CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST 3 757Section 31.A The word althoughindicates a contrast. Raúl
purchased his computer only 10 months ago, but tech-
nology has been improving so fast that it is already out-
dated. obsolete= outdated; adjunct= auxiliary, or
additional; novel= new, innovative; elusive= hard to
catch2.C The admissions committee is looking to jus-
tify offering more scholarships to increase the num-
ber of applications, so the number of applicants must
be decreasing. mushroom= expand rapidly; plummet
= decrease rapidly; satiate= satisfy; burgeon= grow3.B If the father will not consider another person’s
viewpoint to be valid if it differs from his own, he
must be pretty stubbornor arrogant. pragmatic= prac-
tical; dogmatic= arrogantly authoritative; phlegmatic
= sluggish; cordial= polite; curt= abrupt and rude4.E The books are written for children but are still
enjoyableto adults. penned= written; prosaic= dull;
morose= gloomy; censored= cleansed of profanity;
incongruous= not compatible; tedious= boring, dull;
authored= written; engaging= captivating, interesting
5.E Julia is at the top of her class, but if this is
hard to believe, she must approach her work in a lazy
or irresponsibleway. adept= skilled; diligent= hard-
working; fanatical= obsessive and crazy; extroverted
= outgoing; laggardly= slow-moving, lagging behind6.A The President’s opponents were always cau-
tious about debating him, so the President must be
highly skilledor intimidatingor mean. redoubtable=
formidable, imposing; staid= calm, not outwardly
emotional; magnanimous= generous; stoic= indif-
ferent to pain or pleasure
7.D The new clothing line was described as being
eclectic(containing much variety). It ranged from
modest(not showy) and unadorned(undecorated) to
-------- and garish(flashy). By parallelism, the missing
word should be in opposition to the word modest. aus-
tere= severe, stern; prophetic= able to tell the future;
cordial= polite; ostentatious= showy; solitary= alone8.C The textbook includes all of the essential infor-
mationbut it is not verbose(wordy); the two missing
words should be parallel to containing lots of infor-
mationand not verbose. compendious= succinct; cir-
cumlocutory= talking around the subject, indirect;
reprehensible= blameworthy; terse= concise; compre-
hensive= including a large amount of information;
concise = brief and to the point; grandiloquent =
speaking in a pompous manner; painstaking= done
with great care; redundant= repetitive
9.B Saying that we were raised in unrivaled pros-
perityis like saying that the economy has been very
strong and abundant.10.E The “people” are plagued by deep divisions
(line 9), and the citizensare the only ones who are not
growing to appreciate the difference between America
and the United States(lines 20–22). Therefore, the peo-
plelack unity, while the citizenslack awareness.11.A Don’t miss the word EXCEPTin the question.
Choice (B) is supported in line 14, choice (C) in line 7,
choice (D) in line 8, and choice (E) in line 8. The last lines
say that ambition for a better life is now universal, imply-
ing that noteveryone is happy with the status of their lives.12.A Unlike Passage 1, Passage 2 discusses the dif-
ference between the ideal of America and the reality
of the United States.13.A The questions in the opening lines show the
man’s confusion, and the woman is said to talk ar-
dently(passionately).14.D The author says that one who is suddenly over-
whelmed by terror cannot afterwards remember the
exact order of sounds accompanying the catastrophe
which stuns him—that is, he becomes disoriented.15.C Line 11 suggests that Ognev is stunned by a
catastrophe. The context of the passage makes it clear
that this catastrophe is the expression of love from
Vera, which Ognev has difficulty understanding.16.D In saying that she had been struck by... the
aims and objects of his life(lines 22–24), the author is
saying that she was impressed with Ognev’s life goals.17.E In lines 42–44, the passage states that much as
he wanted to, he could feel no joy; no fundamental hap-
piness. In other words, the bad and strangething was
disaffection.18.E In lines 51–52, the passage states that Vera’s
raptures and suffering seemed to him(Ognev) to be only
cloying(excessively sweet) and trivial(of little signifi-
cance). He felt her passion to be unimportant and was
outraged at himselffor feeling this way. To him, his sta-
tistics, books or philosophical truthswere more im-
portant than this passion.19.A The final sentence of the passage states that he
was annoyed and blamed himself even though he him-
self did not understand why he was to blame.Ognev is
confused and uncertain about how he shouldfeel
about Vera’s passion. He feels indifference but thinks
he should feel something different.