Fill in the Blanks Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The word is errant.

Someone is warned repeatedly to correct behaviour that is wrong, and errant means straying from the proper course, erring or misbehaving. 'Failed to correct his errant behaviour' fits exactly.

Rational, reasonable and good describe behaviour that would need no correction, so being warned to correct it would make no sense.

Answer: A

The correct sequence is a; a; an.

The choice between a and an depends on the first sound of the next word, not its first letter. 'Younger' begins with a consonant sound, so 'a younger brother'. 'University' begins with a 'yoo' (consonant y) sound, so 'a university', not 'an university'. 'Honorable' begins with a silent h and so a vowel sound, so 'an honorable man'.

'The' in the first blank would point to a brother already identified, which the sentence does not do, and every option with 'an' before 'university' or 'a' before 'honorable' breaks the sound rule.

Answer: A

It is a figurative statement.

Archimedes was not proposing an actual experiment; no lever or fulcrum could be placed to move the Earth. He was using the image to express the power of the lever principle, which makes it figurative language, meaning beyond the literal words.

A literal statement means exactly what it says, which this one does not. Collateral means secondary or accompanying, and a figurine is a small statue; neither describes a kind of statement, though 'figurine' is a sound-alike trap for 'figurative'.

Answer: B

The blank takes a security guard at the university.

The indefinite article a fits the job: he was one of several security guards, not a unique one, so “a security guard” is right and “the security guard” would imply there was only one. The definite article fits the place: “the university” refers to a particular, known university, the one where he worked.

“The security guard at a university” reverses the two articles. “A security guard at university” drops the article before a countable noun used for a specific institution, which reads as British “at university” (studying there), a different meaning. “The security guard at the university” wrongly suggests the university had a single guard.

Answer: C

The word is resolve.

The sentence contrasts an initial hesitation with something that 'never wavered', and that something is followed by 'to contribute'. Resolve, firm determination, fits both: 'his resolve to contribute ... never wavered'.

Ambivalence means having mixed feelings, which is close to hesitation rather than its opposite, and one does not speak of ambivalence 'never wavering'. Satisfaction does not take 'to contribute' and does not describe steadiness of purpose. Revolve is a verb meaning to turn round, and cannot follow 'Rehman's'.

Answer: A

The word is meandering.

The sentence sets the blank against 'organized ones': the investigation that only 'sometimes' yields new facts is the opposite of an organized one. Meandering means wandering without a fixed course, which is exactly that contrast.

Systematic and consistent describe organized work, so they would make the 'but' meaningless. Timely is about when the investigation happens, not how it is organized, so it does not answer the contrast either.

Answer: B

The blank takes nearly.

'Nearly missed the train' means the speakers came close to missing it but still caught it, which fits arriving late at the station. Nearly is the adverb meaning 'almost' and it modifies the verb missed.

'Near' is mainly an adjective or an adverb of place ('near the station') and does not mean 'almost' before a verb in standard usage. 'Utterly' means completely and is used with absolute words ('utterly lost'), not with a near-miss. 'Mostly' means for the greater part, which cannot apply to the single event of missing a train.

Answer: D

The best word is nonchalance.

The sentence praises his calm in a serious situation. Nonchalance means a calm, relaxed, unconcerned manner, and 'his nonchalance was impressive' fits the contrast with 'the seriousness of the situation'.

Beggary means extreme poverty, which would not be impressive and has no link to facing a serious situation. Nomenclature is a system of naming. Jealousy is resentment of another's success, which nobody would call impressive in this context.

Answer: A

The best completion is should take.

The if-clause states a wish, and the main clause gives the advice that follows from it: 'If the tired soldier wanted to lie down, he should take the mattress out on the balcony.' 'Should' is the modal of advice or the sensible course of action, and the plain verb 'take' keeps that action open.

'Should have taken' criticises a chance already missed, which does not fit a condition that still applies. 'Shall take' is a formal statement of future intention, and 'will have taken' a future perfect describing an action completed by some later time; neither gives the advice the sentence calls for after 'wanted'.

Answer: A

The word that fits is hurtful.

A 'sharp tongue' means a habit of speaking harshly or cuttingly. The sentence says this tendency can occasionally 'turn' into something worse, and the natural completion is that her words become hurtful, causing emotional pain. Here 'turn' means 'become', as in 'the weather turned cold'.

'Turn left' is a direction and has nothing to do with speech. 'Methodical' means orderly and systematic, not a quality a sharp tongue turns into. 'Vital' means essential or full of life, which does not fit a warning about harsh speech.