Two Nouns in Two-Blank Texts - GRE Verbal

The fact the subject is a "priest" is a good clue that the correct answers will relate in some way to religious offices and structures. "Heresy," an opinion against orthodoxy, and "prelates," religious authorities, fit the sentence best.

The country has been suffering form civil wars that the "dictator" ended. This means "his rule" was a break, or "respite," from the lack of government authority, or "anarchy," of "the country's civil wars."

Antoine "embraced" something that he thought was harmless and inoffensive. The word "but" implies that the other people in the sentence, his family, did not agree. The description of the family as devoutly religious implies that this characteristic was central to their reason for not agreeing with Antoine and they regarded him negatively for doing this; therefore, the first word must be something that a devoutly religious family would be bothered by, and the second word must be a noun with a negative connotation.

Looking at the first word possibilities, the only ones that might fit are "atheism" and "philosophy," both pursuits that might cause issues with a devoutly religious family. Fundamentalism and monogamy are traits that would likely be regarded positively, and quiescence just means to be quiet or still—something very neutral that would be unlikely to cause much of a reaction from a religious family one way or another. Looking at the second word, we have the choice of "pariah," or outcast, and "intellectual," or thinker. Embracing philosophy might cause one to become a thinker, and a devoutly religious family might be suspicious of that, but there isn't really a strong enough connotation of negativity with "intellectual." "Pariah," on the other hand, indicates that Antoine's family essentially rejected him, and since atheism is a lack of belief in God, it fits that a devout family would reject a member who "embraced" this.

This sentence describes the prerequisites of being a classical pianist, making reference to something having to do with the musician's hands, and something to do with his or her approach to music. Of the five options, "probity" means honesty or fairness and is not used to describe hands. "Dispatch" means speed, but in the sense of traveling speed ("moving with great dispatch"), not in the sense of playing quickly.

"Vigor" means energy or liveliness and might work, but it is not used in conjunction with the word "manual," as it usually refers to the whole of the body and not a part.

That leaves "dexterity" and "fluidity" as the two possible traits of a pianist's hands, both of which are possible. But "effrontery" is impudence, impertinence, or rudeness, none of which seem likely to describe how a musician interprets music, while "virtuosity" means have a high level of artistry or accomplishment; therefore "dexterity . . . virtuosity" is the correct answer.

An "interregnum" is a period between reigns or governments, while a "demogogue" is a person who achieves power through appeals to the mob. Most of the other choices are nonsensical in this sentence. "Intermission . . . statesman" might vaguely fit, but a statesman is generally regarded as a good leader, or at worst a neutral one, and an intermission is a break in time between performances or games, not governments.

Anomaly—something that is abnormal or incongruous

Anathema—a loathed or detested thing

Cockroaches are prolific around the world and a person who is afraid of bugs would not want them around.

We know that the words we're after will have negative connotations, since the customer "accuses" the manager of being something. Knowing this, we can eliminate the answer choices that include "support of," aggrandizement of," and "defference to."

We're then left with "castigation of" and "antipathy toward" as options for the first blank, and "iconoclast" and "misogynist" for the second. "Iconoclast" means a person who criticizes traditions and/or traditional beliefs, so it doesn't fit in the sentence, while "misogynist" (hater of women) works perfectly, since the manager specifically does not like the female waitstaff in his restaurant. The correct answer is thus "antipathy toward . . . misogynist."

From the context of the sentence, we can tell that Harry was living as a wandering person. While tourisim could (in a broad sense) be considered "wandering about" to see things, this is really a far stretch. The word "vagabond," however, literally does mean "a person who wanders around," often having no means of employment. This would well describe Harry's state. After these years of wandering, he wants to find somewhere to "settle down." That is, he wants to find a "homeplace" (of sorts, at least). The word "habitation" means a living place, often implying fixity or stability.

The first blank is best known by the implied contrast with "alone." In contrast to being alone, one can be gathered in a group. A "multitude" is a large number of people or things together. It is clearly related to "multiply" and "multiple." All of these words come from the Latin meaning "many." The answer for the second blank is best figured out by looking to the subordinate clause beginning "with its many." This clause describes global politics as having many actors (that is, people doing things) and numerous concerns. The implication is that it is "complex."

Your clue words here are "unfortunately" and "external." "External" means located or seen on the outside or surface of something. You are looking for two synonyms which primarily have to do with externality. So, the answer choice that makes the most sense in the sentence's context is "appearances . . . features." The other words all deal with more internal traits.

