Critical Reading Section Sentence Completion. Types of Questions: (1) Vocabulary-in-Context...

Critical Reading Section

Sentence Completion

Types of Questions:(1) Vocabulary-in-Context Questions

• To answer this type of question, you need to know how the words are used in the context of the sentence. • If you know the definitions of the words involved, you have a better chance of selecting the correct answer.

Vocabulary-in-Context QuestionsExample 1 :Ravens appear to behave ___, actively helping one another to find food.

A. mysteriouslyB. warilyC. aggressivelyD. cooperativelyE. defensively

Vocabulary-in-Context QuestionsExample 1 :Ravens appear to behave ___, actively helping one another to find food.

A. mysteriouslyB. warilyC. aggressivelyD. cooperativelyE. defensively

Vocabulary-in-Context QuestionsExample 1 :Ravens appear to behave ___, actively helping one another to find food.

A. mysteriouslyB. warilyC. aggressivelyD. cooperativelyE. defensively

Vocabulary-in-Context QuestionsExample 2 :Both ___ and ___, Wilson seldom spoke and never spent money.

A. vociferous . . . generousB. garrulous . . . stingyC. effusive . . . frugalD. taciturn . . . miserlyE. reticent . . . munificent

Vocabulary-in-Context QuestionsExample 2 :Both ___ and ___, Wilson seldom spoke and never spent money.

A. vociferous . . . generousB. garrulous . . . stingyC. effusive . . . frugalD. taciturn . . . miserlyE. reticent . . . munificent

Vocabulary-in-Context QuestionsExample 2 :Both ___ and ___, Wilson seldom spoke and never spent money.

A. vociferous . . . generousB. garrulous . . . stingyC. effusive . . . frugalD. taciturn . . . miserlyE. reticent . . . munificent

Types of Questions:(1) Vocabulary-in-Context Questions

(2) Logic-Based Questions

• These questions require you to know the meanings of the words, know how the words are used in the context, and understand the logic of a rather complicated sentence.

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 1 :After observing several vicious territorial fights, Jane Goodall had to revise her earlier opinion that these particular primates were always ___ animals.

A. ignorantB. inquisitiveC. responsiveD. cruelE. peaceful

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 1 :After observing several vicious territorial fights, Jane Goodall had to revise her earlier opinion that these particular primates were always ___ animals.

A. ignorantB. inquisitiveC. responsiveD. cruelE. peaceful

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 1 :After observing several vicious territorial fights, Jane Goodall had to revise her earlier opinion that these particular primates were always ___ animals.

A. ignorantB. inquisitiveC. responsiveD. cruelE. peaceful

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 2 :Although its publicity has been ___, the film itself is intelligent, well-acted, handsomely produced, and altogether ___.

A. tasteless . . . respectableB. extensive . . . moderateC. sophisticated . . . amateurD. risqué . . . crudeE. perfect . . . spectacular

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 2 :Although its publicity has been ___, the film itself is intelligent, well-acted, handsomely produced, and altogether ___.

A. tasteless . . . respectableB. extensive . . . moderateC. sophisticated . . . amateurD. risqué . . . crudeE. perfect . . . spectacular

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 2 :Although its publicity has been ___, the film itself is intelligent, well-acted, handsomely produced, and altogether ___.

A. tasteless . . . respectableB. extensive . . . moderateC. sophisticated . . . amateurD. risqué . . . crudeE. perfect . . . spectacular

Tips

• Read the entire sentence, saying “blank.”• Look for introductory and transitional words:– But, Although, However, Yet, Even Though

• Be alert for negatives:– According to Chef Bobby Flay, a burger should not

be pressed with a spatula, for a flat burger has no place on a bun.

Tips• Think of what word(s) would fill in the blank

before you look at the choices.– Once Murphy left home for good, he wrote no

letters to his worried mother; he did not, therefore, live up to her picture of him as her ------- son.

Tips• Think of what word(s) would fill in the blank

before you look at the choices.– Once Murphy left home for good, he wrote no

letters to his worried mother; he did not, therefore, live up to her picture of him as her ------- son.

