DRILL 6

Question 1

The con artist was so _______ that he most often left his victims feeling pleased that they had given him their money.

    innocuous

    crafty

    cunning

    maladroit

    discrete

    unskillful

Question 2

Although the book reveals some surprising information about the sharp-eyed Secret Service employees, most people already know that such people are far more _______ than the average citizen.

    potent

    robust

    weary

    vulnerable

    vigilant

    mindful

Question 3

The _______ at the gala was not conducive to enjoyment; the presence of many direct political rivals filled the air with tension.

    decor

    discourse

    ambience

    etiquette

    atmosphere

    diversion

Question 4

It is generally assumed to be _______ to increase taxes on the middle class without a proportional increase on the taxes of the upper class as well.

    untenable

    sporadic

    indefensible

    subtle

    dignified

    pardonable

Question 5

It is difficult to provide _______ proof for the existence of ghosts and other spiritual beings that remain unseen by the majority of the population.

    indisputable

    daunting

    uncanny

    momentous

    skeptical

    demonstrable

Question 6

The politician insisted that he did not seek to enrich himself during the campaign, but the ethics committee concluded that he was motivated by _______.

    charity

    greed

    estrangement

    avarice

    compassion

    apprehension

Question 7

The calamitous event transformed the once unspoiled seascape into the very embodiment of _______.

    cataclysm

    conflict

    determination

    melancholy

    tenacity

    obliteration

Question 8

The company’s new president immediately embarked upon a strategy of reorganization, but informed investors that these steps, while the most _______ and therefore undertaken first, would be among many required to turn the company around.

    unappealing

    trivial

    paramount

    exigent

    dispassionate

    insipid

Question 9

Concerned about being assigned the job of analyzing a poem which might be esoteric in meaning, Erika was delighted to be given instead Roethke’s “The Waking,” the _______ of which she embraced.

    cadency

    ambiguity

    cogency

    melancholy

    lucidity

    opacity

Question 10

To highlight Albert Einstein’s image as a _______ scholar, there is an exaggerated tale floating around that his request to shut a window was the first sentence he had uttered in five years.

    loquacious

    consummate

    reticent

    judicious

    laconic

    garrulous

Question 11

Concerned about the noxious effects of pesticides on local rivers, Tess petitioned her local farmers to employ _______ amount of the repellent.

    a capacious

    an abiding

    a nominal

    an enduring

    a negligible

    a profuse

Question 12

Despite his lack of education and somewhat obtuse demeanor, the night watchman was relied upon by many for his _______ advice on matters of love and romance.

    insightful

    jejune

    pragmatic

    vapid

    expedient

    perspicacious

Question 13

Because his work as a department store Santa Claus is inherently periodic, Emile had to _______ as many assignments as he could during his busy period to earn enough money to cover his expenses during the off season.

    rebuke

    amass

    eschew

    garner

    relinquish

    disseminate

Question 14

Throughout the mid-2000s, many corporations viewed internet applications such as personal email and social media as detractors from productivity; however, most businesses have now embraced the power of these applications not only to _______ productivity, but also further their brands in the marketplace.

    bolster

    engender

    vilipend

    ameliorate

    depreciate

    supplant

Question 15

Darryl argued that the poet’s latest volume was ultimately _______, containing no new ideas, indeed nothing but overt drivel.

    platitudinous

    natty

    jejune

    labyrinthine

    lax

    amorphous

Question 16

In Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald has created a conundrum of a character: as he grows progressively more flagrant in his spending and his lifestyle, Gatsby also becomes progressively more charming such that readers are forced to simultaneously admire and abhor his _______.

    ignominy

    dissipation

    repute

    volubility

    profligacy

    stature

Question 17

Animated and _______ by the ideals of the Enlightenment, the political unrest that began the French Revolution eventually erupted into anarchy.

    obliterated

    fomented

    galvanized

    paralleled

    exemplified

    extirpated

Question 18

A good editor must be able to quickly ______ excellent submissions from a pile of dross, distinguishing the best offerings from the worst in an efficient manner.

    consolidate

    integrate

    finagle

    intimate

    winnow

    sift

Question 19

In her recent book Palmeriste: A Biography, Sklar argues that Palmeriste was a connoisseur of many things, rather than a dilettante; Brand believes this is a _______ distinction, obscuring the more relevant question of where exactly he got all of his money.

    critical

    cardinal

    nice

    baleful

    minute

    feckless

Question 20

Because political theorists often rely on jargon, their writing sometimes seems _______ to the general public, who cannot understand a word of it.

    risible

    vapid

    muddled

    abstruse

    occult

    uncanny