Critical Reading > Sentence Completions

　　Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

　　1.Tantra paintings from India are not only beautiful but also -------: in addition to their aesthetic value, they are used to facilitate meditation.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) garish

　　(B) valuable

　　(C) numerous

　　(D) ornate

　　(E) functional

　　2.Ramona had never visited Niagara Falls, but she could appreciate their splendor ------- through the descriptions of others.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) vicariously

　　(B) heedlessly

　　(C) innocuously

　　(D) mystically

　　(E) voluminously

　　3.Although Rolf is usually quite -------, he was so ------- by the salesman’s rude remarks that he insisted on complaining to the manager.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) tractable . . reassured

　　(B) timorous . . angered

　　(C) plucky . . offended

　　(D) valiant . . incensed

　　(E) diffident . . satisfied

　　4.The addition of descriptive details to the basic information serves to ------- the book by producing a fuller account.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) invalidate

　　(B) objectify

　　(C) incite

　　(D) celebrate

　　(E) enrich

　　5.Kelly was stunned that her neighbor had the ------- to inquire about borrowing her new snow blower, considering the fact that he had broken her old one.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) foresight

　　(B) temperament

　　(C) conviction

　　(D) audacity

　　(E) integrity

　　6.The novel's protagonist, a pearl diver, naïvely expects that the buyers will compete among themselves to pay him the best price for his pearl, but instead they ------- to ------- him.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) venture . . reward

　　(B) pretend . . praise

　　(C) conspire . . reimburse

　　(D) refuse . . cheat

　　(E) collude . . swindle

　　7.To believe that social reforms can ------- evil altogether is to forget that evil is a protean creature, forever assuming a new ------- when deprived of an old one.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) rejuvenate . . allegiance

　　(B) eradicate . . shape

　　(C) mitigate . . providence

　　(D) sustain . . episode

　　(E) dissolve . . abstraction

　　8.Although some think the terms "bug" and "insect" are ------- , the former term actually refers to ------- group of insects.

　　Answer Choices

　　(A) parallel . . an identical

　　(B) precise . . an exact

　　(C) interchangeable . . a particular

　　(D) exclusive . . a separate

　　(E) useful . . a useless

　　Explanation

　　1.The correct answer is E

　　Choice (E) is correct. Facilitating meditation is a function—something valuable about tantra paintings in addition to their beauty.

　　2.The correct answer is A

　　Ramona hadn’t visited Niagara Falls but "could appreciate their splendor," so the word that fills the blank must be an adverb whose definition has to do with appreciating something indirectly, "through the descriptions of others" (based on their experiences). Choice (A) is correct because to experience something "vicariously" is to experience it through imaginative participation in the actual experience of someone else.

　　3.The correct answer is B

　　Choice B is correct. The term “Although” in the first clause suggests that Rolf’s response to the “salesman’s rude remarks” differed from his usual behavior. If Rolf is usually “timorous,” or timid, complaining to the salesman’s manager would be an uncharacteristic response.

　　4.The correct answer is E

　　To "enrich" something is to expand or enhance it. Choice (E) is correct because adding "descriptive details" to "basic information" would enrich a book. This interpretation is reinforced by the conclusion of the sentence, which refers to "a fuller account" as a result of the addition.

　　5.The correct answer is D

　　The sentence implies that Kelly, in light of her neighbor’s previous behavior, found his actions to be audacious, which means bold or daring.

　　6.The correct answer is E

　　The sentence states that the pearl diver expected one kind of behavior from the buyers, but instead they behaved in a different way. Since the pearl diver expected the buyers to "compete among themselves to pay him the best price," the correct answer must be two words that make the last clause describe an opposite situation. Choice (E) is the best answer: Instead of competing to pay the pearl diver the best price, the buyers colluded (or plotted) to "swindle" him.

　　7.The correct answer is B

　　The phrase “is to forget” implies that the belief described in the first part of the sentence is misguided or na��ve. It makes sense to argue that the assumption that reforms can “eradicate,” or eliminate, all societal evils is overly idealistic because evil is “protean,” or capable of taking on a new “shape.”

　　8.The correct answer is C

　　The word "although" indicates that the two parts of the sentence contrast with each other: although most people think about the terms "bug" and "insect" one way, something else is actually true about the terms. Choice (C) logically completes the sentence, indicating that while most people think the terms are "interchangeable," the term "bug" actually refers to a "particular" group of insects.