The team’s manager, Eric Gorton has
____________ Nick Fenand in his squad for
next month's qualifying match against
Liechtenstein despite doubts ____________
the player’s fitness.
A. included ….about
B. hospitalized… by
C. joined… on
D. removed…. over
E. replaced… concerning
The best answer is A. Doubts by, on or over
are not idiomatic expressions. The team’s
manager has done something despite doubts
about the player’s fitness so it is logical that
he included the player in his squad.
The Anasazi, a civilization that arose as early
as 1500 BC, occupied the region now
__________ as the Four Corners, where Utah
Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet, for
centuries.
A. invoked
B. known
C. labeled
D. denoted
E. assumed
The best answer is B. Choices A, C, D and E
cannot precede the preposition as.
Over the ___________, different New York
neighborhoods have played ___________ to
the cutting edge: Greenwich Village in the
1950s, SoHo in the 1970s, the Lower East
Side in the 1980s.
A. decades… host
B. centuries… guest
C. time… games
D. moments… along
E. way… coy
The best answer is A. Host, games, along and
coy can logically follow played, but not guest.
It is idiomatic to say over time, not over the
time. Moments does not fit with the broad
time span indicated in the rest of the sentence.
Way is illogical.
A groundbreaking exhibition is showcasing
Iraq's rich roots in Mesopotamia, the region
between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that gave
__________to the world's first urban civilization
some 5,000 years ago.
A. support
B. water
C. floods
D. birth
E. itself
The best answer is D. Gave birth is idiomatic. It
ties in with the mention of roots and the world’s
first urban civilization.
Originally, the project was planned to take at
least 15 years, but effective resource and
technological advances have ________ the
team’s progress.
A. energized
B. postponed
C. accelerated
D. deferred
E. reduced
The best answer is C. The word but indicates
that the project will not take as long planned,
therefore, it is logical that it was accelerated.
When mortals died, whether noble or
__________, they joined Re on his nocturnal
journey through the underworld; __________ at
dawn immortal, if all went well.
A. ordinary… occurred
B. common… emerging
C. maudlin… appeared
D. impoverished… woke
E. domestic… summoned
The best answer is B. Common presents a
contrast to noble. Emerging is in line with a
journey through the underworld.
Toward the end of the 13th century, some
__________ event forced the Anasazi to
__________ their houses and homeland and to
move south and east toward the Rio Grande and
the Little Colorado River.
A. seismic… shift
B. cataclysmic… flee
C. unfortunate… desert
D. disastrous… move
E. calamitous… revisit
The best answer is B. Unfortunate is too weak
a word to describe such an event.
Cataclysmic is apt. In choices D and E, move
and revisit do not fit with the last clause of the
sentence. A house and homeland cannot shift.
Those __________ ancestors doubtless found
sticks helpful for pointing out a direction,
tracing a diagram in the dirt or __________
up a slab of useful flint.
A. decrepit… fixing
B. faulty… picking
C. distant… prying
D. olden… raise
E. aged… keeping
The best answer is C. Choices A and E make
the ancestors sound as though they were still
alive. There is no reason for the ancestors to
be considered faulty. The second blank must
be filled with a gerund (-ing form).
Tony Benito and his sister, Margarita Benito,
face 15-month jail terms in Britain on
________ of court charges after they
__________ to appear in court to testify about
the family's assets.
A. contempt… failed
B. misconduct… refused
C. rudeness… agreed
D. love… promised
E. scorn… swore
The best answer is A. The expression
contempt of court is idiomatic. It is logical
that they would be in contempt if they failed
to appear.
Despite __________ printed in newspapers
and broadcast over the internet and on
television, Americans __________ to lose
millions to internet con artists.
A. predictions… persevere
B. warnings…. continue
C. encouragement… proceed
D. cautions… persist
E. signals… incur
The best answer is B. The word despite signals
that there is a contradiction in the two parts of
the sentence which rules out C. Continue to… is
idiomatic, whereas persevere, persist and incur
cannot be followed by to.
Federal data show that the number of citizens
receiving welfare __________ again last year
even though an economic slowdown pushed
more people into __________.
A. rescinded… beggary
B. reduced… affluence
C. jumped… subservience
D. tripled… pauperism
E. declined … poverty
The best answer is E. Even though signals that
there is a contrast from one part of the sentence
to another. Choice E provides for the
appropriate contrast. An economic slowdown
cannot push people into affluence or
subservience.
Georgia's teachers received the third largest
salary hike in the country last year but still did
not move up in national __________.
A. competition
B. readings
C. ranting
D. ratings
E. rankings
The best answer is E. There is no national
competition for salaries. Choice B and C are
irrelevant. Ratings are usually applied to a
subjective quality, not a fact.
Despite signs of a truce, the country’s dilemma
remains, should they let the north country remain
__________ or should they __________ it.
A. autonomous... conquer
B. free… self-governing
C. independent… separated
D. quelled… annexed
E. subordinate… subservient
The best answer is A. The word or in the
sentence signals that what is on either side of
the word must be different options. Only A
presents two different options.
As the last __________ slice of Atlantic
coastal plain bordering the continent's vast
equatorial rain forests, the region, known as
the Gamba Complex, is a biologically
__________ mosaic of forests, savannas,
lagoons, lakes and beaches that, until recently,
was virtually unknown to science.
A. underdeveloped… luxuriant
B. uncharted… broken
C. examined… plentiful
D. undeveloped… rich
E. explored… abounding
The best answer is D. Choices C and E are
unidiomatic following last. Broken mosaic is
illogical as a description of forests etc.
Mr. Miller has expressed his hope that the
project can __________ support for
conserving the Silverson Wildlife Complex.
A. raise
B. rally
C. mount
D. foster
E. booster
The best answer is B. To rally support is an
idiomatic expression.
The term conservationist had been defined by
some as a person who believes that the natural
world is endlessly __________ and beautiful,
and therefore as much of it as possible should
be __________.
A. irrational… preserved
B. abhorrent… salvaged
C. fascinating… saved
D. exhilarative… promoted
E. appealing… distinguished
The best answer is C. Because the blank appears
before and beautiful, one can expect it to be
filled with something positive. The and
therefore indicates that the second blank should
also be positive. Only C, D and E have two
positive choices, and of them only C contains
two words that are appropriate to describe the
natural world.
__________ temporary power lines and data
cables, huddled around laptops and editing
equipment, journalists and technicians were
__________ out news to many outposts.
A. Among… burning
B. Although… turning
C. Using… tossing
D. Despite… writing
E. Amid… churning
The best answer is E. Although and despite must
precede clauses, not noun phrases. Amid and
among are both reasonable choices. Churning
out, however, is idiomatic while burning out, is
not.
The country is a regional __________, an
absolute but highly dynamic monarchy that has
created an economic __________ out of little
more than vision, geography and will.
A. anomaly… powerhouse
B. synchronicity… giant
C. incongruity… dwarf
D. paradox… dependency
E. discrepancy… power
The best answer is A. Synchronicity and
discrepancy have to relate to two or more things
(i.e. a discrepancy between x and y). That is not
the case here. Out of little more indicates that
something was made out of next to nothing,
which is only remarkable if what was created
was positive, such as an economic powerhouse.
Rugby is still largely an __________ sport in
Georgia, but in its traditional __________ of
England, France, New Zealand, Australia and
South Africa it has, since turning professional in
1995, become a multi-billion-dollar industry.
A. voluntary… home
B. master… vicinity
C. impermeable…
D. failed… locality
E. amateur… bastions
The best answer is E. The word amateur is a
logical choice after but… since turning
professional. Bastion is an appropriate word
to describe where the sport is traditionally
played.
In addition to huge gas __________, the
Caspian sea may hold as much as 200 billion
barrels of oil, reserves second only to those of
the Persian Gulf.
A. tanks
B. quotas
C. canisters
D. supplies
E. deposits
The best answer is E. A sea can only hold
deposits, not any of the other options.
Union leaders __________ bosses of allowing
paramilitaries access to the plants to
__________ graffiti on the walls and
intimidate workers.
A. convicted… inscribe
B. accused… scrawl
C. blamed… etch
D. incriminated… write
E. denoted… scribble
The best answer is B. Only accuse and
convicted can be followed by of . Inscribe
has a positive connotation which is
inappropriate.
Very quickly the native Californians were
overwhelmed by people of all __________,
coming from all __________ -- by wagon
train from Council Bluffs, Iowa, by horseback
from ranchos to the south, by ship from
China.
A. destinations… vehicles
B. nationalities… countries
C. upbringings… interests
D. backgrounds… directions
E. denominations… sectors
The best answer is D. It is incorrect to use of
with destinations. Nationalities is incorrect
because only one nationality is mentioned. Of
choices C, D and E, directions makes the most
sense in light of what follows.
Airspan Airline’s long and __________ search
for a partner finally __________ last week when
the bankrupt Dutch airline agreed to merge with
Airlex.
A. arduous… ended
B. extended… concluded
C. joyous… consigned
D. fortuitous… stopped
E. laborious… proceeded
The best answer is A. Since the first blank
comes after long and… we can assume it will be
something that will not be a contradiction. This
rules out joyous and fortuitous. The second
blank follows finally. It is logical that the search
ended, and the information is given in the last
part of the sentence.
Thought the negotiators are trying to finalize a
less expensive __________ benefit plan, they are
considering charging __________ people higher
premiums.
A. health … wealthy
B. wealth… distinguished
C. safety… prosperous
D. payoff… abundant
E. fitness… cognitive
The best answer is A. Health benefit plan is the
only expression which is idiomatic and logical.
Only wealthy makes logical sense.
Cablewise Systems officially rolled out its
national high-definition satellite service,
‘Boom’, in a bet that the cable operator can
__________ into a burgeoning segment of the
television-viewing community that is expected to
__________ high-definition television sets.
A. turn… reserve
B. dredge… abuse
C. float… borrow
D. tap… own
E. pierce… dictate
The best answer is D. Tap into is idiomatic
and makes sense in the context of the
sentence. While borrow and reserve are
possible grammatically, own makes the most
sense.
Looking to expand its foothold overseas, CSC
has purchased a majority stake in Germany's
leading television news agency, giving the
U.S. broadcaster __________ of a leading
channel in the German television
__________.
A. control… market
B. part … emporium
C. desperation… consortium
D. domination… space
E. power… fringe
The best answer is A. The term giving control
can be followed by of whereas desperation,
domination and power cannot. While the
word emporium means about the same as
market, it is not used in this sort of figurative
context.
More than 80 schools have been __________,
with similar rehabilitation works in progress
or in the final stages of __________.
A. achieved… configuration
B. jointed… formulation
C. ended… sponsorship
D. finished… reproduction
E. completed… planning
The best answer is E. A school can be
finished or completed, but not achieved,
jointed or ended. In the final stages of
planning is more logical and is idiomatic.
People and rhinoceroses prefer similar habitat
but don't mix very well, which is one reason
rhinoceroses have almost __________ from
the earth.
A. vanished
B. extinguished
C. flourished
D. stumbled
E. abdicated
The best answer is A. Choice B and E cannot be
applied to an animal. Choice C and D cannot be
followed by from the earth.
Scientists have __________ a bright purple,
bloated frog in southern India that is so unique it
merits the establishment of not only a new
__________ but also a new family.
A. uncovered… topic
B. alleviated… genus
C. discovered… species
D. disseminated… disturbance
E. distinguished… categorization
The best answer is C. A frog cannot be
alleviated or disseminated. Species logically
completes not only… ____, but also a new
family.
Most heart attacks occur when a blood clot
__________ off one of the coronary arteries that
__________ blood to the heart muscle itself.
A. blocks… fosters
B. stops… pumps
C. halts… supplies
D. closes… feed
E. obstructs… presages
The best answer is D. Closes off is idiomatic.
One can feed, pump or supply blood to the heart,
but not foster or presage.
In this era of managed nursing care, Smith
continues to __________ a kind of medicine that
most people assume nearly vanished, bringing to
their rounds tenderness and profound
__________.
A. participate… caring
B. condone… abhorrence
C. disparage… suability
D. practice… competence
E. engage… antipathy
The best answer is D. To practice medicine is
idiomatic. The second blank must be a
positive item.
Psychiatrists, medical doctors and
__________ have used hypnosis for more
than two centuries to treat __________ and
illness.
A. therapists… bliss
B. psychologists… pain
C. catalysts… suffering
D. physicians… discomfort
E. physicists… torment
The best answer is B. Physicians is
redundant. Catalysts and physicists are
illogical choices. Bliss is an illogical choice
for the second blank.
In each __________, scanners detected
increased blood __________ in relevant parts
of the brains of hypnotized subjects who were
put through color and pain tests.
A. case… flow
B. instance… stain
C. place… powder
D. position… current
E. testament… stream
The best answer is A. Only choice A and B
are logical for the first blank. Blood stain is
does not make sense after the word increased.
__________ to the "science" of phrenology,
an individual's character and abilities could be
deduced from the size and __________ of
various bumps on the head.
A. Corresponding… tension
B. Based… texture
C. Supposing… hardness
D. According… shape
E. Configured… form
The best answer is D. Based and According
are the only logical choices for the first blank,
but Based cannot be followed by to. Also,
while any of the choice could feasibly fit in the
second blank, size and shape is an idiomatic
expression.
The world's most prolific aircraft builder's
commercial __________ is struggling in the
worst aviation downturn in history and has
__________ off 35,560 of its 93,000 workers
since 1999.
A. sector… paid
B. part… sent
C. division … laid
D. ward… bought
E. department… caught
The best answer is C. Ward is used to refer to
part of a hospitcal. Part is too general. A
business does not have sectors. Since there has
been a downturn, it is logical that the workers
have been laid off.
Since he had __________ over the company
from his father only a year before, he blamed
himself for destroying a business relationship his
father spent seventeen years __________ .
A. presided… cultivating
B. hovered… developing
C. ruled… crushing
D. relinquished… taking
E. taken… building
The best answer is E. While presided, hovered
and ruled are all suitable before over, only taken
over… makes sense coming before from his
father.
Savvy leaders know that there is no single map
for __________ leadership; the rules change
depending on whom you are guiding and the
__________ around you.
A. altruistic… contradictions
B. effective… conditions
C. successful… natives
D. abysmal… situation
E. topical… criteria
The best answer is B. Because the sentence
starts with Savvy leaders, the first blank must be
something positive, as in choices A, B and C. Of
the three, conditions is the most logical choice.

