Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best  fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. 

Whenever you have a two blank sentence completion, try to predict the easier blank first, then eliminate as many answer choices as you can with just that prediction. If there is more than one answer choice left, make a prediction for the other blank and eliminate any of the remaining answers that don't match your prediction.

Although her parents believed that everything their daughter did was ________, Suzette's teachers generally considered her work to be _________.

The first step is to look for clues in the sentence that will let you predict a word for one of the blanks. The key word here is "Although." In this case, the blanks are linked and you really have to make a prediction about both blanks. You know that the two words will be contrasting (it wouldn't really make sense to say "Although Suzette's parents think one thing, her teachers also think the same thing."). Also, it's fairly reasonable to predict that Suzette's parents "believed that everything their daughter did was outstanding" since parents usually think highly of their children. That means that Suzette's teachers probably "considered her work to be average" or even "inadequate." Now, take a look at the answers below and select the answer choice that best fits your prediction. Even though you had to predict both blanks, it's still a good idea to start by looking at just one blank and eliminating all the answers that don't match your prediction for that blank. In this case, your prediction for the first blank is more specific so you should start there.

(A) disappointing . . unsatisfactory
(B) brilliant . . unremarkable
(C) amusing . . entertaining
(D) delightful . . outstanding
(E) average . . mediocre

You can eliminate (A) and (E) right away because they do not match your prediction for the first blank.
Now you have to look at the second blank to eliminate the remaining answers. (B) matches your prediction well. (C) and (D) are both positive words so they don't really work.

The correct answer choice is (B).

Words tested in this SC:
disappointing: not up to expectations or hopes
unsatisfactory: inadequate, not satisfactory
brilliant: superb, wonderful
unremarkable: lacking distinction, ordinary
amusing: entertaining or pleasing
entertaining: agreeably diverting, amusing
delightful: very pleasing, beautiful, charming
outstanding: superior, distinguished
average: usual or ordinary in character
mediocre: moderate to inferior in quality, ordinary

On sat.collegeboard.org 77% of the responses were correct.

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