FIB - 2 Words

1. While the colonists would eventually push westward, first, they were in for a long, difficult winter, and the main

challenge was to _________ their existing resources.

sell

peddle

steward

upend

husband

procure

2. James Joyce, the author of many novels, including Lady Chatterley's Lover, saw deeply into the hearts of his

characters, but, in a life irony as subtle yet piercing as those endured by his characters, he himself could barely

_________ text well enough to proof his own galleys.

see

feel

walk

move

distinguish

interpret

3. Emblematic of the slaughter of the First World War, 60,000 British soldiers died for naught on the first day of the

battle of the Somme, literally consumed into a stew of blood and _________.

grief

gore

steel

bullets

carnage

anguish

4. Forty years ago, anthropologists firmly believed that Neanderthals and modern homo sapiens never mated, but

advances in genetic testing proved that incorrect — such is the _________ nature of science.

fallacious

evolving

counterfactual

advancing

vacillating

undeterminable

5. The daily routine of responding to lobbyists and exchanging polemics with intransigent political opponents seemed

at odds with the president's _________ tendencies.

tenacious

idealistic

dialectical

contentious

quixotic

altruistic

6. A field trip was arranged so that this troupe of _________ dancers could observe the real masters of their art.

seasoned

fledgling

expert

torpid

novice

lithe

7. The exhibit is not so much a retrospective as a _________; the artist's weaker early work is glossed over, and any

evidence of his ultimate dissolution is absent entirely.

paean

philippic

tirade

panacea

eulogy

crescendo

8. After a long, hard practice in the summer sun, the players were visibly _________.

flagging

hale

lissome

loathsome

vigorous

enervated

9. Nothing evoked memories of her grandmother's house like the _________ of scents associated with the holiday

feast.

paucity

anomaly

olio

mélange

dearth

pilfering

10. Unlike the politician's earlier evasions and equivocations, this latest statement is a _________ lie.

bald

tacit

overt

didactic

rhetorical

implicit

11. Possessed of a lighthearted approach to life, Winnie thought that those who were _________ in regards to values

and mores missed out on a certain liveliness and spontaneity.

lax

equable

priggish

redoubtable

impious

punctilious

12. After a second _________ attempt by Margulies to make a simple shot, the coach put him on the bench for the

rest of the game.

restless

flawless

bootless

indefatigable

feckless

auspicious

13. While he says that he did not mean to kill, some feel that his actions are _________ murder.

preceded by

on par with

superseded by

an homage to

an accrual of

tantamount to

14. For most of the 20th century, American political contentions reflected pragmatic rather than ideological

differences; candidate debates centered around whether programs were _________.

partisan

voluble

feasible

innocuous

prejudiced

viable

15. Though considered a somewhat somber drama at the time of its release in 1975, the film Shampoo, about a

philandering hairdresser, now seems more the _________ comedy.

puckish

uninhibited

prurient

wry

dated

puritanical

16. During the German occupation of France, the draconian measures of the occupiers met armed resistance from

civilian _________, inspired by desperate conditions to fight in their own streets.

poets

fighters

writers

mercenaries

politicians

partisans

17. Representative government arose in part from dissatisfaction with too many monarchs making _________

decisions without regard for precedents.

capricious

considered

malicious

pessimistic

insidious

erratic

18. Because the Lewis and Clark expedition through the West was conceived primarily as a mapping project,

government officials were _________ by the wealth of information on a myriad of topics that the explorers

gathered.

aggravated

flabbergasted

crushed

bedazzled

bored

disappointed

19. Only by ignoring Afghanistan's long history as a military quagmire could pundits pontificate that fresh infusions of

men and material would lead to _________ victory.

fleeting

contingent

expeditious

ephemeral

swift

pyrrhic

20. Geneticists find Iceland a living laboratory for the study of _________ because virtually all of its current 300,000

citizens descend from less than a thousand Icelanders who survived the medieval Black Death.

diversity

revivification

therapy

history

mutation

rejuvenation

21. Given the influx of information via social media, the only way that a person can function effectively is to

_________, to metaphorically separate the wheat from the chaff.

delete

triage

prioritize

respond

requite

eliminate

22. Although accommodating in person, George Orwell _________ defended his political positions in print.

tenaciously

obsequiously

inadvertently

doggedly

sycophantically

idiosyncratically

23. Although historically, paints were often tinted with toxic elements such as lead, cadmium, and mercury,

_________ number of painters lived to be seventy, eighty, and even ninety.

an incomprehensible

a flabbergasting

an impossible

a confounding

a dismaying

an enlightening

24. The phrase "gilding the lily" is a late 19th century expression that sneered at the ostentatious gestures of some of

the newly rich, such as applying gold gilt to the carved lilies on the entrances of their Beaux Arts homes; for

decades, it then served as a shorthand for any _________ and showy behavior.