A voluntary school drug-testing __________
proposed by the mayor and school
superintendent __________ make this crime-
plagued city the first to experiment with this
approach.
A. test … should
B. program … would
C. study… can
D. class… will
E. investigation… ought to
The best answer is B. Because the drug-
testing is just proposed, i.e. only a possibility,
the second blank should be filled with would.
__________ we bought equipment at the end
of last year but weren't billed until 2003, we
had to include it on this year's books.
A. Because
B. Despite
C. So
D. Whereas
E. After
The best answer is A. Only choice A is
grammatical and creates a logical connection
between the two parts of the sentence.
For the first time in 38 years, Essex
Packaging has __________ an unprofitable
quarter.
A. understood
B. managed
C. handled
D. experienced
E. related
The best answer is D. Semantically, the word
experienced is the most logical choice.
E. raging … circles
The best answer is E. A debate can be said to be
raging, but not flouncing, floundering or talking.
Political circles is idiomatic. Choice A is
incorrect because a debate cannot be intense in a
political opinion.
The governor has shied from taking a position on
the issue, but the Civil Liberties Union said it
would actively __________ any program that
forced inmates to sign the __________ .
A. support… interface
B. challenge … document
C. reflect… text
D. sustain… certification
E. revere… petition
The best answer is B. The word but makes it
clear that what the Union does is different from
what the governor has done. Support and
challenge are both suitable options, however,
one does not sign an interface.
Scanners have long been neglected by the
designers of the PC world — __________ boxes
that take up far too __________ space on the
desktop.
A. sleek… many
B. ornamental… little
C. clumsy… few
D. clunky… much
E. blusterous… numerous
The best answer is D. Since designers have
neglected scanners, one expects them to be
described in negative term, such as clumsy or
clunky. Of the possibilities for the second blank,
only little and much are grammatical suitable
with a non-countable noun such as space.

