Exercise [Sentence Completion]

Exercise

 

I. Fill in the blanks with suitable words

1. After centuries of obscurity, this philosopher's dissertation or research work is enjoying a surprising --------

a) dismissal

b) remission

c) decimation

d) longevity

e) renaissance

 

2. Scrooge in Dicken's Christmas Carol was a ------------  he hated the rest of the mankind.

a) hypocrite

b) Miser

c) philanthropist

d) misanthrope

e) misogynist

 

3. A businessman must widen his horizons; a ---------- attitude will get you nowhere in this age of global communications.

a) moderate

b) petrified

c) parochial

d) diversified

e) comprehensive

 

4. Our bookshelves at home display a range of books on wide-ranging subjects and in many languages, reflecting the -------- tastes of our family members. esdie

a) anomalous (not normal)

b) limited (restricted)

c) arcane (secret/mysterious)

d) furtive (avoiding notice)

e) eclectic (diverse)

 

5. Plastic bags are ----------- symbols of consumer society; they are found wherever you travel.

a) rare

b) ephemeral

c) ubiquitous

d) fleeting

 

6. Dr. Stuart needs to ------- his argument with more experimental data; as his

thesis is -----------

a) support - profound

b) bolster - acceptable

c) refine - satisfactory

d) support- inadequate

 

7. Each occupation has its own --------- bankers, lawyers and computer professionals, for example, all use among themselves language which outsiders have difficulty following.

a) merits

b) disadvantages

c) rewards

d) jargon

e) problems

 

8. ------- by nature, Jones spoke very little even to his own family members.

a) garrulous

b) equivocal

c) taciturne

d) arrogant

e) gregarious

 

9. Biological clocks are of such obvious adaptive value to living organisms, that we would expect most organisms to ------- them.

a) avoid

b) evolve

c) eschew

d) possess

 

10. The peasants were the least ----------- of all people, bound by tradition and fettered by superstitions.

a) free

b) enfranchised

c) enthralled

d) conventional

 

11. Unwilling to admit that they had been in error, the researchers tried to -------- their case with more data obtained from dubious sources.

a) ascertain (prove)

b) buttress (support)

c) refute (disprove)

d) absolve (declare free from guilt)

e) dispute (disagreement)

 

12. Archaeology is a poor profession; only ----------- sums are available for excavating sites and even more -------- amounts for preserving the excavations.

a) paltry - meager

c) average - augmented

b) miniscule - substantial

d) judicious - penurious

 

13. The student was extremely foolhardy(bold and rash) he had the --------- question the senior professor's judgment.

a) wisdom

b) temerity (boldness)

c) interest

d) trepidation (fear)

e) condescension (disdain)

 

14. The formerly --------- waters of the lake have been polluted so that the fish are no longer visible from the surface.

a) muddy (polluted)

b) tranquil (calm)

c) stagnant (fixed)

d) pellucid (clear)

e) rancid (unpleasant)

 

15. After the accident, the nerves to her arm were damaged and so the muscles -----through disuse.

a) wasted away

b) contracted

c) elongated

d) invigorated

e) dwindled

 

16. Some critics maintain that Tennyson's poetry is uneven, ranging from the to the ------- to the ----------

a) sublime (great or divine) - elevated (high)

b) trite (dull) - inspired (enlightened)

c) vacuous (mindless) - inane (meaningless)

d) succinct (brief)- laconic (using a few words)

e) sonorous (capable of producing sound) - voluble (talking incessantly)

 

17. After grafting there is a --------------  of lymphocytes in the lymph glands; the newly produced lymphocytes then move in to attack the foreign tissue.

a) diminution

b) proliferation

c) obliteration

d) paucity

e) attraction

 

18. One drawback of the new scheme is that it might actually --------- just those applicants that it was intended to encourage.

a) stimulate

b) attract

c) induce

d) daunt

 

19. Corruption is --------- in our society; the integrity of even senior officials is -----------

a) growing- unquestioned

b) endangered - disputed

c) pervasive – intact

d) rare - corrupted

e) rife - suspect

 

20. His characteristically --------- views on examination methods at university level have aroused -------- in those who want to introduce innovative and flexible patterns of assessment.

a) hidebound (not willing to change) - antagonism (opposition)

b) moderate - anger

c) reactionary – admiration

d) rigid - support

e) accommodating (adjusting) - annoyance (irritation)

 

21. Our grandfather was an entertaining ------------ ; he used to us with --------marvelous anecdotes that we, in our childlike simplicity, accepted unquestioningly.

a) rascal - bore

b) orator (great speaker) - intimidate (frighten)

c) raconteur (person who narrates anecdotes amusingly) - regale (make one happy)

d) curmudgeon (bad tempered person) - surprise (astonish)

e) tyrant (a cruel ruler) - stupefy (shock)

 

22. We live in a ---------- age; everyone thinks that maximizing pleasure is the point of life.

a) ubiquitous (found everywhere)

b) propitious (favourable)

c) sporadic (only in a few places)

d) corrupt (dishonest)

e) hedonistic (pursuit of pleasure)

 

23. As were many colonial administrators, Gregory was --------- in his knowledge of the grammar of the local language, though his accent was ------------

a) deficient – poor

b) competent - adequate

c) faultless - awful

d) well-versed – effective

e) erratic - eccentric

 

24. Though Adam Bede is presented to us by the author as --------- fiction, there are none of the life-like meanderings of the story of Amos Barton.

a) realistic

b) Romantic

c) imaginatinvestm

d) educational

e) entertaining

 

25. Corruption is ------------ and it has to be stopped.

a) curtailed

b) uncontrollable

c) rampant

d) contamination

e) vague