The phrase “taken aback” indicates that Mary’s former classmates were surprised by how much her behavior had changed since her school years. Since Mary was “exuberant” and prone to “playful antics,” you can determine that she was outgoing as a child. The missing word describes how Mary behaves now, which you can expect to be the opposite of outgoing. A strong prediction would be “shy” or “quiet.” You can thus quickly rule out (A) gregarious, which means “sociable.” (B) discourteous, which means “impolite,” and (E) scurrilous, which means “offensive” or “insulting,” can both be eliminated as no clues indicate that Mary is now rude. (C) obsequious means “fawning” or “servile,” which is unsupported by the context. (D) reticent, meaning “shy” or “introverted,” provides the correct meaning to complete the sentence.
The first sentence describes how the perception of certain events’ historical importance may change over time. The second sentence discusses how some events first seem very important, while the word ”but” indicates that these events may ultimately prove to be unimportant. You can predict that an unimportant event will have few consequences for future generations. (C) repercussions matches this prediction and is correct. (A) vagaries, which refers to “sudden or unexpected changes,” is not supported by the meaning of the sentence. (B) misapprehensions means “misunderstandings” and is also unsuitable for the context.
The word “others” at the beginning of the third sentence indicates that an opposite situation will be described in this sentence. Since the previous sentence discussed how some events seem important when they occur, you can predict that this sentence will describe how other events at first seem unimportant. (E) picayune, which means “trivial,” is a perfect match for this prediction and is correct. (D) monumental, which means “of great importance,” is the opposite of the prediction. (F) outlandish, meaning “bizarre,” is incorrect because it is not supported by the context.
The first half of the sentence provides a number of clues for the first blank, stating that “How are you?” in this context is a “polite rhetorical question” and that it would be a mistake to think of it as a “genuine inquiry.” (B) perfunctory, meaning “casual” or “offhand,” is an appropriate description of a question that is superficial or simply going through the motions. This is the correct answer for the first blank. (A) can be ruled out since there is no indication in the sentence that the person asking the question is supercilious or “arrogant.” (C) describes the opposite of the situation described in the sentence as a gregarious or “outgoing” person might actually care about the answer to her question.
Given the casual nature of the question, a response that describes the “minutiae of our day” would be unnecessarily lengthy. (D) prolix is a perfect match and is correct. (E) pithy is incorrect because it means “short,” and a short response would actually be appropriate for the polite rhetorical question. (F) abstruse, or “difficult to understand,” misses the clues in the sentence.
There is enough context to make a strong prediction for the first blank; it would seem that the vice principal would want to “gather” the necessary energy to deal with the “unruly” students. (C) marshal in this context means “summon,” so it is a good fit for the prediction and is correct. (A) incite means to “provoke” or “urge someone on,” which does not fit the context. (B) parry, meaning “ward off” or “avoid,” is the opposite of the intention of the sentence.
Because they are close together and are directly related to one another, the remaining two blanks can be considered at the same time. Consider the clue from the first half of the sentence, that this is an “unruly group of students.” The vice principal’s task, then, is to calm this uncontrollable, rowdy group. (D) pacify is a good synonym for calm, and (I) restive means hyperactive or difficult to control, even though it looks like it means “resting.” Likewise, (H) noisome might look tempting at a glance, but noisome means “foul or smelly,” not noisy.
If the students were just waking up from a nap and were slow to get moving, (F) rouse might be appropriate; however, here, this choice is the opposite of the described scenario. (G) intransigent would imply that the students were inflexible or stubborn in sticking to an idea, which does not convey the idea that the students are “unruly.”
Three-blank sentences take a little longer to work out. Looking at the choices for the first blank, you can see that it is a conjunction, but you cannot be sure of which until you solve the rest of the sentence. The best place to begin in this sentence is actually at the end—you are given a very useful hint with the detour road sign “but,” telling you that blank (iii) will be an antonym to “edible.” Looking through the choices, you can see that the correct answer is answer choice (G) poisonous. While you might not want to eat something (H) bland, this is not a direct antonym to “edible.” Choice (I) toothsome means “palatable” or “desirable” and is the opposite of what the blank needs.