The plan is proving popular, if __________ , in

The proposed random testing plan has New Bedford, where it was originally suggested
brought a debate to Virginia that was already to Kramer at a __________ of faith-based
__________ in national political __________ organizations earlier this month.
.
A. intense… opinions A. trendy… assembly
B. flouncing… rings B. widespread… opportunity
C. floundering… groups C. controversial … forum
D. talking… parties D. cumbersome… dispersal
E. prevalent… summit
The best answer is C. Because of the word if,
the first blank must contrast with popular.
Controversial and cumbersome provide a
suitable contrast. Dispersal is illogical.
Miller unveiled his __________ research
plan to the committee last Tuesday; he
expects to have a final plan ready for a
__________ by January.
A. preliminary … vote
B. luminous… printing
C. concluding… decision
D. definitive… judgment
E. ultimate…verdict
The best answer is A. Preliminary research
plan is logical since it contrasts logically with
the final plan.
Had the attempt to increase sales succeeded,
Fox would have had __________ to believe
the Forester Plan could set similar
__________ .
A. cause … tables
B. foundation… traditions
C. underpinning… tribunals
D. reason … records
E. keystone… verifications
The best answer is D. Cause and reason fit in
the first blank, but reason to believe is an
idiomatic expression. Similarly, to set
records is idiomatic.
The joint government web site was specially
created to educate small firms __________
their wage and __________ reporting
responsibilities.
A. about … tax
B. on… refund
C. concerning… salary
D. apropos… earnings
E. in… income
The best answer is A. To educate someone
about something is idiomatic. Since the
second blank comes after wage and… the blank
will most likely be filled with something similar
to wages. Salary and earnings, however, mean
the same thing as wage, and are therefore
illogical choices.
A solid __________ of Americans say they want
Congress to legalize the importation of lower-
priced medicines from Canada and Europe, and
would be willing to pay higher taxes to provide
prescription drug benefits to __________
citizens.
A. minority… decrepit
B. faction… old
C. majority… senior
D. lobby… elderly
E. fifty percent… superfluous
The best answer is C. The first blank comes
after the adjective solid. It would be unusual to
use solid to describe a minority, faction or lobby.
Old and elderly make sense, but only senior
citizens is idiomatic.
On April 15, Sangers International, a
__________ mainstay here for 112 years, told
its 300 employees to stop work mid-shift
because it was __________ down.
A. factious … closing
B. manufacturing … shutting
C. economic … slogging
D. economical… traipsing
E. mechanized… pulling
The best answer is B. Only closing down and
shutting down are idiomatic and logical.
Factious does not make sense in the context of
the sentence.
In talks on this trip, the prime minister has tried,
without much __________ , to persuade foreign
leaders to stop weakening their __________
against the dollar.
A. gratification… money
B. accomplishment… billfolds
C. accompaniment… exchange
D. voracity… tender
E. success … currencies

The best answer is E. The first blank, which
appears in a parenthetical expression,
logically qualifies the expression the minister
has tried. Currencies is the only choice
which can logically be compared to the
dollar.
A week-long investigation began yesterday in
Florida, with __________ speculation on the
cause of the crash centering on damage to the
plane’s right wing.
A. final
B. momentary
C. initial
D. middling
E. definitive
The best answer is C. Since it is the first day
of an investigation that is scheduled to last a
week, it makes sense that the speculation was
called initial.
__________ its high concentration of family-
owned manufacturing firms, dating back to
the late 1800s, Blendens Furniture is
accustomed to the ups and downs of the
business __________ .
A. Having… phase
B. With … cycle
C. Due to… rotation
D. Owning… sequence
E. Overseeing… disarray
The best answer is B. Having and owning at
the beginning of a sentence cannot precede
its. For the second blank, cycle is the best
choice for something described as having ups
and downs.
Last week, Texitron, an American firm with
factories in 40 countries, __________ it was
closing two more plants, __________ the
number of Texitron jobs lost to 1,030 this
year.
A. determined… setting
B. decided… deranging
C. proclaimed… putting
D. announced … bringing
E. alerted… raising
The best answer is D. Choice B, C and D can fit
in the first blank. However, only bringing the
number to… is idiomatic.
In true entrepreneurial style, Kelly has turned the
popular book into a __________ global business
of books, games, and videos that teach the
__________ of financial freedom that he used to
build his fortune.
A. flourishing… whim
B. starving… tenet
C. skulking… dogma
D. thriving … principles
E. pedestrian… ideas
The best answer is D. Since it was done in
entrepreneurial style, one would assume that
what Kelly did was successful. Flourishing and
starving are, therefore, apt. For the second
blank, principles is a much better choice since
one does not teach a whim.
With its personal touches, including twice-daily
housekeeping and round-the-clock concierge
service, the hotel has a delightful your-wish-is-
our-command air about the place, without the
__________ you might find __________ .
A. ornamentation… somewhere else
B. stuffiness … elsewhere
C. artifacts… missing
D. dankness… beyond
E. insubordination… away
The best answer is C. The sentence is praising
the hotel so one would expect that the hotel
would be without something negative.
Insubordination can only be used to describe a
person. Dankness and stuffiness are appropriate
choice for the first blank, but beyond is not a
logical choice for the second blank.
Verton executives challenged the web site tactic,
___________ that if customers switched, the
___________ would lose revenues and the very
jobs the union was trying to protect.
A. arguing … company
B. argued… firm
C. proclaiming… employee
D. stated… worker
E. questioning… staff member
The best answer is A. A gerund form, such as
arguing, proclaiming or questioning is needed
to fill the first blank. Questioning cannot
precede that. One uses the word revenue to
talk about the income of a company, not that
of individuals.
___________ an increase in attacks on the
existing technology, Netfix said that it would
release features across its line of network
firewall products.
A. Mentioning…
B. Talking…
C. Combining…
D. Citing …
E. Toting…
The best answer is D. Mentioning is too
casual. Talking cannot precede an increase….
Combining and toting are illogical.
Its ___________ includes such treasures as
woven funerary shoes from a royal tomb in
ancient Thebes and a rare pair of Inuit boots
___________ of eider skin.
A. compilation… done
B. collection… made
C. set… prepared
D. pile… shaped
E. stock… fashioned
The best answer is B. Compilation cannot be
appropriately applied to shoes. A pile or
stock cannot include items. Only made can
go before of.
There is growing ___________ that a child's
earliest experiences have a more
___________ and long-lasting effect on
subsequent health than had been previously
thought.
A. testimony… significant
B. thought… transitory
C. spurt… obsequious
D. reflection… peaceable
E. evidence … powerful
The best answer is E. Growing evidence is
idiomatic. Something that does not contradict
long-lasting, such as powerful, is needed to fill
the second blank.
Following years of generous stock options,
corporate jets and other ___________, boards
are ___________ their belts when it comes to
executive pay.
A. perks…
B. liabilities…
C. benefits … tightening
D. encumbrances…
E. prosperity…
The best answer is C. Generous stock options
and corporate jets would likely be described as
something positive, such as a perk or a benefit.
To tighten ones belt is an idiomatic expression.
The ___________ of tap dance can be traced to
the antebellum South when African-American
slaves, adept at copying Irish jigs and Lancashire
clogging, improvised and embellished those
dances with their own ___________ and
movements.
A. origins … rhythms
B. account… feelings
C. birth… apathy
D. version… awareness
E. chronicle… combo
The best answer is A. Only an origin or a birth
can be traced. A dance can be embellished with
a rhythm, not with apathy.
The federal and provincial governments
launched the National Children's Agenda six
years ago to work ___________ eliminating
child poverty, yet progress is ___________.
A. with… exclusive
B. on… indefinable
C. about… ethereal
D. toward … elusive
E. near… intangible
The best answer is D. Eliminating child
poverty is a goal, thus toward is the best
choice. The word yet indicates that the goal
has not been reach, thus elusive is apt.
Started in 1993 by the Cultural Council to
___________ the city's downtown
neighborhoods, the festival ___________
artists and acrobats, magicians and stilt
walkers from as far away as Spain and China.
A. indicate… promotes
B. celebrate … showcases
C. substantiate… singles out
D. commemorate… exonerates
E. honor… exemplifies
The best answer is B. Celebrate is the most
appropriate verb to describe a festival with
artists, acrobats, magicians and stilt walkers.
Showcases is appropriate for things being
shown to the public.
The Thornhill highway carries anywhere from
25,000 to about 50,000 ___________ a day
depending on the section of road, with the
count ___________ 60,000 in some urbanized
areas.
A. transportation… reaching
B. trips… averaging
C. vehicles … topping
D. automobiles… arriving
E. voyages… recording
The best answer is C. A highway can carry
vehicles or automobiles, but none of the other
options. Choice D is incorrect because
arriving would have to be followed by at.
The public attention it generates could help
lay the ___________ for the kind of national
consensus needed to bring substantial reform
to health-care delivery.
A. groundwork
B. beginning
C. basis
D. center
E. origin
The best answer is A. To lay the groundwork for
x… is idiomatic.
The improved sales were largely the result of a
21.3% increase in unit volume, but a 12.1%
___________ in average selling ___________
negatively impacted results.
A. plummet… strategy
B. augmentation… cost
C. certification… charge
D. drop … price
E. increase … outlay
The best answer is D. The word but signals that
the second part of the sentence will contrast with
the first part, therefore, the first blank should be
filled with an antonym of increase, such as drop.
Selling cannot be used as an adjective to describe
any of the choices other than price.
Virginia has not taken any comprehensive
___________ on transportation funding since
___________ the sales tax a half-cent in 1986.
A. heart… increasing
B. modification… adjusting
C. shape… moving
D. action … raising
E. amendment… heaving
The best answer is D. To take amendment and to
take shape are not idiomatic. To take heart, to
take shape, and to take action are idiomatic, but
only choice D fits the meaning of the sentence.
To memorialize their loved ones, the
___________ are increasingly turning to
personalization, and those in the funeral business
are responding to the ___________ with a
variety of tasteful customized products.
A. lonely…plea
B. bereaved … demand
C. mourners… task
D. destitute… endowment
E. next-of-kin… ultimatum
The best answer is B. Any of the choices could
feasibly fill in the first blank, but bereaved is the
most logical because it refers to people who
memorialize their loved ones.

