Context Clues in Two-Blank Sentences - ISEE Upper Level Verbal Reasoning

The logic of this sentence requires a word that means “to scatter” or “to disperse” for the first blank; therefore, we can eliminate choices "gathered . . . noisy" and "shouted . . . tranquil." The second clause of this sentence is joined to the first clause by the conjunction “and.” Therefore the meaning of the two clauses should be aligned. Since the crowds were dispersed in the first clause, it follows that the streets were deserted in the second clause.

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.

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."

It is important to remember who is doing these actions—the critics would be completing the action so the verb must relate to the process of critiquing a restaurant—thus only "acclaimed . . . sublime" or "lauded . . . discomfiting" are relevant. The sentence suggests that the conflict in the reviews were between the food and the ambiance, and thus "acclaimed . . . sublime" would not fit, leaving only "lauded . . . discomfiting."

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."

"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 honest. This is exactly what "forthright" means.

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 with enraged and "distraught" is synonymous with upset. This leaves "resigning" or "acquiring" as options for the second's second blank. "Resign" means to give up one's position, and "acquire" means obtain or receive, so "resign" makes more sense because this is clearly a situation where Larry is considering leaving the company.

"Incredulous" means shocked or indicating disbelief, and "amiably" means acting in a friendly or agreeable manner, so "incredulous . . . amiably" is the correct answer because its words best fit the sentence's context.

"Camaraderie" means brotherhood or jovial unity, while "cavort" means leap about or behave boisterously. The young boys demonstrated their jovial unity by sharing the privilege of behaving boisterously with the team’s trophy, so "camaraderie . . . cavorting" is the correct answer.

The key word in the second sentence is “friendly”, and this helps us to focus on the distinct possibility of using “amicable” for the first blank. This word means having a friendly spirit, or even more simply, friendly. It is derived from the Latin words for “friend” and “friendship” and is likewise reflected in the contracted form “amiable.”

“Effusive” means to express positive affection in an abundant manner. It comes from the Latin prefix “ex-“ (meaning out of, such as in “exit”) added to the word fundere, which has forms that replace the “d” with an “s.” Fundere means to pour, and with the “ex” (which becomes “ef” because it is easier to pronounce), we get to pour out. Fundere has many derived English words such as “effusion,” “profuse,” “foundry,” and “fuse.” These latter words are derived from the second sense of the word fundere, meaning to melt or make by means of melting.

The “penultimate” position is the second 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 be vexed, a word derived from related Latin roots meaning to annoy and reflected in the related word “vexation.”

The key to this question is the phrase "wasn't necessary," which indicates that he spoke about nonessential ("extraneous") information. Thus he needed to shorten his speech, or make it more "concise."

The contrast in this sentence is between Donald, who apparently reads quite a bit, and his father, who cannot read. The second blank does not imply anything about laziness or anything of the like. The most we can say for the second is that it is related to the fact that Donald's father is unable to read; therefore, “illiterate” works well to fill this need, meaning unable to read. The negative “il-” is attached to the base “literate,” which means able to read and is related to other English words like “literature,” “literal,” and “literary.” The word “voracious” well describes Donald’s reading habits. Although the word is often used to indicate a deep desire for food (e.g. “a voracious appetite”), it can more broadly mean that one has a great eagerness for a given activity.

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.”

Since Joseph had influence because of his wealth, he could be called a “plutocrat.” Just as an “aristocrat” is said (ideally) to rule from talent or virtue (from the Greek “arist-” prefix meaning “best”), a “plutocrat” rules from wealth from the Greek “plutos” for wealth. To “exert” is to administer force to some end. It is clearly related to the English “exertion,” meaning the act of applying a good deal of force.

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 meaning to go forward. The “pro-” portion means “forward,” while the “-gress” is derived from the Latin for to step. The latter is found in English words like “regress,” “transgress,” and “digression.”

The correct answer emphasizes how George Washington is a key example of honesty and personal dignity ("paragon") and as a result, many people have little difficulty in believing that possibly false stories made about him are false ("incontrovertible"). The incorrect answers fail to indicate that the stories are treated as fact beyond reproach. One of the choices comes close ("case . . . indisputable"), but "paragon" serves as a better choice in context by stressing how Washington is an exceptional example.

The "although" at the beginning of the sentence gives a clue that the pair of words should be opposites. The first word should be a negative word, since we can guess that the chef did not like the fruit. In the latter half of the sentence, she's "singing its praises," which should lead us to suspect that she likes it. Let's test our first word choices. "Content" doesn't work; it means satisfied with something, and since our prediction is that the chef didn't like the fruit, we can rule that out. Likewise, "ardent" means passionate about something. "Strong" means _exhibiting great force—_that makes no sense! "Suspicious" would work, meaning feeling unease or uncertainty, but the second word in the pairing doesn't match "singing its praises." "Apathetic" means uninterested or bored. Our best choice is "ambivalent," meaning having mixed feelings about something and "fervent," which means showing great enthusiasm.

If the dog follows his master, we could guess that the first word shows loyalty or faithfulness. If the wilderness is "perilous" (meaning dangerous) and the dog faced the danger with courage, the second word should mean something like bravery or not giving up.

Given our prediction, we can quickly eliminate a few word pairs. "Vacillation" means the process of changing your mind from one thing to another and being indecisive. "Hyperbole" means obvious exaggeration, and "isolation" means _the state of being completely separated from others. S_ince the dog is following his master, that doesn't make sense! None of those word pairs fit the context of the sentence. What about "allegiance"? That means loyalty to a person or state, so that fits, but "frailty" means _weakness or ill health—_that certainly doesn't match our prediction! The best choice is "fidelity," which means faithfulness, and "staunchness," which means firmness or steadfastness.

The hero is "fearful," and the monster is "outraged," so our prediction for the first word should be that the hero is trying to calm the monster down, or to make it peaceful. Since we can predict that the monster's rage came about from the antics of the adventurers ("mischievous" certainly doesn't mean that they were well behaved!), the second word should mean caused, excited, or inflamed.

Let's look for words that might fit our first prediction. "Taunt," meaning provoke, won't work; if you're fearful for your life, you won't want to provoke an angry monster. "Administer" doesn't make sense, either—it means give, manage, or direct. "Assassinate" might work—_to kill suddenly or secretly—_but the second word, "pacified," means to make peaceful. If the monster was "pacified," there would be no need to "assassinate" him. "Remedy," when used as a verb, means to treat or cure something, but the monster isn't sick or injured, so that doesn't really work. Our best pair choice is "mollify," which means to soften or reduce someone's temper, and "exacerbated," which means to increase in severity or bitterness or to exasperate.