TEST

21. The new ballet has a (an)____ setting: the shepherds and
shepherdesses glide across the stage against a backdrop of ____
fields.

A. nondescript - rural
B. pastoral - verdant
C. summery - desolate
D. lamentable - ploughed
E. imaginative - realistic

22. The hotel claims that the water in its mock-Roman bath has ____
properties, but some cynics say that the shock of seeing the bill will
____ any improvements to the health of the guests.

A. therapeutic - undo
B. medicinal - underscore
C. salutary - sanction
D. rejuvenating - bolster
E. chemical - defeat

23. My mother gave the then unfashionable watercolors that she had
painted when she was young to a local ____ because she wanted someone
to appreciate them, but now regrets her action as there has been a
(an) ____ interest in the medium and a national museum recently
approached her to see if she had any to sell.

A. critic - waning of
B. collector - continuation of
C. historian - intensification of
D. resident - decline in
E. connoisseur - resurgence of

24. The fruit's ____ exterior belied the contents: the flesh was more
____ than a ripe mango, and had an intense flavor.

A. intriguing - interesting
B. gaudy - juicy
C. colorful - drab
D. nondescript - succulent
E. exotic - tender

25. Against my better judgment I went up into the decrepit attic to
search for a mah jong set that had been ____ there for more than forty
years, but as I stepped ____ on the beams I couldn't help feeling that
the ceiling was going to give way under me.

A. lying - firmly
B. languishing - gingerly
C. rotting - athletically
D. flourishing - tentatively
E. stored - jauntily