All PSAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 :Conjunctions And Sentence Logic In Two Blank Sentences
At the end of the long line, the last two men spoke with irritation. The__________man was particularly__________, and continually voiced his annoyance to the man at the very end of the line.
malicious . . . retiring
agitated . . . annoying
secondary . . . exasperated
penultimate . . . vexed
burly . . . bombastic
penultimate . . . vexed
The “penultimate” position is thesecond from last. If the two men talking are the last and the second from last, our speaking man is the “penultimate” man. To be “annoyed” is to bevexed, a word derived from related Latin roots meaningto annoyand reflected in the related word “vexation.”
Example Question #1 :Context Clues In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Desperate to__________the results of the survey, which indicated that he was strongly disliked by the general public, the congressman attempted to__________the company not to publish it.
suppress . . . induce
mollify . . . disregard
galvanize . . . malign
distract . . . suspend
sustain . . . conceal
suppress . . . induce
That the survey on the congressman's popularity was negative provides a strong clue that his reaction would be negative. This matches his desire to suppress it, and "induce" is the only word that makes contextual sense for the latter portion of the sentence. So, the correct answer is "suppress . . . induce."
Example Question #1 :Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The__________information he provided about his childhood wasn't necessary; he needed to be more__________and spend less time talking about his past and more time talking about the deficiencies of the public school system.
extraneous . . . concise
obscure . . . erudite
cryptic . . . succinct
arbitrary . . . verbose
articulate . . . dogmatic
extraneous . . . concise
The key to this question is the phrase "wasn't necessary," which indicates that he spoke aboutnonessential("extraneous") information. Thus he needed toshorten his speech, or make it more "concise."
Example Question #1 :Conjunctions And Sentence Logic In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Despite the advice he had received to project a confident__________, James realized that being__________with the interviewers made him much more endearing than bragging about his accomplishments could have.
countenance . . . disingenuous
description . . . illusioned
demeanor . . . forthright
persona . . . distinguished
attitude . . . distinguished
demeanor . . . forthright
"Countenance" and "demeanor" could both work for the first blank. That James was doing the opposite of bragging gives a strong contextual clue that the second word will be similar to诚实的. This is exactly what "forthright" means.
Example Question #1 :Context Clues In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
The protestors were__________at being arrested since they had been making their concerns heard__________.
petite . . . peacefully
incredulous . . . amiably
voracious . . . arbitrarily
好战的。多余地
despondent . . . violently
incredulous . . . amiably
"Incredulous" meansshockedorindicating disbelief, and "amiably" meansacting in a friendly or agreeable manner, so "incredulous . . . amiably" is the correct answer because its words best fit the sentence's context.
Example Question #1 :Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The promotion to supervisor was all that Larry had been working for, and when it went to a coworker to whom Larry considered himself superior, he was__________and considered__________his position.
oblivious . . . donating
distraught . . . resigning
enamored . . . discussing
contemporary . . . lamenting
furious . . . acquiring
distraught . . . resigning
That Larry considers the promoted coworker to be inferior to himself tells us that his emotions towards this coworker should be negative. "Furious" and "distraught" are each potentially correct choices for the first blank, because "furious" is synonymous withenragedand "distraught" is synonymous withupset. This leaves "resigning" or "acquiring" as options for the second's second blank. "Resign" meansto give up one's position, and "acquire" meansobtainorreceive, so "resign" makes more sense because this is clearly a situation where Larry is considering leaving the company.
Example Question #1 :Conjunctions And Sentence Logic In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
Although the math course began with relatively simple problems for the first several weeks, the topics increased in__________rapidly as the semester__________.
difficulty . . . declined
obscurity . . . advanced
length . . . concluded
expression . . . ended
complexity . . . progressed
complexity . . . progressed
The contrast in this sentence is with “relatively simple problems.” Although less simple problems would be perhaps more obscure or of greater length, the most direct contrasting option is “complexity.” The word is derived from Latin roots that literally mean “folded over (itself).” The “folding” portion of this meaning is found in the “-plex,” which is related not only to “perplex” but also “plait” and “pleat.” In addition to its common noun usage, the word “progress” can also be used as a verb meaningto go forward.The “pro-” portion means “forward,” while the “-gress” is derived from the Latin forto step. The latter is found in English words like “regress,” “transgress,” and “digression.”
Example Question #11 :Context Clues In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
A river gushing forth from a nearby mountain spring was not only a(n)__________source of drinking water for the city, but also a(n)__________source of stones used to construct the city’s buildings.
trivial . . . essential
important . . . insignificant
valuable . . . vital
potent . . . arable
indeterminate . . . meandering
valuable . . . vital
The phrase “not only . . . but also” requires two words that have similar meanings. Both blanks require a word that means “important” or “valuable.” The only answer that satisfies these requirements is "valuable . . . vital."
Example Question #2521 :Sat Critical Reading
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The parents scolded their son for attempting to__________his mistake, rather than__________his wrongdoing.
confess . . . hide
disclose . . . disguise
conceal . . . admit
address . . . prolong
blame . . . testify
conceal . . . admit
The first blank requires a word that means “to conceal” or to “to hide.” Furthermore, the phrase “rather than” indicates the correct answer will have a word pair that is opposite in meaning. “Admit” is opposite the meaning of “conceal,” therefore this is the correct answer.
Example Question #1 :Context Clues In Two Blank Sentences
Choose the set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The professor worked for decades on what he intended to be a truly__________work. In reality, the text fell short of its soaring expectations and was in reality nothing more than a rather pitiful and__________outline.
groundbreaking . . . bombastic
noteworthy . . . contested
magisterial . . . unconvincing
provocative . . . forgotten
remarkable . . . outdated
magisterial . . . unconvincing
The hints in these sentences indicate that the text was planned to be very “in depth”—“soaring expectations” met with, instead, some sort of “pitiful . . . outline.” If something is “magisterial” it has or shows great authority. This can work well for the opposition made between that and being “unconvincing,” if the latter term is taken in the sense of “lacking authority.” In any case, the other cases imply other shades of meaning not included in the sentence. The term “magisterial” comes from the Latin for “teacher” and is found likewise in the word “magistrate.”