gauche

eccentric

idiosyncratic

idiotic

irredentist

uncouth

25. In 1905, there were only fourteen automobiles in the United States, yet, _________ enough, two of them ran into

each other in St. Louis.

justifiably

ironically

inevitably

deservedly

ludicrously

lamentably

26. A "Mycenaean waist" refers to the taut, impossibly small waists characteristic of certain ancient drawings found

on Crete, and it certainly does not _________ any characteristic of modern, overweight Western societies.

deify

depict

denigrate

mirror

defame

distort

27. In the 19th century, Thomas Carlyle called economics "the dismal science," in part because of Malthus's theory

that population growth would outpace our natural resources, causing widespread _________.

dearth

pulchritude

rapture

ravishment

famine

debauchery

28. In uncertain times, _________ theories often gain greater and faster adherence among the populace than proven

ones do.

corroborated

putative

conjectural

assayed

irrefutable

irreconcilable

29. While the legend of Custer's last stand is commonly accepted and oft cited as an example of fortitude in the face

of adversity, recent studies of the remains indicate that, _________, many soldiers chose suicide rather than

risk capture by the Sioux.

surprisingly

risibly

tragically

remarkably

amusingly

horribly

30. In the early 1920's, Paul Cassirer, a Berlin art dealer, was famous not only for his clients, such as Renoir, but also

for _________ a credulous art world by correctly exposing several purported Van Gogh works as forgeries.

deluding

apprising

counseling

depressing

indicting

misleading

*********************************]

SOLUTIONS 

1. Steward, husband. The "while" tells you that the second part of the sentence will contrast with pushing forward —

due to the approaching winter, the colonists need to stay put and conserve what they have. Only steward and husband

mean this. Sell and peddle don't work because there's nothing in the sentence to indicate commerce or contrast with

it (and why would you sell your resources when a hard winter is coming?) Note that procure, which means "get" or

"acquire," doesn't work because of the word existing.

2. See, distinguish. This sentence is worded in a tricky way, as the pivot words but and barely negate each other.

Thus, the blank parallels the clue "saw deeply." (Proof here means "proofread" or "edit," and galleys are "drafts of a

book about to be published.") How ironic that an author who sees into the hearts of his characters is practically blind

in real life! Interpret is an attractive trap, but Joyce had a vision problem, not an intellectual one.

3. Gore, carnage. While many of the words make sense, the words slaughter and blood demand the correct pair.

Grief and anguish are an incorrect pair (grief is especially weird — generally, other people experience grief after

someone dies, rather than a person feeling grief over his own violent death).

4. Evolving, advancing. Sometimes a seeming theme trap (evolving) is not a trap — this sentence is literally about

evolution, and also uses evolving as a metaphor. Fallacious and counterfactual is an incorrect pair that reflects

misunderstanding the sentence, which certainly doesn't say that all science is wrong, just that it is its nature to

constantly revise in the face of new information.

5. Idealistic, quixotic. Daily arguments with opponents who won't change their mind and dealing with people who

make demands are likely to make someone more realistic about the limited prospects of accomplishing something, or

less idealistic and quixotic, which are synonyms. Arguing with others is not likely to make someone less contentious

or dialectical, but more so. And nothing here implies that the president's policies are altruistic or that he is

particularly tenacious. Alternatively, you can look at the answer choices. Idealistic and quixotic form one pair, and

dialectical and contentious form another, so one of those pairs has to be the right answer.

6. Fledgling, novice. You need answers that relate to being beginners (or at least not "masters"). Fledgling and

novice both mean "inexperienced."

7. Paean, eulogy. A retrospective would be an exhibit that shows the history and progression of the artist's work, but

this exhibit only shows the good parts (it "glosses over" the weaker work and omits the artist's "dissolution"). Thus,

you need a word that has something to do with "praising." Paean and eulogy are the only matches. Note that a paean

is generally a song or speech of praise and is being used a bit metaphorically here. Many people only know eulogy as a

speech given at a funeral, but can actually refer to any speech (or in this case, art exhibit) of praise.

8. Flagging, enervated. After a long, hard practice in hot weather, naturally the players would be tired. Flagging and

enervated are the only choices that mean "tired."

9. Olio, mélange. If it's a feast, there are many different foods involved — thus, you need a word that means

"mixture" or "multitude." Olio and mélange both mean "mixture" or "medley."

10. Bald, overt. The earlier "evasions and equivocations" are ways to avoid a question or "flip-flop" on an issue. This

"latest statement" is "unlike" the evasions and equivocations because it is an explicit, clear, or obvious lie. Bald and

overt are the only matches. Note the trap answers tacit and implicit, which are synonyms that mean the exact opposite

("hinted at, unspoken") of what you need.

11. Priggish, punctilious. You need a word in the blank that is the opposite of the words lighthearted and liveliness

and spontaneity, so something like strict would match. Priggish and punctilious are both related to taking the rules

much too seriously.

