The designer window treatments in her house,
installed 17 years ago, were outmoded.

Although the professor’s lectures were regarded
by many as so wearisome that they regularly put
students to sleep, he ignored all criticism and
refused to make any changes.

The baseball player’s malice toward the referee
was revealed in his spiteful remarks to the media,
which almost ruined the referee’s career.

Although Zachary is much too inexperienced
for the managerial position, he is a willful
young man and obdurately refuses to withdraw
his application.

His neighbor’s superficial remarks trivialized the
property line dispute and infuriated Malcolm.

When Katya refused to lie to her parents about
where she was spending the night, she was completely ostracized by her usually loyal friends,
who had never shunned her before.

Her fashion sense was usually described as flamboyant, but on the night of the party, Tanya’s outfit was uncharacteristically modest.

Mr. Powers was so gullible that he believed even
the most outlandish excuses of his insincere employees.

You cannot become a certified teacher without
completing the prerequisite student teaching
assignment.

Charles, aware of his susceptibility to gum disease, is diligent about flossing.

Even though she’d read her supervisor’s memo
four or five times, she still found his rambling
message ambiguous.

Excited about winning the award, Marcia walked
up to the podium and delivered an animated
acceptance speech.

The intermittent rain soaked the garden many
different times during the day.

n order to get their votes in the next election, the
senator responded to all the complaints of her
constituents in a diplomatic manner.

After several small brushfires at the campground,
officials felt the need to augment the rules pertaining to campfires.

As soon as the details of the election were released
to the media, the newspaper was inundated with
calls—far too many to be handled effectively.

The Marion Police Department’s policy of
aggressively recruiting women officers is
unmatched, unique in every way.

When people heard that timid Bob had taken up
skydiving, they were incredulous.

The technical department enthusiastically hired
Ms. Long because she was proficient in the use
of computers.

Even under tremendous public pressure, the planning committee would not commit itself wholeheartedly to the proposal and gave only tentative
approval to the waterfront development plan.

Regarding the need for more free refreshments,
the group’s opinion was enthusiastic and
unanimous.

Since the townspeople were so dissatisfied,
various methods to alleviate the situation
were debated.

The assistant was fast becoming an indispensable
member of the department, so they had no
choice but to offer him a higher salary to stay on.

The attorney wanted to expedite the process,
because her client was becoming impatient.

The suspect gave a plausible explanation for his
presence at the scene, so the police decided to
look elsewhere for the perpetrator of the crime.

He based his conclusion on what he inferred
from the evidence, not on what he actually
observed.

The neighborhood-watch group presented its
ultimatum at the town board meeting: Repave
the streets or prepare for protests.

The editor of the newspaper needed to be sure
the article presented the right information, so his
review was meticulous.

The general public didn’t care about the trial and
was apathetic about the verdict.

The doctors were pleased that their theory had
been fortified by the new research.

The captain often delegated responsibility to his
subordinates, so as to have time to do the important tasks himself.

The news about toxic waste dumping aroused the
anger of the many listeners of a news broadcast.

The spokesperson must articulate the philosophy
of an entire company so that outsiders can
understand it completely.

The new shipping and receiving building is an
expansive facility, large enough to meet our
growing needs.

The attorneys were now certain they could not
win the case, because the ruling had proved to be
so detrimental to their argument.

My brother drives us crazy by crooning in the
shower.

The emotional fallout from a natural disaster can
adversely affect the residents in a community for
years.

The air in the rainforest was humid, making the
heat seem even more smothering than before

The balloon, loose from its string, rose up into
the sky, a shiny purple sphere

After the storm caused raw sewage to seep into
the ground water, the Water Department had to
take measures to decontaminate the city’s water
supply.

The mayor tailored his speech to suit the crowd
of homeless people gathered outside his office.

The volcano lays dormant now, but we feel sure it
will erupt again within the year.

Because of his disregard for the king’s laws, the
prince was punished by being banished from the
kingdom.

I relinquished my place in line to go back and talk
with my friend Diane.

I wrote in my journal every day, hoping in the
future to author a book about my trip to Paris.

The thief jostled me in a crowd and was thus able
to pick my pocket.

While we traveled in Italy, we stayed in an inexpensive hostel.

My friend asked me to lie for her, but that is
against my philosophy.

We had no idea who the special guest speaker
would be, because the organizers of the event
were so _____________________.

When Carson suddenly quit his job, he didn’t
even __________ how difficult it might be to find a new one.

Maggie was the most talented tennis player at her
school, even though she’d never had the
___________________ to take formal lessons.

Questions 52 and 53 are based on the following paragraph.

Rhesus monkeys use facial expressions to communicate with each other and to enforce social order. For example, the “fear grimace,” although it looks ferocious, is actually given by a __________ monkey who is intimidated by a __________ member of the group. What is the meaning of the underlined word grimace as it is used in the passage?

Which pair of words, if inserted into the blanks
in sequence, makes the most sense in the context
of the passage?

Questions 54 and 55 are based on the following paragraph.

In prolonged space flight, besides the obvious hazards of meteors, rocky debris, and radiation, astronauts will have to deal with muscle atrophy brought on by weightlessness; therefore, when they return to Earth, they face a protracted period of weight-training to rebuild their strength.
What is the most likely meaning of the underlined word debris as it is used in this passage?

The underlined word atrophy, as used in the
paragraph, most nearly means

Question 56 is based on the following paragraph.

Most of the women in the orchestra wore conventional black skirts and white shirts during concerts and had their hair neatly pulled back. Robin, with her brightly colored clothing and unusual hairstyles, was considered quite eccentric.
What is the meaning of the underlined word
eccentric as it is used in the sentence?

Questions 57, 58, and 59 are based on the following paragraph.

The Sami are an indigenous people living in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola peninsula. Originally, the Sami religion was animistic; that is, for them, nature and natural objects had a conscious life, a spirit. Therefore, one was expected to move quietly in the wilderness and avoid making a disturbance out of courtesy to these spirits. Ghengis Khan is said to have declared that the Sami were one people he would never try to fight again. Because the Sami were not warriors and did not believe in war, they simply disappeared in times of conflict. They were known as “peaceful retreaters.”
Based on the tone of the passage, which of the
following words best describes the author’s attitude toward the Sami people?

The closest meaning of the underlined word animistic, as it is used in the passage, is

What is the meaning of the underlined word
courtesy as it is used in the passage?