 |
 |
Solving for Two Blanks
Quite a few SAT sentence completion questions have two blanks instead of just one. Sometimes the second blank is easier to fill in than the first blank. Look at this example.
Even though he had not eaten all day and had _____ money in his pocket, David _____ the offer of a free meal.
(A) considerable..refused
(B) various..accepted
(C) extra..renegotiated
(D) little..declined
(E) enough..applauded
|
|
Eliminating Some Choices
The first part of the sentence tells you that David hasn't eaten all day so he must be hungry. The flags "even though" tell you that in the second part of the sentence David will do the opposite of what his hunger would cause him to do. The two choices that work for the second blank are (A) refused, and (D) declined. So knock out choices (B), (C), and (E). Now try each of the remaining choices.
Even though he had not eaten all day and had _____ money in his pocket, David _____ the offer of a free meal.
(A) considerable..refused
(B) various..accepted
(C) extra..renegotiated
(D) little..declined
(E) enough..applauded
|
|
Try Choice A
"Even though he had not eaten all day and had considerable money in his pocket, David refused the offer of a free meal." The second blank works well, but the first word, "considerable," doesn't make much sense. Remember that the flag "even though" tells you that the direction should change. If David had considerable money, he could refuse a free meal — nothing surprising about that. There's no change of direction.
Even though he had not eaten all day and had _____ money in his pocket, David _____ the offer of a free meal.
(A) considerable..refused
(B) various..accepted
(C) extra..renegotiated
(D) little..declined
(E) enough..applauded
|
|
Look at Choice D
"Even though he had not eaten all day and had little money in his pocket, David declined the offer of a free meal." The second blank works as before, but now the first blank also works. Even though he had little money and was hungry, David said "no" to a free meal. With little money we would have expected him to jump at the chance for a free meal. But the flag words, "even though," tell you that the direction of the sentence will reverse and the opposite will happen. And so it did!
Even though he had not eaten all day and had _____ money in his pocket, David _____ the offer of a free meal.
(A) considerable..refused
(B) various..accepted
(C) extra..renegotiated
(D) little..declined
(E) enough..applauded
|
|
Trying All Five Choices
In the previous question, you had to read in only two choices to find the winner. But for some questions you may have to read in all five choices. This happens when there are no flag words, or when the sentence is very long, or when it's just plain tough. Here's an example.
The team members had few, if any, _____ about postponing those long, arduous practice sessions that tended only to deflate their enthusiasm, _____ their coach's frustration at their inconsistent execution.
(A) desires..undermining
(B) misgivings..increasing
(C) hesitations..embracing
(D) qualifications..ceasing
(E) ideas..reducing
|
|
Does Choice A (desires..undermining) Work?
Long practice sessions that deflate enthusiasm wouldn't undermine (or lessen) their coach's frustration, they would increase it. Forget this choice.
How about Choice B (misgivings..increasing)?
The team had no problem with postponing the dreaded practices, and these practices not only deflated the team's enthusiasm but also increased their coach's frustration at the team's lousy work. This is a winner, so mark it.
Maybe Choice C (hesitations..embracing)?
You still need to try the others, just in case one of them is better than (B). "Embracing their coach's frustration" doesn't make much sense in the context of this sentence, and besides, it's not nearly as good as (B). Strike it and keep going.
Checking Choice D (qualifications..ceasing)
Here, too, the last phrase, "ceasing their coach's frustration" just doesn't make sense in this sentence. Strike this one and check the last one
Finally, Choice E (ideas..reducing)
This also doesn't make much sense with the entire sentence. The team had no ideas about postponing a practice, and the tough practice reduced the coach's frustration at the team's lousy play? It just doesn't fit right and it certainly doesn't make the kind of sense that choice (B) does.
Prev | Next
|
|
|
|
|
