is to note the parallel between the second blank and “lust-filled.” The best match for this would be “carnal,” which implies a tie to “fleshy” or “sensuous” matters.

It is derived from the Latin carnis, meaning meat or flesh. (A related word is “carnivore”—one who eats flesh or meat). The term “intellectual” fits well enough into the first blank, capturing the opposition implied by the sentence structure.

The sentence hints at the use of “light” imagery in the introductory prepositional phrase. While the other options might fit, given this implied light imagery. “Lucent” and “tenebrous” fit this well. “Lucent” means giving off light and is derived from the Latin lux which often is found in related forms containing “luc-,” such as “translucent” and the name “Lucifer,” which means “light-bearer.”

“Tenebrous” is perhaps more unknown and means “dark.” It is derived from Latin words that are close in meaning to this and is reflected in the Christian ceremonies of “Tenebrae” celebrated during Holy Week before Easter, because these celebrations are traditionally tied to the old monastic nightly vigils and morning prayer, much of which would have been prayed in the dark (particularly the vigils).

A "sophisticated" work is one that is very complex, requiring much experience and knowledge to navigate. Although the word is distantly related to the Greek root “sophia,” meaning wisdom (and found in words like “philosophy”), “sophisticated” had a long development through more negative connotations (partially related to usages like “sophistical”). These are not reflected in our usage here.

“Colloquial” means related to ordinary speech. Its root is derived from the Latin for “to speak or talk,” which has many derivatives in English, not only including those with the “c” that we see in “interlocutors” (e.g. "locution," "allocution"), but also the more common (and phonetically related) “q” (e.g. "eloquence," "loquacious," "colloquium"). The prefix “col-” really is derived from the Latin “cum,” meaning with. Colloquial language is the language one uses to “speak with” others of similar backgrounds and upbringings.

The key is to realize that Catholic law was not organized, which could be described as “ad hoc”—i.e. not collected and pulled together only from case to case as needed. (The expression “ad hoc” literally means for this in Latin, indicating that something applies only “for this or that”—but not according to a universal, organized rationality); therefore, it was not gathered together into a single “code” in which all the statutes were organized. Thus, the word “codified” fits well for the first blank.

The contrast in this sentence is between “rigid logic” and the second blank. The word “heuristic” (particularly in computer science) means _a loose rule—_often explained as being a “rule of thumb.” Such devices help to simulate some scenario but not with the certainty of mathematical logic. For those who are used to such rigid logic, the development of such “heuristics” can be very difficult and perplexing—hence the choice word for the first blank.

The easier blank to discern is the second. Since the household was “unstable,” all we can say is that the parents were either “inconsistent” or perhaps “rash.” The other options are not necessarily implied by the context; however, “gregarious” means sociable, which doesn’t make sense in this context. “Submissive” is much better, for it means ready to conform to authority—something that Thomas would not be ready to do, given the details of the rest of the sentence.