Sentence Completion Questions and Answers

Answer: A

What the sentence says is that an infant's reactions to its first stressful experiences are part of a natural process of development and are not " harbingers (meaning forerunners of indicators) of childhood unhappiness or.... of adolescent anxiety" The parallel structure employed by the author in this sentence indicates that the missing word must have meaning similar to harbingers. Among the choices, prophetic is the only word with such a meaning and is the answer.

Answer: D

If we are being forced to surrender to the authority of the clock, then systematic timekeeping cannot be said to be imposing a form of anarchy or permanence or provincialism on us. The three words in the first part of the sentence above indicate that it is imposing a form of tyranny on us. So (D) is the answer.

Answer: C

The use of the phrase 'divulging his frank opinions' implies that the employee did not agree with the proposals of the company. But if he felt intimidated, what would he do with these opinions? He would either keep them to himself or merely hint at them, being afraid of expressing them openly, Chary of (meaning being cautious about) is the phrase which conveys this meaning, and is the .answer.

Answer: C

A 'Take home examination' means an examination in which the question paper is allowed to be taken home by a student for being answered by himself, and then submitted to his teacher for valuation). The sentence seeks to contrast the attitudes of two sets of students-those who interpret the honour code strictly, and those who do not consider it wrong to answer the take-home examinations on behalf of other less intelligent students. Obviously, those students who interpret the honour code strictly would hold that no student should attempt to answer the take-home examination on behalf of another student. They would, therefore, not consider the practice of a brighter student answering the home examination of a less bright student as remedial, or irreproachable or irrelevant. They would certainly consider this practice as unconscionable (meaning against one's conscience or immoral). So, (C) is the answer

Answer: B

Renewable resources are those that can be grown again and again, like timber. Timber can also be preserved in large quantities (stockpiled) for use by future generations. Though wild-life can be multiplied by suitable conservation measures, they cannot be stockpiled, since wild-life, just as human beings, will also die periodically. So, (B) is the answer. You can easily see that none of the other choices fits in with the meaning of the sentence.

Answer: D

The use of the conjunction although implies that there is contradiction in sense within the sentence. The second part says that fear and aggression are distinct (meaning different) both physiologically and psychologically. In order to bring out the implied contrast the missing word must describe a state in which these two are quite similar or lack distinctiveness. The only possible words among the choices are simultaneous and transitional. Between the two, the word simultaneous must be ruled out because, in that case, the phrase must read 'simultaneous states of fear and aggression, and 'not simultaneous states between fear and aggression'. The word transitional refers to a stage of movement from one state to another when the qualities of both states are present together and the difference between them is blurred. It is this word which fits in logically in the given sentence, and is the answer.The use of the conjunction although implies that there is contradiction in sense within the sentence. The second part says that fear and aggression are distinct (meaning different) both physiologically and psychologically. In order to bring out the implied contrast the missing word must describe a state in which these two are quite similar or lack distinctiveness. The only possible words among the choices are simultaneous and transitional. Between the two, the word simultaneous must be ruled out because, in that case, the phrase must read 'simultaneous states of fear and aggression, and 'not simultaneous states between fear and aggression'. The word transitional refers to a stage of movement from one state to another when the qualities of both states are present together and the difference between them is blurred. It is this word which fits in logically in the given sentence, and is the answer.

Answer: A

The phrase although their pronunciations have changed indicates an implied contrast between the two parts of the sentence. This means that the spellings of the words (referred to in the first part) must have remained unchanged over a period of time. The only word among the choices which means unchanged is preserved, which is the answer.

Answer: D

Apparently, the author of the sentence and his friends were under the impression that the woman was supporting its favour, what would they have newly learnt about her support to the program? Obviously that such support was only half-hearted. The phrase, "It was less than whole-hearted" expresses just this, and is the answer.

Answer: A

The committee mentioned in the sentence has obviously studied some specific problems, and has offered suggestions to solve them. If the committee has also warned that the non-implementation of these suggestions would eventually render the problems insoluble, it means that, according to it, these problems would become worse with the passage of time. Among the choices, exacerbated is the only word which has this meaning, and is the answer. (Insurmountable and insoluble have the same meaning: therefore, it is not logical to say that 'insurmountable problems would eventually become insoluble problems' would eventually become insoluble. So, (B) is not the appropriate choice.

Answer: A

The first part of the sentence means that, in folk art, intense feeling of the artist takes precedence over technical mastery. This will obviously make it easier for the artist to communicate his emotion to the viewer directly. Among the given choices, it is facilitates that has this meaning, and is the answer.