(A) misunderstood(B) elusive(C) destructive(D) persuasive(E) dutiful

Tips• Think of what word(s) would fill in the blank

before you look at the choices.– Once Murphy left home for good, he wrote no

letters to his worried mother; he did not, therefore, live up to her picture of him as her ------- son.

(A) misunderstood(B) elusive(C) destructive(D) persuasive(E) dutiful

Tips• With two-blank questions, try eliminating

some answers based on just one blank. – Let’s go back to Example #2

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 2 :Although its publicity has been ___, the film itself is intelligent, well-acted, handsomely produced, and altogether ___.

A. tasteless . . . respectableB. extensive . . . moderateC. sophisticated . . . amateurD. risqué . . . crudeE. perfect . . . spectacular

Logic-Based QuestionsExample 2 :Although its publicity has been ___, the film itself is intelligent, well-acted, handsomely produced, and altogether ___.

A. tasteless . . . respectableB. extensive . . . moderateC. sophisticated . . . amateurD. risqué . . . crudeE. perfect . . . spectacular

Tips• With two-blank questions, try eliminating

some answers based on just one blank. – Let’s go back to Example #2

• Read all choices before you decide.• Reread the sentence with your choice.

Practice Questions (level one)#1 :A judgment made before all the facts are known must be called ___.

A. harshB. deliberateC. sensibleD. prematureE. fair

Practice Questions (level one)#1 :A judgment made before all the facts are known must be called ___.

A. harshB. deliberateC. sensibleD. prematureE. fair

Practice Questions (level one)#2 :Despite their ___ proportions, the murals of Diego Rivera give his Mexican compatriots the sense that their history is ___ and human in scale, not remote and larger than life. A. monumental . . . accessibleB. focused . . . prolongedC. vast . . . ancientD. realistic . . . extraneousE. narrow . . . overwhelming

Practice Questions (level one)#2 :Despite their ___ proportions, the murals of Diego Rivera give his Mexican compatriots the sense that their history is ___ and human in scale, not remote and larger than life. A. monumental . . . accessibleB. focused . . . prolongedC. vast . . . ancientD. realistic . . . extraneousE. narrow . . . overwhelming

Practice Questions (level two)#3 :The research is so ___ that it leaves no part of the issue unexamined.

A. comprehensiveB. rewardingC. sporadicD. economicalE. problematic

Practice Questions (level two)#3 :The research is so ___ that it leaves no part of the issue unexamined.

A. comprehensiveB. rewardingC. sporadicD. economicalE. problematic

Practice Questions (level two)#4 :A dictatorship ___ its citizens to be docile and finds it expedient to make outcasts of those who do not ___.

A. forces . . . rebelB. expects . . . disobeyC. requires . . . conformD. allows . . . withdrawE. forbids . . . agree

Practice Questions (level two)#4 :A dictatorship ___ its citizens to be docile and finds it expedient to make outcasts of those who do not ___.

A. forces . . . rebelB. expects . . . disobeyC. requires . . . conformD. allows . . . withdrawE. forbids . . . agree

Practice Questions (level three)#5 :Alice Walker’s prize-winning novel exemplifies the strength of first-person narratives; the protagonist tells her own story so effectively that any additional commentary would be ___. A. subjectiveB. eloquentC. superfluousD. incontrovertibleE. impervious

Practice Questions (level three)#5 :Alice Walker’s prize-winning novel exemplifies the strength of first-person narratives; the protagonist tells her own story so effectively that any additional commentary would be ___. A. subjectiveB. eloquentC. superfluousD. incontrovertibleE. impervious

Practice Questions (level three)#6 :The Supreme Court’s reversal of its previous ruling on the issue of states’ rights ___ its reputation for ___.

A. sustained . . . infallibilityB. compromised . . . consistencyC. bolstered . . . doggednessD. aggravated . . . inflexibilityE. dispelled . . . vacillation

Practice Questions (level three)#6 :The Supreme Court’s reversal of its previous ruling on the issue of states’ rights ___ its reputation for ___.

A. sustained . . . infallibilityB. compromised . . . consistencyC. bolstered . . . doggednessD. aggravated . . . inflexibilityE. dispelled . . . vacillation