All ISEE Middle Level Verbal Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
For__________, he liked to play chess and draw in his free time.
necessity
chaos
recreation
employment
practice
recreation
We know that our subject plays chess and draws in his free time, so we should pick out an answer choice that describes the nature of these activities. Since "recreation" means "activity done for enjoyment when one is not working," "recreation" best fits the context of the sentence and is the correct answer.
Example Question #2 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
The__________that Fred experienced after he rode the amusement park's most intense roller coaster made him feel as if he were going to vomit, but luckily, his stomach calmed down after he rested for a while.
fever
fulfillment
satisfaction
pallor
nausea
nausea
We know that Fred felt as if he were going to be ill after he rode the roller coaster, so we should pick out an answer choice that has something to do with illness, specifically feeling like you're about to vomit. Of the possible answer choices, "pallor," "nausea" and "fever" could be used to describe someone who is sick, but "pallor" means "an unhealthy pale appearance" and one would not expect riding on a roller coaster to cause a fever immediately after. "Nausea" is the best answer because it means "a feeling of sickness with an inclination to vomit" or "loathing; revulsion," and so best fits the context of the sentence.
Example Question #1 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
The__________of the prototype meant that years of work and research had to be redone, much to the team's dismay.
Paradox
Cohesion
Security
Malfunction
Purpose
Malfunction
We know that the team is "dismayed" by the prototype, and "years of work had to be redone." So, we need to pick out a noun that conveys that the prototype did not work as planned. The word that best fits the blank is "malfunction," a noun that meansfailure to work as intended. None of the other answer choices have meanings that would work in the blank: "cohesion" meansunityorcoherence; "security" meansdefenseorprotection; "purpose" meansmotivation,basis, orreason, and "paradox" means astatement that seems logical but is actuallyself-contradictory.
Example Question #1 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
The tiny college was a__________of learnedness in the midst of the largely-uneducated populace.
mirror
bastion
mirage
mirage
void
mirror
bastion
A "bastion" refers to afortress, but for most people not living in medieval France it more commonly speaks of aperson or place that preserves or defendsa more abstract notion. A woman who adheres to all the social rules of propriety and lives amongst neighbors who have no manners might be considered a "bastion of decorum." A radio station that alone plays harmonious music could be called a "bastion of euphony." "Mirage" would imply the mereappearancelearnedness (surro太相似了unding lack of education), and "mirror" would require that the town itself be well-educated, too (so that there would be some local learnedness for the college to reflect).
Example Question #2 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
The injured girl showed__________by not crying when the doctor gave her a shot before beginning stitches.
grit
cowardice
cravenness
pulchritude
grit
In this case, "grit" meanscourage. "Cowardice" and "cravvenness" each meanfear, are antonyms of "grit," and don't make sense in the context of the sentence. "Pulchritude" meansphysical beauty.
Example Question #6 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
Sharon was determined to learn as much as she could about classical music because she was a__________in the field.
curmudgeon
authority
culprit
novice
musician
novice
If Sharon is trying to learn about a subject, like classical music, it can be inferred that she knows little about it - so "novice," which meansbeginner是最适合的。“权威”的意思expert, is an antonym of "novice," while "culprit" (guilty person) and "curmudgeon" (ornery person) have nothing to do with the sentence's context. "Musician" might look like a potentially correct answer choice, but it doesn't make as much sense in the blank as "novice" does.
Example Question #3 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
The__________of the movie's ending left no room for other interpretations.
intricacy
ambiguity
finality
vitality
seriousness
finality
The movie had an ending that was concrete, so one might describe it as having "finality," orcertainty.
Example Question #4 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
Four feet of snow each winter is the__________in upstate New York these days; we've had four feet every year for the past seven years.
process
hope
status quo
surprise
obligation
status quo
Since there has been a steady measurement of four feet of snow over the past seven years in upstate New York, then four feet of snow in the winter is the "status quo," an idiomatic expression derived from the Latin phrase for "the state in which" which meansthe current state of things.
Example Question #5 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
The tiny, fictional, winged creature was called a__________.
hummingbird
sprite
spry
parakeet
bumblebee
sprite
A "sprite" isa tiny, fictional creature with wings, similar to a fairy, so "sprite" is the correct answer.
Example Question #1 :Sentence Completions: Nouns
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
Ancient Greek__________survives to this day, alive and well in literature, philosophy, language, sports, politics, and the arts.
arguments
disagreement
eras
music
culture
culture
The list of items suggests that the blank word must be some term that broadly encompasses the artistic products of a nation. This should lead you to the correct answer, which is “culture.” "Culture" is the name given tothe product of human beings from a certain time, particularly geared towards entertainment. While "music" is an example of a cultural production, it is too specific to be the correct answer, and "era" refers toa lengthy specified span of time.
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