VA SOLUTIONs

1. Stephen was always (i)____ ; in fact, his own father described him
as having a(n) (ii)____ vacillation.

Blank (i)
A. indecisive
B. earnest
C. volatile

Blank (ii)
D. concern for
E. propensity for
F. aversion to

2. The cricket match seemed ____ to our guests; they were used to
watching sports in which the action is over in a couple of hours at
the most.

A. unintelligible
B. inconsequential
C. interminable
D. implausible
E. evanescent

3. Our present accountant is most (i)____ ; unlike the previous
(ii)____ incumbent, he has never made a mistake in all the years that
he has worked for the firm.

Blank (i)
A. pusillanimous
B. punctilious
C. asinine

Blank (ii)
D. craven
E. unreliable
F. mercenary


4. The refugee's poor grasp of English is hardly an _____ problem; she
can attend classes and improve within a matter of months.

A. implausible
B. insuperable
C. inconsequential
D. evocative
E. injudicious

5. The (i)____ shades of meaning, and still subtler echoes of
association, make language an instrument which scarcely anything short
of genius can wield with (ii)____ and (iii)____ .

Blank (i)
A. eloquent
B. nuanced
C. stygian

Blank (ii)
D. sincerity
E. certainty
F. hope

Blank (iii)
G. alacrity
H. precision
I. disinterest


6. His musical tastes are certainly ____ ; he has recordings ranging
from classical piano performances to rock concerts, jazz and even
Chinese opera.

A. antediluvian
B. eclectic
C. harmonious
D. sonorous
E. dazzling

7. All the truly outstanding breakthroughs in this area have come from
historians who have been willing to adopt innovative techniques and
pursue (i)____ lines of inquiry. Yet we should not (ii)____ the more
(iii)____ research, which, after all, has given us the solid core of
our knowledge of this important era.

Blank (i)
A. conservative
B. unorthodox
C. hidebound

Blank (ii)
D. decry
E. applaud
F. acknowledge

Blank (iii)
G. moribund
H. convergent
I. mundane


8. Before his marriage the Duke had led an austere existence and now
regarded the affectionate, somewhat (i)____ behavior of his young wife
as simply (ii)____ .

Blank (i)
A. restrained
B. frivolous
C. ungainly


Blank (ii)
D. delightful
E. sublime
F. puerile


9. Wilson (i)____ that human beings inherit a tendency to feel an
affinity and awe for other living things, in the same way that we are
(ii)____ to be inquisitive or to protect our young at all costs.

Blank (i)
A. contends
B. fears
C. demurs

Blank (ii)
D. predisposed
E. taught
F. encouraged


10. The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of ____ smells and of
oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills.

A. fragrant
B. evocative
C. dolorous
D. resonant
E. fetid

1. AE
2. C
3. BE
4. B
5. BEH
6. B
7. BDI
8. BF
9. AD
10. E