From here, work backwards to the second blank. Since you now know that you are talking about eating possibly poisonous mushrooms, you can predict that blank (ii) will say that it is “unwise” to do so. Choice (E) cheaper is irrelevant to the context (and no mention of money is made elsewhere), and choice (F) ingenuous, meaning “innocent” or “sincere,” is unrelated to the sentence. Answer choice (D) imprudent is a synonym of “unwise” and is therefore the answer you need.
Return to the first blank in the sentence. You are told that mushrooms are popular in many cuisines, and you are looking for an answer that connects the two ideas. Predict roughly “although mushrooms are popular in many cuisines, it is imprudent . . .”; what you are looking for is a conjunction marking this contradicting idea. Answer choice (B) While is the correct choice. For sentences with three blanks, especially, it is important to reread the sentence with all the blanks filled in: “While mushrooms are popular in many cuisines, it is imprudent to eat those found in the wild, as many frequently found mushrooms resemble edible mushrooms but are, in fact, poisonous.” The sentence makes perfect sense.
Within the first half of the sentence, you are given the detour road sign “though” to contrast the high praise with the sales. Thus, choices (B) robust and (C) singular cannot be correct because they are too positive. Answer choice (A) scanty, on the other hand, contrasts appropriately with high praise, and it fits perfectly with “poor sales” later in the sentence.
The second half of the sentence offers a possible explanation for why the sales were poor, suggesting that it was too hard to understand the poet’s language, which immediately removes choice (D) lucid. Choice (E) prosaic might trip you up; however, answer choice (F) abstruse is clearly the better choice for the second blank—it is an adjective indicating that the prose is difficult to understand.
The four wrong answers to this Inference EXCEPT question are statements that must be true according to the information provided by the passage. The correct answer, therefore, is something that cannot be deduced using the information provided. This is (C). While the passage does say that knowing the input and algorithm allows one to fully determine the results of a random number generator, and that pseudo-random programs produce results that have patterns that are ultimately predictable, this only means that it is possible to determine future results. It does not necessarily mean that it is possible to reverse-engineer the initial input and algorithm from the results.
(A) is supported by combining the given definition of pseudo-randomness (”the input itself is generated by the program”) and the idea that pseudo-randomness produces patterns that are predictable. Likewise, (D) must be true, since a pseudo-random number generator is predictable, whereas a truly random program is not.
The passage describes atmospheric radiation as “unpredictable,” making it a good source for true randomness, so (E) is true and can be eliminated. On the other hand, if someone obtained the measurements after they were taken and knew the algorithm being used to generate the random number, they would be able to generate the same result obtained by the original program since true-random number generation depends on the input being unpredictable, not the algorithm. As a result, (B) is also true.
This sentence provides a summary of the importance of his work.
This sentence provides us with the particular focus of the passage on Medieval Europe, narrowed down from the topic of shame- and guilt-based societies in general.
For this question, you must consider the description of the society in the question compared to what you are given in the passage. Early in the passage, you see mention of dishonoring one’s family as an example of a damaging effect on the social group. Societies motivated by effects on the social group are shame-based, not guilt-based, so eliminate choice (A). Choice (B), the correct choice, matches the prediction. Choice (C) is incorrect because there are certainly rules in a shame-based society. Similarly, you can reject (E); it goes beyond the scope of the passage, which does not offer any evidence to suggest that individuals within a society that emphasizes social cohesion do not have an internally regulated morality. (D) is incorrect because there is insufficient information to support such an assertion.
The key to this question lies in the analogy of the ripples in the water, where two troughs or crests amplify each other but one trough and one crest negate each other. Likewise, with the light waves, the two separate light sources produce waves that interact with one another and, like the crests and troughs of the water, have predictable results: the light and dark fringes. Choice (B) describes a part of Young’s findings, but you must reject it because it does not adequately describe the whole of his findings. Choice (C) cannot be the correct answer either, because the passage notes that it was not until Einstein that particle theory was returned to the theory of light. And likewise for choice (D); you are told Einstein proved that Newton’s theory was not entirely accurate and so it was not permanently debunked. Similarly, you cannot claim he was entirely correct, so (E) is out as well. This leaves choice (A), which matches your prediction.