1,014 GRE Practice Questions, 3rd Edition

Susan _______ the theater; she bought tickets for all the shows put on by the local drama group.

The so-called “thieves’ cant” was a (i)________ language created by thieves, beggars, and swindlers in England in the 1530s to allow them to communicate without the authorities knowing what was going on. Although the cant was widely used by criminal subcultures five hundred years ago, it is now mostly (ii)________, found only in literature and fantasy role-playing games.

Currently _______ in philately, Roger decided to pursue his new hobby because he had already become an expert numismatist.

While the (i)________ structures of Lego projects are often impressive, it’s the internal (ii)________ such as flower pots, sink fixtures, and working windows that make them truly magical.

Prior to taking on the new invader, the defending army had engaged in arduous combat; it is likely that the _______ resulting from waging two battles in two days played a part in its subsequent defeat.

Often considered one of the best films in cinematic history, Breakfast at Tiffany’s faced several (i)________ during production. The film’s star, Audrey Hepburn, almost refused the part, afraid it would (ii)________ her pristine image; further, the film faced intense scrutiny from censors, and the director had to make several compromises to (iii)________ them.

The (i)________ of medieval papal power was the pontificate of Innocent III, whose immense personal prestige cowed monarchs from the powerful Philip II “Augustus” of France to the (ii)________ John of England, who earned such derisive epithets as “Lackland” and “Softsword.” Even before Innocent’s tenure, though, the involvement of Pope Henry IV in the Investiture Conflict had begun to hint at the tension between spiritual and (iii)________ leadership that would eventually boil over in the Protestant Reformation.

Ironically, the myth of Martin Van Buren’s _________ was due largely to circumstances that had little to do with Van Buren himself; in reality, of all the U.S. presidents since Andrew Jackson, Van Buren exceeded the average in education, intellect, and experience.

Some argue that profiting from terrible suffering by publishing photographic books about natural disasters is shameless (i)_________, but perhaps the practice has the (ii)_________ effect of helping us to appreciate the humanity of people living far way.

While she may have answered him truthfully—in the strictest sense of the word—it became clear to Sergei after the incident that Sheryl had actually been trying to _______.

Certainly a roundabout narrative, the book—much like the others in the author’s pseudo-autobiographical series—proved to be unpopular among those who preferred ________ to loquaciousness.

During training to handle (i)________ arguments, the students on the debate team practiced techniques for quickly coming up with remarks that were (ii)________ even when they might know very little about the topic and would have only a few minutes to prepare.

Although they stood with the congressman in a tenuous display of solidarity, the incensed commissioners could not conceal their _______.

The (i)________ with which the second-string quarterback managed to turn the tide of the game shocked even those who were familiar with his skills. Previously, he was more infamous for his deceitful (ii)________ off the field than for anything he had accomplished with a ball in his hand, but his immediate impact on the decisive game is likely to turn some of his erstwhile doubters into (iii)________ fans.

The magazine article was (i)________ about the police commissioner’s accomplishments. Although some lawyers’ groups argued against the appropriateness of his tactics, the double-digit drop in the crime rate since his appointment suggests that all the journalist’s praise was (ii)________.

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