QUESTION: 61

Jane Goodall was at first a (n) ____________ in her field, but since then she has received many accolades for her work.

acolyte
maverick
luminary
charlatan
miser

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

There is a contrast drawn in the sentence between receiving accolades--praise, awards--and Jane Goodall's initial standing in her field. She must have met with a lack of support or outright disapproval. Eliminate E. because it is illogical. Eliminate C. because it goes with, rather than against, accolades. An acolyte is someone who assists a clergyman, so you can eliminate (A). You are left with B. and (D). A charlatan is a fake, an incompetent. If the sentence said, "Some people thought she was a ____________ ," charlatan might work, but it says she actually was "a ---." She couldn't have been a fake and later gotten awards. Eliminate (D). You are left with (B), a maverick, an independent thinker, a dissenter, a pioneer.

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QUESTION: 62

Alston was impressed by the philosopher's lecture, but Mario thought the lecture was better characterized as ____________ than as erudite.

translucent
recondite
impeccable
specious
fictitious

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

This sentence is contrasting the views of Alston and Mario (the conjunction but clues you into this fact). Alston thinks that the lecture was impressive, which probably means smart, accurate, logical. Mario's view is in contrast to this. You can eliminate A. and (C). Recondite is not likely to be a word to describe a lecture, so eliminate (B). You are left with specious or fictitious. Specious means logically false; fictitious comes from fiction, and presumably the philosopher didn't tell a story but rather made an argument. Choice D. is the best answer.

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QUESTION: 63

The senior official ____________ at the insinuation that his country's international trade policies were directly ____________ the region's economic woes.

balked. .responsible for
wrinkled. .at fault for
staggered. .inhibiting
blundered. .implicated in
riled. .accountable to

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

If you know that insinuation is a negative word, you can guess that the first blank will describe a logical response to a negative thing. Balk is a common word in this situation, but if you don't know that use the process of elimination. You can eliminate B. and probably D. because they are not negative words. Move to the next blank. If the official's response is negative, it's most logical that he is accused of having something to do with the economic woes. Eliminate (C). That leaves A. and E. as the most likely answers. But you don't "rile" at something; it's not good usage. Eliminate E. and you are left with (A).

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QUESTION: 64

When Rob became interested in electricity, his clear-headed father considered the boy's fancy to be instructive as well as amusing; so he heartily encouraged his son, and Rob never lacked batteries, motors, or supplies of any sort that his experiments might require. He fitted up the little back room in the attic as his workshop, and from thence, a network of wires soon ran throughout the house. Not only had every outside door its electric bell, but every window was fitted with a burglar alarm; moreover, no one could cross the threshold of any interior room without registering the fact in Rob's work-shop. The gas was lighted by an electric fob; a chime, connected with an erratic clock in the boy's room, woke the servants at all hours of the night and caused the cook to give warning; a bell rang whenever the postman dropped a letter into the box; there were bells, bells, bells everywhere, ringing at the right time, the wrong time and all the time. And there were telephones in the different rooms, too, through which Rob could call up the different members of the family just when they did not wish to be disturbed. His mother and sisters soon came to vote the boy's scientific craze a nuisance; but his father was delighted with these evidences of Rob's skill as an electrician and insisted that he be allowed perfect freedom in carrying out his ideas.
Which is the best selection describing the social commentary inferred in the passage?

Father knows best.
Father makes the decisions as head of household.
Mother provides input taken into consideration by father.
Mother has half decision-making authority over the children.
Sisters have a vote in the family business as do all family members

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

Although Choice B looks accurate, there is nothing to be inferred as this is what the reader sees directly from the passage. Choice A qualifies as the best selection as it is only inferred that father knows best.

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QUESTION: 61

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QUESTION: 62

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QUESTION: 63

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QUESTION: 64

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