While supporting publicly funded health care,
Dr. Roberts, president of the National
Orthopedic Association, hopes the case
___________ much needed debate.
A. makes
B. quells
C. stirs
D. agitates
E. represses
The best answer is C. Since debate is much-
needed, the blank should be filled with a word
that will promote debate, such as stirs.
Many athletes and celebrities demand
payment for their signatures, and people are
___________ up to pay the price.
A. lining
B. folding
C. taking
D. cracking
E. giving
The best answer is A. Lining up is both
idiomatic and logical.
The overnight train from London to
Edinburgh was an experience that reminded
me how exciting that mode of ___________
can be, but how our fast-paced lives rarely
___________ the luxury of time to enjoy it.
A. transportation… condone
B. adventure… allow
C. movement… permit
D. shifting… suffice
E. travel… afford
The best answer is E. Only mode of
transportation and mode of travel are
idiomatic and logical. The word afford, used
in the sense of allow, fits the context of the
sentence.
Mardex recently launched a line of broadband
home networking products, ___________
wireless base stations and a five-port hub,
___________ targeting the home and home
business.
A. enclosing… each
B. including… both
C. attaching… none
D. containing… all
E. enfolding… some
The best answer is B. A line of products can
logically be said to include certain items. Both is
the logical choice to refer to two items.
While smoking has declined steadily in Canada
since 1965, the ___________ has not held true
for girls and younger ___________.
A. inclination… people
B. tendency… children
C. slope… folk
D. trend … women
E. grade… teenagers
The best answer is D. Tendency and trend are
both appropriate choices, however, women is
more appropriate than children. Young children
is a group that would presumably include girls.
James Colin has ___________ his sound on
numerous occasions throughout his career -- all
the while ___________ a contemporary tone.
A. retuned… preserving
B. revamped … maintaining
C. evolved… upholding
D. fabricated… sustaining
E. metamorphosed… composing
The best answer is B. Choice C, D and E cannot
fill the first blank because they are intransitive
verbs. Retuned can be applied to an instrument,
not a sound.
Long waiting ___________, it seems, have
become a defining element of the heath-care
system; and nowhere is it ___________ than in
orthopedic surgery.
A. days… more
B. times … shabbier
C. spots… better
D. periods… worse
E. eras… greater
The best answer is D. Waiting periods is
idiomatic. The first part of the sentence
discusses something bad (long waits). The
second part of the sentence says that it has
become more pronounced, thus worse is
suitable.
E. resource… civilians
The best answer is A. Source of information is
idiomatic, as is general public.
The credibility of The Evening Guardian has
made it a valuable ___________ for reaching
medical consumers and for helping medical
researchers obtain family ___________.

At age 84, he is America's most listened-to A. means … histories

radio ___________, and a ten million dollar- B. viaduct… records
a-year ___________ will keep him busy into C. tool… kinship
his 90s. D. transducer… past
E. affiliate… associations
A. anchor… pact
B. announcer… indenture The best answer is A. Both means and tool are
C. personality… treaty acceptable, but means is more appropriate. Tool
D. broadcaster… contract is generally used to refer to a tangible object.
E. duplicator… agreement Family history is idiomatic in a medical context.

The best answer is D. Choices B, C and D are

suitable to fill the first blank. Contract is the Six years ago this ___________, Asian leaders
only noun that can be used to refer to a work met in cold, rainy Vancouver to discuss the
agreement. region's worsening financial ___________.

A. time … calamity
In a fascinating book, science ___________ B. moment… distress
Sarah Helm ___________ there is far more to C. week … crisis
moths than meets the eye. D. today… tragedy
E. day… emergency
A. scribbler… exposes
B. writer … reveals The best answer is C. Only week can be used for
C. dabbler… tells the first blank. Choice A and B do not make
D. author… thinks sense. Today and day cannot follow this.
E. sycophant… discloses

The best answer is B. Only choices B and D Medical Update, a monthly newsletter that
can fill the first blank. All the choices to fill reports on epidemiological surveys and other
the second blank besides reveals cannot ___________ of the society, is ___________ by
precede a complete clause. this division.

A. doings… disordered
Founded in 1976, the Benjamin Franklin B. episodes… put out
Literary & Medical Society has become a C. bouts… disseminated
leading ___________ of information on D. activities … published
health and medicine for the general E. segments… assembled
___________.
The best answer is D. The first blank must be
A. source … public filled by something of which surveys can be
B. well… citizenry considered an example, such as activities. Also,
C. scourge… populous a report being published is logical.
D. font… community