A good strategy for some questions is to use the process of elimination to figure out what answer choices could work. You can see what the sentence is going for, paraphrase it, and choose answers accordingly. For the first blank, look at the first half of the sentence: low prices on some type of things bring lots of people on Black Friday, so it would make sense for the word that goes in the first blank to be a synonym for "lots of" which "plethora" (large amount) is, but "paragon" (epitome or most positive example) does not at all.

For the second blank, look at the second half of the sentence. There, people are trampled due to the inevitable something of thousands of people in one store. Something like "disaster" may fit in the blank. Of the answer choices, "catalyst" (spark or stimulus) and "entropy" (chaotic disorder), it is "entropy" that makes the most sense, as the sentence is implying that the disorder of the crowds causes several deaths. This means that the correct answer is "plethora . . . entropy."

The contrast here is between a building that is "stark," meaning very brutal (and, by implication, plain), and one that is "florid," meaning very complex. Thus, the first building likely has a stark "simplicity" that is contrasted to the florid "ornateness" of the other building. Such a building has "ornaments" throughout it, meaning that it has many extra embellishments—quite in contrast to something that is stark and simple.

This sentence clearly has a contrast, as is indicated by the form "although." The clue in the main clause is that Paul could purchase anything. This seems to indicate that he was initially poor. To be in "penury" is to be in extreme poverty. This is much better than "obscurity" or "secrecy," which might be tempting, given their pairings with "repute" and "prestige." To be "affluent" is to be wealthy; hence, "affluence" is the state of being wealthy.

The best clue for this sentence is "such acts of beneficence." Clearly, this is referring back to the first blank. "Gregariousness" is friendliness, which is not necessarily being beneficent (i.e. very giving, generally with money). Merely being known for wealth does not necessarily imply that one gives it away. Therefore, "philanthropy" is the best option, for it means generosity in charitable causes. It comes from roots meaning love of humans. "Anthropology" is the study of human beings and their culture. The city of Philadelphia (read as: phil-adelphia) is the "city of brotherly love"; the "phil-" prefix means love. Hence, "phil-anthropy" is the love of human beings. The second choice of "secrecy" pairs well with the context clues in the sentence. Scott was well known for the philanthropy, though he did try to keep it secret.

The sentence really does not indicate much more than the person in question is speaking and that the speaking is inspiring. Thus, it is unlikely that it is made up of ramblings or mere musings. Thus, "discourse" is a sufficient word, for it does at least indicate any general topic that might be discussed at a given occasion. (It also has a bit of implied gravity or importance.) The second blank indicates that his oratory inspires the hope for things that pass beyond our mortal and physical life. This indicates a kind of "transcendence"—that things go over ("trans+scend") the world of physical reality. The "trans-" prefix means across but also beyond. The second half of the word is found in words like "descend" and "ascend."

By filling in the blanks for this sentence, you can rather quickly come to the correct answer. The investigator was uncertain about the "blaming of the explosion", for there were no flames "within the area" of the building. The second blank would fit well with the word "vicinity," though this is not an option. The word "precincts" works well too. It means the area within a particular set of boundaries. Sometimes, this term is used for areas larger than a house, but that is okay for this question, as it can also apply to a building. The word "ascription" is good for the first blank. You likely know the related word "ascribe." When we ascribe one thing to something else, we attribute that first thing to the second.

The sentence is only speaking of the teacher's opinion of the student. We really have no reason to interpret this as a condemnation of the student. Therefore, the word "estimation" is the best among those provided. An "estimation" is a guess, but it is also the opinion that is arrived at by means of such guessing. For the second blank, you are looking for an antonym to "intelligent." Only "dolt" expresses the idea of being unintelligent and, hence, is the correct answer for the second blank.

Probably the easier of the two blanks is the second one. Since Matthew apparently finds Mozart's music to be unimpressive, we should look for a noun that expresses this general idea of being unimpressive or unimportant. The word "ditty" is generally used to describe songs that are mere "playing around" and not really serious music. This works well to express someone's idea of finding something to be unimpressive! Now, Matthew's feeling is not likely irritation. Instead, contempt is a much better word, for it indicates looking down at something or holding it in disdain.

The sentence is straightforward. We are looking for two words that directly contrast with “fortitude” and “responsibility.” While some of the answers seem close, one answer combination fits best. “Capitulation . . . abdication” is the correct choice.