Test Prep

Lauren develops Reading Comprehension and other Verbal test section items for such publishers as Kaplan, Learning Express, McGraw-Hill, TRO Learning, and Scholastic. She not only writes the questions and answers, but also develops strategies and approaches for many types of questions. Levels of difficulty vary from elementary through advanced degrees, and tests have included Plato Word Bank and Reading Comprehension (elementary), SAT, GRE, and MCAT.

Here are samples from recent works:

Choose a pair of synonyms that best complete the following sentence.

To the public’s great shock, the group that had recently been voted into power on a platform of peaceable reform conducted ________ acts against existing branches of government as soon as the election was over.

A. contumacious
B. endemic
C. erratic
D. estimable
E. irresolute
F. seditious

Correct answers: A and F

Explanation:

The phrase “to the public’s great shock” acts as a road sign, indicating a contrast between what was expected (“peaceable reform”) and what really happened. The correct answers must mean something like “violent rebellion.” The two choices that best complete the meaning of the sentence are (A) and (F)—contumacious and seditious—both of which mean “rebellious.”

Contumacious is a difficult vocabulary word; even if you are not familiar with it, however, you can use the process of elimination to determine the correct answers. Choice (B), endemic, means “inherent,” which doesn’t fit the context of the sentence.

Choices (C) and (E), erratic and irresolute, both mean “unpredictable” or "uncertain.” These are plausible choices because they imply that the group didn’t fulfill its promises, but they don’t work in context. We need a contrast with “peaceable reform”—something that would result in people’s shock. Unpredictability and uncertainty aren’t shocking.

Choice (D), estimable, is incorrect. This word, meaning “worthy,” is an antonym of the words required to complete the sentence. If this word was unfamiliar, you could have thought of words with similar roots that you could define, such as esteem. Knowing that esteem has a positive tone, you could deduce that estimable does also, making it incorrect.

Choose the underlined section that contains an error in the following sentence. If there is no error, select choice d.

After studying the research results, the population rate was expected to rise for the fifth
A. B. C.

consecutive year. No error.
D.

Correct answer: A. The error in this sentence is a dangling modifier. “After studying the research results” is meant to describe something, but the sentence fails to specify anything to which it can refer (“the population rate” is not capable of studying research results).