A judge ___________ an Arizona woman to
60 days home detention for intercepting her
husband's ex-wife's e-mail, saying the penalty
is a warning to others who might be tempted
to do ___________.
A. ordered… so
B. declared… such
C. sentenced … the same
D. segregated… as well
E. mediated… similar
The best answer is C. Only ordered and
sentenced can be followed with …to 60
days…. The same has a much clearer referent
than so.
In the magazine, national health surveys are
taken to ___________ current research on
topics such as cancer, diabetes, high blood
pressure, heart disease, and bipolar disorder.
A. proliferate
B. propagate
C. distance
D. further
E. dissect
The best answer is D. To further research,
meaning to advance it, is idiomatic.
Outside the courtroom, the lanky
___________ told TV cameras he now hoped
to get a job as a computer security
___________ or programmer.
A. gentleman… personnel
B. teenager … consultant
C. chap… resource
D. constituent… competitor
E. adolescent… player
The best answer is B. Lanky is an adjective
most often used to describe teenagers.
Personnel and resource do not fit because it is
a non-countable noun.
A late rally on Wall Street after most
European markets had closed set a positive
tone in Europe, with higher-than-forecast
___________ again the main driver of gains.
A. rejoinders
B. profits
C. deficiencies
D. depreciation
E. stupefaction
The best answer is B. Since a positive tone was
set, profits is a logical outcome.
The renaissance in farmers' markets began just
___________ 20 years ago in several places,
___________ them California and New York
City.
A. more… with
B. over … among
C. more than… between
D. above… some of
E. up… some
The best answer is B. Just over is correct and
idiomatic. Among them is the appropriate
expression to single a few out of a group.
Net margins for grocery stores were sorely
___________, so a group of usually
uncooperative supermarket executives joined
___________ with a few food manufacturers to
come up with a system to automate checkout
stands.
A. drooping… influences
B. lowered… cogency
C. falling… teams
D. lagging… harnesses
E. sagging … forces
The best answer is E. The adjective sorely is
most appropriately used with either lagging or
sagging. Joined harnesses is illogical. Joined
forces is idiomatic.
As recently as the 1980s, production far
outstripped ___________, and the government
was paying dairy farmers $1 billion to thin their
herds while it bought tons of ___________
cheese.
A. supply… extra
B. planning … unwanted
C. demand … surplus
D. quota… surreptitious
E. billing… supercilious
The best answer is C. For the first blank,
choices A and E are illogical. B and D are
ungrammatical. Since production “far
outstripped demand,” surplus is a logical
choice for the second blank.
After Borden received ___________ in 1856
for producing concentrated milk in a vacuum,
condensed milk became an important part of
the dairy ___________.
A. an award… subject
B. a copyright… field
C. a document… trade
D. a patent … industry
E. power of attorney… business
The best answer is D. Choices A and D can
logically fill the first blank, but industry
makes much more sense for the second
choice.
Tuberculosis kills 1.5 million people a year
and nearly two billion people worldwide have
___________ tuberculosis infection, a
massive potential reservoir for the
___________.
A. sleeping… affliction
B. latent … disease
C. raging… affiliation
D. dozing… illness
E. rampant… circumstance
The best answer is . Since there is a potential
reservoir, it makes sense that the disease is
dormant. Choices A, B and D all have the
same meaning but only latent is a word
applied to a disease.
The ___________ multi-cellular creatures on
earth, sponges are collections of loosely
organized single cells with no true organs or
___________ .
A. plain… glands
B. plainest… tissue
C. simpler… tools
D. simplest … tissues
E. small… pianos
The best answer is D. An expression of the form
The ______ something on earth requires the use
of the superlative (-est) form to fill the blank.
Organs and tissues are both parts of a body so
they logically fit together.
A highly ___________ gas, methyl bromide is
injected into the soil before planting,
___________ out nearly everything alive.
A. toxic … wiping
B. redundant… moving
C. foul… selling
D. noxious … killing
E. recombinant… taking
The best answer is A. A gas cannot be
redundant or recombinant. Killing out is not
idiomatic, while moving out cannot be used in a
transitive sense.
Most easily measured ___________ gains come
from increasing the capital stock and improving
the efficiency with which the capital stock is
used.
A. lucrative…
B. lachrymose…
C. economic …
D. correctional…
E. gainful…
The best answer is C. Lucrative and gainful
gains are redundant. Lachrymose and
correctional are illogical.
No other people of the world are quite so
___________ with installing and ___________
expanses of short grass — mostly around houses
but also at schools, parks, golf courses,
graveyards, freeway embankments and corporate
headquarters.
A. taken… keep
B. misguided… saving
C. allusive… tapering
D. inclusive…savoring
E. obsessed… maintaining
The best answer is E. Choices C and D are
illogical. B is incorrect because one cannot
be misguided with something. Choice A is
incorrect because the second blank must be
filled with a gerund form (-ing).
Ranchers have long despised prairie dogs,
believing (___________, according to some
new research) that they deprive cattle of
___________.
A. erroneously … forage
B. incredulously… space
C. frantically … greens
D. abstrusely… graze
E. utterly… food
The best answer is A. Erroneously is the best
choice because it qualifies the word believing.
___________ in the University's Research
Park, the Patton Center is the catalyst that
brings together the people and ideas necessary
for ___________ successful enterprises.
A. Found… beginning
B. Stationed… setting
C. Lying… inaugurating
D. Facing… fixating
E. Located … launching
The best answer is E. Stationed is used for
army personnel. Facing cannot be followed
by in. Lying is unidiomatic. Launching an
enterprise is an idiomatic expression.
Timber rattlesnakes used to be common in a
range ___________ from Oklahoma and
Nebraska up the Appalachians to southern
New England, and ___________ the
Mississippi river to Wisconsin and Minnesota.
A. progressing… by
B. extending … along
C. extenuating… forward
D. persevering… onward
E. originating… siding
The best answer is B. Extending from x to y is
an appropriate expression to discuss a range of
land. Along is the best choice to describe
something extending the length of a river.
The castle is now a tourist ___________,
bringing visitors and restoration volunteers from
___________ countries.
A. drawer… multiple
B. collector… several
C. attraction … numerous
D. sighting… various
E. abode… dismissible
The best answer is C. Tourist attraction is
idiomatic. Numerous is a adjective that can
appropriately be applied to countries.
The grandson of a Haitian slave, Dumas became
the most famous author in France; now, his
rousing romantic novels are enjoying renewed
___________.
A. infamy
B. unanimity
C. disrepute
D. popularity
E. disparity
The best answer is D. Since Dumas was the most
famous author, it is logical that what is renewed
is his popularity.
Today, as in the ___________, whether for chefs
___________ their restaurants with fresh
produce, or customers interested in homemade
cakes and preserves, farmers' markets promise
not only freshness but sociability.
A. country… stocking
B. past … supplying
C. secret… hoarding
D. history… supplied
E. east… collecting
The best answer is B. The word past makes a
logical contrast to today. History cannot be
proceeded by the.
With tools such as lasers, climate-controlled
research chambers and, of course, computers,
Hatfield and his ___________ are bringing
soil science into the next ___________.
A. employees… term
B. cohorts… dimension
C. colleagues … century
D. minders… exponent
E. facilities… component
The best answer is C. Colleagues is an
appropriate term to refer to members of a
research team. To bring something into the
next century is idiomatic.
Though the general died young, leaving his
son without an inheritance, the young man
overcame ___________, the lack of
___________ education to become one of the
world's most popular writers.
A. exuberance… secular
B. poverty … formal
C. adversity… expedient
D. lethargy… liberal
E. illness… legal
The best answer is B. Since he was left
without an inheritance, overcoming poverty is
logical. The expression formal education is
idiomatic.
Every healthy body at rest ___________ a
certain amount of energy just keeping the
organs functioning and blood ___________.
A. expends … circulating
B. puts off… clotting
C. using… pushing
D. burning… flow
E. endeavors… mingling
The best answer is A. Grammatically, the
present simple tense is called for to fill the
first blank. Expends is a suitable verb to
describe the use of energy. For the second
blank a gerund (-ing) form is required to
maintain parallelism.
Euthanasia, the act of humanely ___________
animals that are hopelessly sick or ___________,
is a controversial topic.
A. maiming… hurt
B. executing… wounding
C. slaughtering… wounded
D. killing … injured
E. assassinating… injuring
The best answer is D. Assassinating can only be
applied to people. Maiming, executing and
slaughtering have more negative connotations
than killing and therefore could not be used with
the adjective humanely.
Change is particularly difficult for some animals,
especially ___________ who have been used to
the same daily ___________ for a long time.
A. them… grind
B. those … routine
C. these… habit
D. critters… habitat
E. whomever… habitation
The best answer is B. Those is the best pronoun
to refer back to animals. For the second blank,
daily grind is appropriate in meaning, but is a
slang expression. A habit cannot be describe as
daily in the sense of general behavior.
The reopening marks the end of a massive,
inside-and-out ___________ project that
shrouded the society's terra-cotta headquarters in
scaffolding for nearly four years.
A. reduction
B. reunification
C. commiseration
D. renovation
E. conservation
The best answer is D. It is logical that a
reopening would follow a renovation.
Diego silenced the ___________ and turned her
passion for scrapbooks into a successful retail
and ___________ business.
A. devotees… public
B. enthusiasts… marketable
C. detractors… economic
D. concordances … profitable
E. skeptics … wholesale
The best answer is E. One silences opposing
voices, therefore, choices D and E can
logically fill the first blank. Retail and
wholesale logically go together.
Stenton, who was ___________ in New York
City in 1915, spent most of his life sharing his
love of music by teaching others to
___________ the piano.
A. educated… listen
B. born … play
C. taught… love
D. raised… appreciate
E. grown… adore
The best answer is B. The first blank requires
a verb to refer to an action that happened in
1915. Other than choice B, all the choices
refer to things that happen over a period of
years.
Today Calder is the youngest by nearly two
generations at the veteran’s hospital, where
he ___________ therapy and ___________.
A. undergoes … rehabilitation
B. has… restoration
C. does… healing
D. suffers… analysis
E. experiences… treatment
The best answer is A. Choices A and B can
logically and idiomatically fill the first blank.
Restoration is incorrect because it is not a
word one applies to humans.
More and more people are considering
mortgages that require the ___________ to
pay only the monthly ___________ on the
loan.
A. taker… profits
B. client… revenues
C. instigator… dividends
D. borrower … interest
E. investigator… capitol
The best answer is D. Choices C and D are
illogical for the first blank. Choice A is not
idiomatic. Revenues is not a word used to
describe payments made by an individual.
Some economists are predicting that demand
will catch up with productivity shortly,
___________ an enormous boom in job growth.
A. making
B. shooting
C. spurring
D. spinning
E. goading
The best answer is C. Spurring, a verb whose
origins come from the spurs of a horseback
rider’s boots, is appropriate to describe
something that causes an enormous boom.
The city is ___________ to annex land for new,
suburban-style homes, but zoning abuses blight
existing neighborhoods with ___________
construction.
A. scheduled… exquisite
B. talking… opulent
C. foregoing… errant
D. slated… illegal
E. considering… succulent
The best answer is D. Only choices A and D are
both logical and grammatical for the first blank.
For the second blank, however, exquisite is not a
logical adjective to describe a blight.
In ___________ of resolving the profound
economic and social problems that continue to
___________ the nation, the president's removal
last July accomplished nothing.
A. sense… butter
B. light… libel
C. coin… malign
D. means… disturb
E. terms … plague
The best answer is E. In terms of is idiomatic.
Plague is the best choice to refer to profound
economic and social problems.
Some agencies offer financing ___________
for developers to encourage the building of
___________ housing.
A. incentives … rental
B. perks… semi-permanent
C. bonuses… viable
D. encouragement… marketable
E. raises… salable
The best answer is A. Perks, encouragement
and raises are usually given to employees, not
developers. Housing cannot be viable.
Marks, ___________ forecaster, estimates
that, compared to the administration's
dividend tax cuts, extending unemployment
benefits would produce a 20 times
___________ positive effect on the gross
domestic product.
A. a reliable… greatest
B. an economic … greater
C. an intuitive… great
D. a moneyed… worse
E. a furtive… worst
The best answer is B. Choices A, B and C are
reasonable to fill the first blank. D and E are
possible, but would be unusual. After a 20
times greater___, a comparative form of
adjective is needed, such as greater.
As a politician's wife, Carole Samuels became
active in her own ___________, attending
chamber of commerce breakfasts and
historical society meetings, and ___________
in the Gardener’s Club.
A. way… convened
B. time… convening
C. self… ran
D. right… running
E. identity… chaired
The best answer is D. In her own right is
idiomatic. A gerund is needed to fill the second
blank to maintain parallelism.
Seth Walters has ___________ more than four
decades in commercial banking, ___________
from a bank messenger to president and CEO of
the Merchant’s Bank.
A. caroled… upping
B. resided… increasing
C. loafed… raising
D. spent … rising
E. squandered… starting
The best answer is D. Grammatically, choices A,
B and C cannot fit in the first blank because they
would have to be followed by a preposition.
Choice E is unlikely – if the time had been
squandered, Walters would not have risen to the
position of president.
As healthcare costs grow, the problem of the
underinsured will only get ___________, as
corporations seek to control costs by continuing
to raise ___________ for employees.
A. worse … deductibles
B. depleted… deductions
C. alleviated… welts
D. recompensed… interest
E. disparaged… abscesses
The best answer is A. The phrase the problem
will only get ___, is generally followed by
something negative, such as worse. Deductibles
is logical since the sentence refers to insurance
(the problem of the underinsured).
At the school, she wrote and directed several
___________ productions about the Everglades
and its ___________ as well as tributes to
historic Floridians, such as Marjory Stoneman
Douglas.
A. physical… fauna
B. theatrical … animals
C. musical… locations
D. creative… flora
E. prolific… alligators
The best answer is B. Theatrical productions The best answer is C. To breath easier is
and musical productions are idiomatic. idiomatic. Used metaphorically, fears can be
Animals is a better choice than locations for unleashed.
something that belongs to the Everglades.

