All PSAT Critical Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
The final chapter of the mystery novel did not directly state who the killer was; instead, it __________ to whom the culprit might be.
corroborated
revealed
quipped
implied
alluded
alluded
"Alluded” means suggested, but not in a straightforward way, so it is the correct answer. “Alluded” is also the only answer choice that can work with the preposition “to.”
Example Question #2 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences
Sentence Completions: Select the word or phrase that most correctly completes the sentence.
Newspapers are a superb method of __________ information and ideologies to a large audience.
disseminating
laundering
contorting
dismantling
flaunting
disseminating
“Disseminating” means circulating or propagating.
Example Question #423 : One Blank Sentences
During World War One, a doctor had to be removed from the frontline because the sight of so much blood made him __________.
jubilant
altruistic
cantankerous
enigmatic
swoon
swoon
From the context of the question you know that the sight of blood caused a certain reaction in the Doctor, you also know that this reaction caused him to be removed from somewhere (the frontline) where he was likely to see a lot of blood; therefore it must have been something that hindered his abilities. Altruistic means generous or charitable, and does not fit. Enigmatic means mysterious, and jubilant means happy. You can rule out those two words. Cantankerous means easily angered and could possibly fit in this sentence, but swoon is the best answer as it means to faint. Fainting is a more plausible reaction to the sight of so much blood.
Example Question #431 : One Blank Sentences
The effect of the Great Depression was __________ by the policies of President Roosevelt; many millions of Americans rose out of poverty during his presidency.
received
conveyed
dramatized
tempered
conceived
tempered
From the context of the sentence you know that many millions of Americans had their situations improved by the policies of President Roosevelt. You can therefore infer that the effect of the Great Depression must have been lessened or made more manageable by the policies of Roosevelt. Of the five correct answers tempered is the most correct. Tempered, in this usage, means made more moderate and measured. Conceived means imagined; dramatized means exaggerated; received means generally accepted; conveyed refers to the act of getting a point across.
Example Question #1 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences
Sir Edmund Hillary was __________ throughout the world after he became the first white man to successfully climb Mount Everest.
berated
castigated
lauded
despised
condemned
lauded
The context of the sentence, as well as a very small amount of critical thinking, suggests that Sir Edmund Hillary would be praised for his accomplishment. The correct answer is therefore “lauded” which means praised or celebrated. Despised, condemned, castigated and berated are all very close in meaning and opposite in meaning to praised.
Example Question #424 : One Blank Sentences
The Era of Good Feelings was __________ in the United States after the Presidency of James Monroe; ten years of political calm came to an end.
inculcated
exacerbated
futile
histrionic
terminated
terminated
From the context of the second clause you know that the blank in the first clause must describe how the Era of Good Feelings had come to an end. Exacerbated means exaggerated; histrionic means overdramatic in reaction or behavior; futile means pointless; inculcated means to impress something on somebody. The only answer choice that describes something coming to an end is terminated.
Example Question #1 : Verbs In One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
After years of letting himself be overpowered by his raging emotions, Oswald at long last learned the means by which he was able to __________ these unsettling aspects of his personality.
acclaim
appreciate
mask
subdue
display
subdue
The opposition implied in our sentence is that of passing from being overpowered to overpowering or controlling. While perhaps “mask” would seem to fit this usage, it implies that one has not conquered these aspects fully; however, if one “subdues” something, he or she overcomes it. The word comes from the prefix “sub-” being added to the base that is derived from the Latin for to lead (“ducere”). If one subdues something, he or she draws it down or carries something off from one place to another. This is related to many other words such as “conduct,” “educe,” and “produce.”
Example Question #422 : One Blank Sentences
Choose the word or set of words that best completes the following sentence.
The dense print and the impenetrable legal jargon __________ the document's message; Suzy didn't immediately understand that the family would have to move once again.
contradicted
objectified
obfuscated
bolstered
maintained
obfuscated
"Obfuscated" is correct because "obfuscate" means confuse or deliberately make something difficult to understand. It is related to "obscure," a word you may have come across more often. Suzy doesn't immediately understand what the document is saying because the dense print and legal jargon is confusing, and therefore "obscuring," the message.
Example Question #1373 : Psat Critical Reading
The politicians debated offering aid packages to __________ the declining financial situation.
castigate
moderate
complicate
augment
ameliorate
ameliorate
Ameliorate means to improve or make more bearable. We can hope that the aim of the politicians is to do something positive, combating the negative financial situation. While the aid packages may in fact only complicate or augment (increase) the situation, that is not likely the goal of the politicians' debates.
Example Question #331 : Parts Of Speech In One Blank Sentences
After finishing a hard day's work, Jo was able to __________ in long, hot bubble bath.
vandalize
luxuriate
legalize
situate
repudiate
luxuriate
Luxuriate means to indulge oneself. It is similar to luxury, and a long, hot bath is a luxury.
All PSAT Critical Reading Resources
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