Unit 1 Words in context
1.
In recommending Bao Phi’s collection Sông I Sing, a librarian noted that pieces by the
spoken-word poet don’t lose their ______ nature when printed: the language has the same
pleasant musical quality on the page as it does when performed by Phi.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. jarring
B. scholarly
C. melodic
D. personal
2.
The following text is from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby.
[Jay Gatsby] was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of
movement that is so peculiarly American—that comes, I suppose, with the absence of lifting
work in youth and, even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games. This
quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness.
As used in the text, what does the word “quality” most nearly mean?
A. characteristic
B. standard
C. prestige
D. accomplishment
3.
Visual artist Gabriela Alemán states that the bold colors of comics, pop art, and Latinx
culture have always fascinated her. This passion for the rich history and colors of her Latinx
community translates into the ______ artworks she produces.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. unknown
B. reserved
C. definite
D. vivid
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4.
Stephen Hannock’s luminous landscape paintings are appealing to viewers but have elicited
little commentary from contemporary critics, a phenomenon that may be due to the very
fact that the paintings seem so ______. Many critics focus their attention on art that is
cryptic or overtly challenging.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. innovative
B. accessible
C. profound
D. subversive
5.
The following text is adapted from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1837 story “Dr. Heidegger’s
Experiment.” The main character, a physician, is experimenting with rehydrating a dried
flower.
At first [the rose] lay lightly on the surface of the fluid, appearing to imbibe none of its
moisture. Soon, however, a singular change began to be visible. The crushed and dried
petals stirred and assumed a deepening tinge of crimson, as if the flower were reviving from
a deathlike slumber.
As used in the text, what does the phrase “a singular” most nearly mean?
A. a lonely
B. a disagreeable
C. an acceptable
D. an extraordinary
6.
Biologist Jane Edgeloe and colleagues have located what is believed to be the largest
individual plant in the world in the Shark Bay area of Australia. The plant is a type of seagrass
called Posidonia australis, and it ______ approximately 200 square kilometers.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. acknowledges
B. produces
C. spans
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D. advances
7.
The following text is adapted from Zora Neale Hurston’s 1921 short story “John Redding
Goes to Sea.” John wants to travel far beyond the village where he lives near his mother,
Matty.
[John] had on several occasions attempted to reconcile his mother to the notion, but found
it a difficult task. Matty always took refuge in self-pity and tears. Her son’s desires were
incomprehensible to her, that was all.
As used in the text, what does the phrase “reconcile his mother to” most nearly mean?
A. get his mother to accept
B. get his mother to apologize for
C. get his mother to match
D. get his mother to reunite with
8.
Osage Nation citizen Randy Tinker-Smith produced and directed the ballet Wahzhazhe,
which vividly chronicles Osage history and culture. Telling Osage stories through ballet is
______ choice because two of the foremost ballet dancers of the twentieth century were
Osage: sisters Maria and Marjorie Tallchief.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. an unpredictable
B. an arbitrary
C. a determined
D. a suitable
9.
US traffic signals didn’t always contain the familiar three lights (red, yellow, and green).
Traffic lights only ______ red and green lights until the three-light traffic signal was
developed in 1923.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. avoided
B. featured
C. appreciated
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D. disregarded
10.
Economist Marco Castillo and colleagues showed that nuisance costs—the time and effort
people must spend to make donations—reduce charitable giving. Charities can mitigate this
effect by compensating donors for nuisance costs, but those costs, though variable, are
largely ______ donation size, so charities that compensate
donors will likely favor attracting a few large donors over many small donors.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. predictive of
B. subsumed in
C. independent of
D. supplemental to
11.
Mineralogical differences are detectable in samples collected from two locations on the
near-Earth asteroid Ryugu, but such differences may not indicate substantial compositional
variations in the asteroid. Cosmochemist Kazuhide Nagashima and colleagues note that at
the small scale of the samples, the distribution of minerals is unlikely to be ______.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. redundant
B. neglected
C. uniform
D. ongoing
12.
The following text is from Booth Tarkington’s 1921 novel Alice Adams.
Mrs. Adams had always been fond of vases, she said, and every year her husband’s
Christmas present to her was a vase of one sort or another—whatever the clerk showed
him, marked at about twelve or fourteen dollars.
As used in the text, what does the word “marked” most nearly mean?
A. stained
B. staged
C. watched
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D. priced
13.
Some foraging models predict that the distance bees travel when foraging will decline as
floral density increases, but biologists Shalene Jha and Claire Kremen showed that bees’
behavior is inconsistent with this prediction if flowers in dense patches are ______: bees will
forage beyond patches of low species richness to acquire multiple resource types.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. depleted
B. homogeneous
C. immature
D. dispersed
14.
Business researcher Melanie Brucks and colleagues found that remote video conference
meetings may be less conducive to brainstorming than in-person meetings are. The
researchers suspect that video meeting participants are focused on staring at the speaker on
the screen and don’t allow their eyes or mind to wander as much, which may ultimately
______ creativity.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. recommend
B. criticize
C. construct
D. impede
15.
As an undergraduate researcher in anthropology, Jennifer C. Chen contributed to a
groundbreaking study challenging the accepted view that among prehistoric peoples, female
participation in hunting was ________. The research team's review of data from late
Pleistocene and early Holocene burials in the Americas revealed that, in fact, as many as half
of the hunters in those populations were female.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. commonplace
B. satisfactory
C. negligible
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