Sentence Completions

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7/3 Sentence Completions

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

Always make a prediction before you look at the answers. Remember, 4 out of the 5 answers are wrong (so you don't want to waste time looking at wrong answers). Read the sentence carefully and look for clues to help you predict the correct answer. Then choose the answer that matches your prediction.

Because he felt intimidated in his new position, he was __________ his frank opinions of company proposals.

You know that the man mentioned in the sentence is intimidated so he probably doesn't want to express his frank opinions about company proposals. He probably "was shy about his frank opinions . . .." Now, take a look at the answers and select the one that matches your prediction.

(A) scurrilous about 

(B) candid in

(C) chary of 

(D) fervid about

(E) precipitate in

You've probably noticed that the words in the answers are fairly difficult. If you have been studying vocabulary words to prepare for your SAT, you probably know at least a few of them. Use elimination strategies (eliminate words that you know are wrong, words that sound wrong to you, and any synonyms) and then make your best guess from the remaining answers. For example, if you know that "candid" means straightforward, you can eliminate it. Also, you should always choose what you know over what you don't know. In other words, if you know that "chary" means cautious or shy, you know enough to select (C) even if you don't know what any of the other answers mean.

The correct answer choice is (C). 

Words tested in this S.C.

scurrilous: given to vulgar verbal abuse; foul mouthed

candid: straightforward, open, sincere

chary: cautious, wary, shy
fervid: emotional, zealous
precipitate: very steep, falling headlong
frank: honest, especially in a manner that seems blunt

On sat.collegeboard.org 42% of the responses were correct.

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