Arguing that the roots of many of the region's

Some residents claim that the timing of the problems are more political and institutional than
strike was inappropriate, considering the economic, the lecturer claimed that the
___________ economy. government will now stress the need to
___________ corruption and ___________
A. flourishing bureaucracy.
B. harmonizing
C. shivering A. arm… unwieldy
D. questionable B. forego… international
E. illiterate C. attack… exceptional
D. defuse… permissive
The best answer is D. Choices B, C and E E. tackle … inefficient
cannot be applied to an economy. A strike is
generally considered inappropriate when the The best answer is E. Attack and tackle are the
economy is poor, hence D is a better choice only logical choice for the first blank. The word
than A. bureaucracy is rarely preceded by a positive
adjective.

A wildfire roaring through the ___________

of the San Bernardino Mountains burned as Compared to economic disaster areas like
___________ as 20 homes and forced Venezuela and Argentina, where the
thousands to flee. ___________ shrank by 12 percent last year,
Brazil's outlook is ___________.
A. crests… various
B. foothills … many A. economy … rosy
C. summits… numerous B. population… undecided
D. grounds… far C. integration … advantageous
E. trees… much D. specification… ambiguous
E. profit… perilous
The best answer is B. It would be nearly
impossible for a fire to roar through the crests The best answer is A. Choice A is the most
or summits of mountains. Many is the logical for the first blank. Profit could not
appropriate choice to agree with homes. follow the when referring to an entire country.
For the second blank, there is a contrast set up
between Venezuela and Argentina on the one
Businessmen and investors may be hand, and Brazil on the other. Since the former
___________ a little easier now that the are disaster areas, the second should be positive.
initial fears ___________ by the elections of
leftist presidents in neighboring countries
have been muffled. Throughout the downturn of the past few years,
economists and analysts have trumpeted our
A. living… released historic increases in productivity as the one
B. working… tipped off ___________ in an otherwise dreary economic
C. breathing … unleashed ___________.
D. thinking… forestalled
E. pondering… untapped A. upturn… neighborhood
B. indication… surrounding
C. positive … environment
D. advisory… background
E. allocation… milieu
The best answer is C. The phrase as the one x
in an otherwise dreary… sets the stage for a
positive word filling the blank.
The Andes ___________ as the floor of the
Pacific Ocean slipped uneasily beneath South
America, ruffling the land along the west
coast of the ___________.
A. formed… continent
B. created… country
C. disinterred… mass
D. depredated… mass
E. shaped… landfill
The best answer is A. Created and shaped
would have to be put into a passive form
(were created, were shaped) to fill the first
blank. Disinterred and depredated are
illogical.
Researchers have long ___________ about
whether this kind of selfless behavior in
animals, ___________ as altruism, directly
benefits the helper.
A. argued … known
B. dreamed… deemed
C. stipulated… named
D. simulated… seen
E. posited… characterized
The best answer is A. Only argued and
dreamed can go before about. Deemed
cannot precede as.
According to Charles Darwin's theory of
natural selection, an animal's success in the
gene ___________ is measured by the
number of offspring it ___________ raises to
pass on its DNA.
A. source… substantially
B. swamp… joyfully
C. pool … successfully
D. base… productively
E. chromosome… verdantly
The best answer is C. Gene pool is idiomatic.
Successfully is a logical choice; if the offspring
are not raised successfully, they cannot make an
impact on the gene pool.
___________ of mythical giant apes lurk in the
oral ___________ of most Native American
tribes, as well as in Europe and Asia.
A. Talks… chronicles
B. Stories… verbiage
C. Legends… writings
D. Quips… meanderings
E. Tales … traditions
The best answer is E. One can have stories,
legends or tales of something. Oral traditions is
an idiomatic expression. Furthermore, oral
verbiage is both redundant and illogical, while
oral writings is a contradiction in terms.
Statistically, the 3,300 responses _________ the
opinions (accurate to plus or minus two percent)
of the 154 million American adults who have
traveled over the ___________ three years.
A. face… last
B. focus… first
C. preclude… coming
D. represent … past
E. repress… forthcoming
The best answer is D. Grammatically, all of the
choices are suitable to fill in the first blank, but
semantically, represent is the most logical
choice. Because the present perfect (have
traveled) is used, the second blank must be
something that refers to the past.
The academic services division was
___________ to providing quality support to the
students and staff through the provision of
specialist administrative ___________.
A. submitted… services
B. committed … assistance
C. destined… debate
D. conniving… help
E. striving… contact
The best answer is B. Choice D and E cannot be
correct for the first blank because they are
gerund forms. An academic services division
cannot normally be submitted. Destined
would have to be follow be an infinitive form.
Prosecutors have ___________ a wealth of
circumstantial evidence linking the six
___________ to the deadly bombing.
A. collected… detectives
B. amassed … suspects
C. accumulated… suspicions
D. assembled… executors
E. engineered… perpetrators
The best answer is B. To amass wealth is
idiomatic. Here the expression is expanded to
refer to a wealth of evidence. Suspects is
appropriate to refer to people accused but not
yet tried.
First hired in 1972 as ___________ staff
writer for The Examiner, Frank Gordon has
since fashioned a career in journalism
___________ over three decades.
A. a budding… taking
B. a novice… reeling
C. an introductory… sponging
D. an eager… spanning
E. a top… straddling
The best answer is D. For the first blank, a
person cannot be introductory. Eager or
novice are the most appropriate adjective to
describe a beginning writer. Only spanning
can be used to indicate that Gordon’s career
lasted three decades.
It was thought that if the corpse did not have
___________ care, the former pharaoh would
not be able to ___________ out his new
duties as king of the dead.
A. careful… fold
B. secret… address
C. deciduous… situate
D. proper … carry
E. learned… marry
The best answer is D. The care that one takes
over something cannot be described as
careful, secret, deciduous or learned. Duties are
said to be carried out.
Many of these prizes are ___________ at the
Faculty of Business presentation ceremony
___________ is held in June for the preceding
academic year.
A. designated…who
B. relegated… that
C. awarded… which
D. stultified… in which
E. given… where
The best answer is C. Prizes are normally
awarded or given. Which is the appropriate
pronoun to refer to the ceremony.
Earlier this month tax-evasion charges were
___________ against Maryanne Sumner, who is
___________ for the auditing of operations.
A. filed … responsible
B. summoned… reliable
C. subpoenaed… determined
D. lodged… reachable
E. grated… accountable
The best answer is A. A person can be
summoned or subpoenaed, not charges. To file
charges is idiomatic.
The Egyptians mummified their dead because
they believed that a person needed his body in
the afterlife, and the better-looking the better, so
it was ___________ on the priests in charge of
___________ to do a good job.
A. designated… wrapping
B. selected… preserving
C. assigned… mummifying
D. doled… exacting
E. incumbent… embalming
The best answer is E. The first four choices for
the first blank are used passively (the priest was
assigned). The blank calls for an active verb.
The work of mummification is embalming.
Projects ___________ by management curbs, moats, open parklands, and working
students include a recent communication forests.
analysis and team development project
conducted by a postgraduate ___________. A. intersecting
B. fixed
A. serviced… pupil C. interlinking
B. organized… student D. thickened
C. steered… professor E. dense
D. accomplished… teacher
E. sentenced… fellow The best answer is C. Since the roads are
described as complex, it makes sense that they
The best answer is B. One cannot service, would be interlinked.
accomplish or sentence a project. A
postgraduate is a type of student.
Discovered by two paleontology students in clay
pits near Peterborough, the ___________ is the
When deep-sea explorers ___________ the largest known fish ever ___________.
Baltic Sea floor located a Swedish spy plane
shot down by the Russians more than 50 years A. fossil … recorded
ago this June, they ended one of the more B. remnant… devoured
___________ mysteries of the Cold War. C. visage… monitored
D. vestige… summoned
A. dredging… flimsy E. pebble… careened
B. combing … enduring
C. cruising… unforeseen The best answer is A. Only fossil is logical in
D. skimming… unreceptive reference to a fish.
E. searching… personified