12. Bootless, feckless. You now that Margulies got benched, so his attempt must have been "weak" or "unsuccessful."

Both bootless and feckless match. Make sure to stick to the clues presented — you have no way to know if Margulies

is restless, indefatigable, etc. You only know that he was pulled from the game by his coach.

13. On par with, tantamount to. The man's actions are being compared to murder, even though the man says the

killing was unintentional (murder refers specifically to "deliberate killing"). Thus, you need choices that mean

"equivalent to." Both on par with and tantamount to match.

14. Feasible, viable. You need two words that are like pragmatic, which means "practical." Feasible and viable

relate to the practical considerations of whether the plan is workable or likely to succeed. The only other pair of

similar words, partisan and prejudiced, have the exact incorrect meaning — they are more similar to "ideological"

than "pragmatic."

15. Puckish, wry. You need two words that are the opposite of "somewhat somber." Only puckish and wry have the

sense of being funny or playful.

16. Fighters, partisans. The correct pair must follow the clue armed resistance from civilian; the word

mercenaries is an attractive trap, but a mercenary is someone who fights for money (usually for a foreign country),

not someone who is "inspired by desperate conditions to fight in their own streets."

17. Capricious, erratic. The clue is "without regard for precedents" — that is, the monarchs made decisions based

on their own whims or desires, ignoring any pre-existing standards. Considered is the opposite of what you are lookng

for, and malicious and pessimistic, while appropriately negative, add new ideas that are not indicated by the sentence.

18. Flabbergasted, bedazzled. Since the expedition was conceived primarily as a mapping project, the officials

would naturally be amazed or surprised at the wealth of information on a myriad of topics that the explorers

gathered. Only flabbergasted and bedazzled convey any type of surprise or awe.

19. Expeditious, swift. The pivot indicates that the answers will oppose the clue quagmire — that is, Afghanistan's

problems are messy and entrenched. So, what kind of victory is not likely? A fast or easy one.

20. Diversity, mutation. The geneticists mentioned are studying a population descended from a rather small number

of people a rather long time ago. Geneticists — who study genes, of course — would be interested in how this

population changed over time (mutated) and became different from one another (diversity). Note that none of the

other answers are logical at all.

21. Triage, prioritize. You need two words that match the clue to metaphorically separate the wheat from the

chaff. (Chaff is the "inedible part of wheat that is discarded before the wheat can be made into flour.") You can also

use the clues regarding the only way that a person can function given an influx of information. Delete and eliminate

are attractive traps, but doesn't match the idea of separating the wheat from the chaff. Only triage (think of what

emergency room physicians do) and prioritize match.

22. Tenaciously, doggedly. Because of the word Although, the correct pair must contrast "accommodating." Both

tenaciously and doggedly convey the idea that Orwell refused to back down. Note that the pair obsequiously and

sycophantically are the exact opposite of what you are looking for.

23. A flabbergasting, a confounding. The pivot Although indicates that the blank will convey something that

contrasts with the idea of most people living only to age forty. You need two words that mean something like

"surprising." Trap answer incomprehensible goes too far — it's interesting that many painters had long lives, but it's

not beyond all comprehension.

24. Gauche, uncouth. The two words must match the word ostentatious. Both gauche and uncouth get aross the idea

of showing off in a low-class way (as is often associated with the "newly rich"). Remember not to insert your own

opinions — eccentric and idiosyncratic are near-synonyms, but are a trap.

25. Ironically, ludicrously. The pivot word yet indicates that a car crash in 1905 was a numerical improbability. You

need two words that mean "strangely" or "ridiculously." Only ironically and ludicrously come close. (Note that the

GRE tends to use the word ironically rather loosely.)

26. Depict, mirror. The images of small waists are contrasted with overweight Western societies. The word not

before the blank indicates that you need two words that mean "represent" or "portray."

27. Dearth, famine. The correct pair must the idea of population growth outpacing natural resources — that is, having

too many people to be supported by our natural resources. Famine and dearth are not synonyms (a famine is "a

prolonged and widespread lack of food," and a dearth is "a lack of anything"), but are the only words that match the

idea of shortages.

28. Putative, conjectural. The sentence indicates that the blank opposes the word proven. Corroborated and

assayed are an incorrect pair of words that have meanings similar to proven. Only putative and conjectural have the

desired meaning ("alleged, supposed, in theory").

29. Surprisingly, remarkably. The pivot word While indicates the answers must undermine the commonly accepted

and oft cited legend. Note that there are two incorrect pairs: risibly and amusingly, tragically and horribly. Work off

the clue and do not inject opinions or write stories.

30. Apprising, counseling. Cassirer "correctly" exposed forgeries to a credulous (that is, gullible) art world. Thus,

he was helping or advising the art world. Only apprising and counseling match.