SE

1. The Countess dressed with a (an) ____ elegance which seemed to
proclaim to the world just how distinguished she was.

A. studied
B. pronounced
C. ingenuous
D. understated
E. mannered
F. rococo

2. It is a waste of time to ____ someone so dimwitted; he is too dull
to recognize your barbs.

A. disparage
B. ridicule
C. lampoon
D. laud
E. enlighten
F. train

3. The teacher was so abstracted that she gave a ____ evaluation of
what was really an interesting solution to the problem she had set.

A. philosophical
B. cursory
C. detailed
D. considered
E. perfunctory
F. tangential

4. Punishment for transgressions of the law ceases to have a deterrent
effect if the punishment is frequently ____ .

A. arbitrary
B. changed
C. waived
D. lenient
E. commuted
F. applied

5. Not only love affects the eye of the beholder; other emotions also
____ the interpretation of the events that we witness.

A. cloud
B. trigger
C. devalue
D. color
E. objectify
F. impact

6. The human mind can often reject the most ____ data in favor of
something that, though valueless, at least sounds familiar.

A. anomalous
B. inconsequential
C. peripheral
D. pertinent
E. germane
F. visible

7. ____ behavior never has the effect its practitioners hope for; the
attempt to hide only draws attention to what is hidden.

A. Misogynistic
B. Puritanical
C. Covert
D. Miserly
E. Prudish
F. Camouflaging

8. He completed the work with unusual ____ ; his need to get out of
the office overcame his habitual torpor.

A. dispatch
B. grace
C. effectiveness
D. slovenliness
E. carelessness
F. celerity

9. When Smithers took over as chairperson, her colleagues were looking
forward to a less confrontational time on the board of governors,
since they reasoned that no one else was likely to be as ____ as her
predecessor.

A. mordant
B. aggressive
C. flexible
D. bellicose
E. complaisant
F. jaundiced

10. When faced with an urgent problem for which there is no
immediately obvious solution, we tend to welcome any suggestion,
however ____ , that might throw light on the dilemma.

A. unusual
B. hackneyed
C. tentative
D. outrageous
E. illuminating
F. flimsy