The best answer is B. One cannot cruise or The recent arrest has ___________ concern
skim the sea floor. A mystery can be about a government push against powerful
described as enduring when it has been in business barons before the ___________
existence for a long period of time. elections.

A. hurdled… forthcoming
By ___________ the elements in the bones of B. marked… approaching
a person long dead, researchers can C. initiated… short
___________ the main constituents of that D. sparked … upcoming
individual's diet. E. kindled… near

A. testing… delineate The best answer is D. While choices C, D and E

B. revealing… concoct are all possible, only sparked concern is
C. exhuming… discern idiomatic.
D. examining… determine
E. subsuming… reveal The government will also now start the legal
process of lifting the monopoly ___________ by
The best answer is D. A body can be Telecon, the state carrier.
exhumed, but not the elements in the bones of
a body. These can be tested, examined or A. endured
revealed. The constituents of a person’s diet B. pressed upon
can be determined. C. enjoyed
D. confounded
E. supplied
Connected by a complex set of ___________
roads, the villages were defined by ditches,
The best answer is C. A monopoly is
something that a company enjoys, so C is the
most logical choice.
An extensive archaeological excavation has
___________ a lost city that is believed to be
one of the ___________ jewels in the ancient
civilization of the Maya.
A. unearthed … crowning
B. buried… shining
C. uncovered… glowing
D. bared… crowned
E. obscured… buffed
The best answer is . Excavations remove
objects from the earth therefore, unearthed is
an appropriate choice. Crowning jewels is
idiomatic.
Though the economy ___________ through a
recession in 2001, super-low interest rates
have ___________ demand for mortgages,
which has encouraged a boom in mortgage
refinancing.
A. battled… incited
B. conceded… impelled
C. suffered … fueled
D. slogged… driven
E. smudged… posited
The best answer is C. A recession is a
negative occurrence so it is appropriate that
one would battle or suffer through it. Fuel
can be used figuratively to mean promote.
The rationale ___________ the rise of fee-
based advice is that it makes for a better
relationship with clients by eliminating the
potential for conflicts that ___________ when
someone profits directly from their
recommendations.
A. behind … arise
B. invested in… occur
C. driving… intrude
D. after… disrupt
E. following… awaken
The best answer is A. It is idiomatic to talk
about the rationale behind x. Similarly, conflicts
are said to arise.
Never before in ___________ history have
monetary and fiscal policies been as motivating
as today, and yet, the American economy
remains weak and vulnerable.
A. today’s
B. yesteryear’s
C. yesterday’s
D. recent
E. topical
The best answer is D. Today’s history,
yesteryear’s history and yesterday’s history are
unidiomatic expressions. Topical history is
illogical.
The open nature of the web, its unpredictable
and ___________ proliferation of ideas and open
source software was ___________ to the world's
leading operating systems company.
A. untenable… propagation
B. insupportable… panacea
C. copious… abomination
D. uncontrollable … anathema
E. bountiful … atomization
The best answer is C. Both copious
proliferation and bountiful proliferation are
redundant. Uncontrollable is the most logical
choice for the first blank. Since uncontrollable
has a negative connotation, anathema, also a
negative word, is a logical choice.
Front Inc., ___________ by the 1999 merger
between Front Bank and Merchant’s Bank, has
been at the ___________ of merger rumors for
years.
A. started… middle
B. created … center
C. began… apex
D. founded… summit
E. fashioned… maelstrom
The best answer is B. A company is created by a
merger. Founded is appropriate to use to refer
to a completely new company. Fashioned
cannot be followed by by to refer to the
company’s origins.
As younger workers watch parents and others
in ___________ generations go back to work
after retiring because their savings were not
___________, they still aren't doing enough
to provide for their own financial futures.
A. senior… ample
B. younger… sufficient
C. old… generous
D. older … adequate
E. advanced… prolific
The best answer is D. Since the younger
workers are watching parents and other in
____ generations, the others are likely of their
parents’ generation, hence older is logical.
The second blank must contain a word that
explains why older generation would go back
to work.
Outspoken ___________ as a teenager, he
was dismissed from high school when he
refused to compromise his word to a school
___________.
A. from his time… mascot
B. early… officer
C. already… teacher
D. still… regulation
E. even … principal
The best answer is E. From his time and
early are unidiomatic and still is illogical.
Already is awkward in the first blank.
College costs once again have increased far
faster than inflation, with ___________ at
state schools posting the biggest
___________ in 30 years
A. fees… augmentation
B. costs… depreciation
C. revenues… devaluation
D. tuition… increase
E. payments… intensification
The best answer is D. Tuition is a word that
specifically means fees paid to a school and is
thus the best answer. The first part of the
sentence deals with college costs increases in
general, and the second part mentions a more
specific increase.
A new survey says most families aren't generally
expecting to ___________ more money on
holiday vacations than they did ___________
year.
A. fritter… previous
B. spend … last
C. save… past
D. squander… preceding
E. invest… prior
The best answer is B. Fritter and squander have
negative connotations that are not in keeping
with the tone of the sentence. One does not
invest in a vacation.
__________ in the history of this great country
have there been more annoying commercials on
the public ___________.
A. Once… systems
B. Ever… channels
C. Sometimes… broadcasts
D. Never … airwaves
E. Always… television
The best answer is D. Only choices D and E fit
the sentence grammatically. Public television
cannot follow the definite article.
Since the success of his last book and his Oscar-
winning ___________, (a success he likes to
remind you of at every ___________), he has
become the most prominent liberal agitator in the
West.
A. presentation…moment
B. documentary… opportunity
C. staging…minute
D. film…prospect
E. enactment… initiation
The best answer is B. A documentary or a film
are choices which could be Oscar-winning. For
the second blank, prospect and initiation are
illogical. Moment and minute cannot come
after at every.
The most successful remodeling projects
begin with homeowners ___________ have a
imaginative, yet ___________, idea of what
they want done.
A. that… sensational
B. where… pragmatic
C. which… inspired
D. whom… dazzling
E. who … realistic
The best answer is E. Who is the most
suitable pronoun to refer to homeowners. The
second blank must be filled with a word
which contrasts with imaginative because of
the yet before the blank.
To accompany the book, Freeman
___________ has a new ___________ of
digital photographs spanning 30 years.
A. as well… rehearsal
B. also… exhibition
C. additionally…
D. too… revision
E. besides… showing
The best answer is B. None of the choices
other than also fit the sentence grammatically.
Photographs can logical be displayed in an
exhibition.
He went over all his expenditures and
___________ for the preceding year and a
half, and was shocked by what he
___________.
A. income … found
B. disbursements… discovered
C. expenses… uncovered
D. salaries… related
E. tolls… manifested
The best answer is A. Disbursements and
expenses mean the same as expenditures and
are therefore redundant. An individual
usually doesn’t have many salaries and does not
collect tolls.
Their income has proven ___________ to
maintain what they regard as a comfortable,
though not ___________, lifestyle.
A. superficial… excessive
B. opulent… verifiable
C. sufficient… luxurious
D. ample… fulsome
E. sketchy… extraordinary
The best answer is C. Sufficient and ample are
suitable to describe income that can maintain a
comfortable lifestyle.
He was rejected by the National Film School and
spent 11 years doing odd jobs for a small theatre
company before he got the ___________ to
make his film noir thriller.
A. break
B. thought
C. calibration
D. opportunity
E. warning
The best answer is D. Break and opportunity are
suitable as far as their meaning, but break cannot
be followed by to.
When George Wilson graduated from high
school, his parents, both of ___________ were
hearing impaired and on disability, could provide
___________ financial help toward college.
A. whom… no
B. they… none
C. who … little
D. them… scarce
E. parent… nary
The best answer is C. Who is the best pronoun
to refer back to Wilson’s parents. Only no and
little are suitable grammatically for the second
blank.
Michael grew up under difficult B. a soul … delve
circumstances in the San Fernando Valley, C. a person… plunge
where he battled family ___________ from D. a being… sift
___________ age. E. someone… hop

A. connections… a small The best answer is B. Did not know a soul is an

B. embattlements… a little idiomatic expression used to mean did not know
C. kinships… a young anyone.
D. issues… every
E. problems … an early
The defendants have asked for a jury trial, but
The best answer is E. One battles problems. Cary, lawyer for Sun Entertainment, is expected
An early age is idiomatic. to petition the court today for a trial by
___________ without ___________.

