Mc-Graw Hill Vocabulary Unit 1 Questions

Despite having always been ------ at heart, Paula found herself ------ about the near future at work. (A) pessimistic . . sanguine (B) lethargic . . placid (C) morose . . querulous (D) prudent . . verbose (E) succinct . . terse

A Despite indicates a contrast. So look for two words that are nearly opposite.

Kemal was the ------ of his father's generosity while at the supermarket because he got to eat an ice cream treat on the way home. (A) beneficiary (B) benefactor (C) benediction (D) patron (E) sanction

A The recipient of generosity is a beneficiary.

The play was a blend of the mirthful and the ------; many scenes were ------, while others made me cry like a baby. (A) melancholy . . hilarious (B) reprehensible . . wistful (C) somber . . bitter (D) humorous . . jocular (E) despicable . . whimsical

A Use the parallelism in the sentence. The two adjectives in the first clause are parallel to the two ideas in the second clause. The first word de- scribes something that makes one cry, and the second word describes mirthful scenes. Two sim- ple words to complete the sentence would be depressing and funny.

Julia is amazingly ------ for a 5-year-old: She adeptly persuaded her reluctant parents to let her stay up to watch another thirty minutes of television. (A) concise (B) astute (C) verbose (D) recalcitrant (E) capricious

B The colon (:) introduces an explanation. Adeptly means with great skill. A 5-year-old would have to be pretty sharp to persuade reluctant parents.

He recited the President's speech back to me ------; it was almost as if he had written it himself. (A) loquaciously (B) insipidly (C) verbatim (D) curtly (E) diffidently

C The information after the semicolon (;) descri- bes the word in the blank. If he reads it as if he had written it himself, it implies that he knows it very well, and perhaps can read it word for word.

Those not used to Larry's ------ speaking style found him to be ------ and did not like him at first. (A) monosyllabic . . incisive (B) surly . . congenial (C) laconic . . brusque (D) circumlocutory . . direct (E) garrulous . . phlegmatic

C They did not like him at first, so the second blank is a negative word. The first blank should describe a speaking style that would cause some- one to think that he is described by the second word.

Because we are short on time, ------ would be appreciated; we need to leave in five minutes to catch the last bus of the night. (A) circumlocution (B) allegation (C) pontification (D) brevity (E) lassitude

D A person short on time would likely appreci- ate something that is quick, which makes brevity a good choice.

Those not used to Larry's ------ speaking style found him to be ------ and did not like him at first. (A) monosyllabic . . incisive (B) surly . . congenial (C) laconic . . brusque (D) circumlocutory . . direct (E) garrulous . . phlegmatic

E Ricardo clearly changed from a shy person to a talkative extrovert. The word that fits the blank should mean change.

The audience found the presentation to be ------ and vacuous; it was unimaginative and lacking substance. (A) dormant (B) unanimous (C) amorphous (D) dolorous (E) prosaic

E The presentation was vacuous, which means lacking substance. This implies that the two clauses in the sentence are parallel, so the missing word must be similar to unimaginative.

Janice is so ------ that she ------ over even the sim- plest decision. (A) shrewd . . perjures (B) magnanimous . . denigrates (C) pusillanimous . . admonishes (D) surreptitious . . purges (E) fickle . . vacillates

E The second word is a verb that should com- plement the first word. Only E presents a pair that makes sense. Fickle people do tend to vacillate.