While the couple tries to find bargain- A. court… a judgment

basement prices on all their ___________, B. tribunal… a sentencing
they do not ___________ on quality. C. proxy… an adjudicator
D. fire… a panel
A. purchases … stint E. judge … a jury
B. inceptions… squelch
C. acquisitions…squint The best answer is E. The word but sets up the
D. abstentions… squander expectation of a contrast in the sentence. Trial
E. accumulations… tender by judge contrasts with jury trial.

The best answer is A. Purchases and

acquisitions are logical choices for the first Short, broad grandmothers, speaking only
blank. The second blank must be filled with a Zapotec, the indigenous ___________ of the
word that will contrast with the first part of region, dutifully grind corn for tortillas and
the sentence. march their pigs to market.

A. dialogue
What was a ruthlessly effective way of B. language
enhancing their electoral fortunes has C. vernacular
developed into a compulsion never to allow D. jargon
any leader much of a chance to ___________. E. clauses

A. persist The best answer is B. Zapotec, written with a

B. impeach capital letter and spoken, is likely to be the name
C. command of a language.
D. impersonate
E. direct
In 1980, Smith & Smith decided to
The best answer is C. One cannot allow ___________ eight of its old models to make
someone else to persist. Impeach cannot be room for some of the more modern models that
used as in intransitive verb. Since a leader collectors seemed to be ___________ in.
commands, command is the best response.
A. retire … interested
B. decline… focused
Though she had never been there, and did not C. desist… fascinated
know ___________, she felt an D. rest… targeted
overwhelming urge to ___________ into this E. wane… charmed
uncharted territory.
A. an individual… strive
The best answer is A. Retire, though
primarily applied to people, is also used to
refer to products. Only interested and
fascinated can precede in.
The Calverts were a young New England
couple looking for an inexpensive way to
___________ a small vacation cottage in
Massachusetts when they first began
purchasing country ___________ and folk art
in the 1920s.
A. decorate… samples
B. endow… relics
C. conjure… baubles
D. furnish … antiques
E. bequeath… trinkets
The best answer is D. There is no expensive
or inexpensive way the endow or bequeath a
cottage. Country sample is vague (samples of
what?).
Professional searchers will travel the
___________ over, using any ___________
possible — from satellites to simple theft —
to acquire meteorites.
A. globe…method
B. earth… way
C. planet… methodology
D. world… means
E. land… resources
The best answer is D. While the first four
choices for the first blank all mean the same
thing, only world can come before over.
Traffic safety experts said that national driver
education standards should be ___________
so teenagers everywhere receive
___________ training before hitting the road
on their own.
A. decanted… coercive
B. adapted… obliging
C. adopted… uniform
D. excepted… comprehensive
E. incepted… insipid
The best answer is C. If the standards were
adopted, then the training would be uniform.
Many of the draft document's points
___________ ideas espoused for years by anti-
globalization ___________.
A. capitulated… sympathizers
B. echoed … activists
C. estranged… protagonist
D. reiterated… mentors
E. venerated… militants
The best answer is B. Points may be echoed or
reiterated. One cannot be a mentor for a cause.
Researchers say it will be several years before
computer programs will accurately ___________
fire behavior the way television weathermen tell
viewers where a hurricane or a ___________ is
heading.
A. precede… rainfall
B. predict… cloud
C. prepare… shower
D. forecast … blizzard
E. forbear… tornado
The best answer is D. What the researchers do is
being compared to what weathermen do,
therefore, predict or forecast are logical choices.
While any of the choices for the second blank
are feasible, a blizzard is more similar to
hurricane than some of the other choices, and
therefore is better.
Low short-term borrowing costs may give
consumers and businesses an ___________ to
spend and invest more and ___________ boost
economic growth.
A. enticement… thusly
B. stimulant… nevertheless
C. incentive… thus
D. inducement… consecutively
E. supplement… therefore
The best answer is C. The first four choices for
the first blank mean roughly the same thing, but
the first two are not appropriate for a business
situation. Thus shows the causal effect of the
short-term borrowing on economic growth.
All but the smallest new televisions will have
to be able to receive digital television
___________ by July 2007 under a
government rule upheld by a federal
___________ court on Tuesday.
A. flashes … claims
B. signs… broadcasting
C. flares… official
D. signals… appeals
E. messages… allowed
The best answer is D. Digital television sends
signals. A regular court rules, but an appeals
court upholds or overturns decisions.
Supporters of helmet laws say the government
should punish states that do not require
helmets, since the public often ___________
up paying medical costs for those
___________ in motorcycle accidents.
A. take… involved
B. winds… tangled
C. give… drawn
D. lend… wounded
E. ends … injured
The best answer is E. Ends up provides a
justification for governments to punish states
that do not require helmets. Wounded or
injured are logical choices for the second
blank, but injured is more often used to refer
to people in accidents.
The company's plan is to ___________ costs
while trying to exploit its traditional strengths
in entertainment and video games -
particularly with new networked and wireless
consumer ___________.
A. trim … devices
B. skimp… gadgets
C. clip… contraptions
D. shape… implements
E. wedge… widgets
The best answer is A. Trim can be applied
figuratively to costs. Devices is the more
common choice to refer to electronic goods.
Gadgets, contraptions and widgets would more
likely refer to an elaborate homemade devise.
Despite Bettleman’s pleadings and progress at
the bargaining ___________, key issues
remained ___________.
A. block… unhampered
B. discussion… unsolved
C. board… hampered
D. table… unresolved
E. chair… reprimanded
The best answer is D. The bargaining table is
idiomatic. Before completing a negotiation,
there are issues that are unresolved, so remained
unresolved is logical.
Under the emerging plan, the cuts would not take
___________ if hospitals agreed to provide the
data that the administration has requested.
A. shape
B. in
C. place
D. over
E. time
The best answer is C. Take place is appropriate
because it is an idiomatic expression meaning to
occur.
Swift Airlines pilots have approved a measure
allowing their union, the Air Line Pilots
Association, to call a ___________ at one of the
nation's largest regional carriers in a
___________ over a new contract.
A. truce… disagreement
B. ceasefire… disparity
C. strike… dispute
D. party… prong
E. bash… gap
The best answer is C. While call a truce, call a
ceasefire and call a strike are all idiomatic, only
strike is logical in reference to airline pilots.
Strikes are generally called because of disputes
over new contracts.
 B. stops
One study suggests that children who live in C. continues
homes where the television is on most of the D. fails
time ___________ have more trouble E. neglects
learning to read than other kids.
The best answer is C. Because of the word
A. do despite in the sentence, the blank must be filled
B. may with something that creates a contrast in the
C. should sentence. Continue is the only word that does
D. also this.
E. cannot

The best answer is B. Since the study

suggests that its finding are true, may, which
expresses possibility, is best.

Left-leaning politicians from around the

world worked on a ___________ against the
spread of ___________ capitalism.

A. tallying… rampant
B. denigration… unrestrained
C. aeration… raging
D. declaration … unfettered
E. proclamation… epidermal

The best answer is D. Choice A and C are

illogical for the first blank. A denigration on
not something one usually works on.

The agency is working on faster ways to

___________ rapidly moving ___________
like the SARS virus, which began in China
and spread worldwide early last year.

A. detect … threats
B. multiply… microbes
C. spread… proliferations
D. relieve… bugs
E. allot… intimidations

The best answer is A. Both detect and relieve

are logical in reference to something like a
virus. Bugs is a slang term.

Despite the hours many children spend

watching television, the report found that
reading ___________ to be a regular part of
many children's lives.

A. ceases