Two Nouns in Two-Blank Sentences - PSAT Critical Reading

"Despot" means one who has total power and rules brutally, while "nonchalance" means a lack of concern or indifference. Understandably, a brutal ruler who killed without concern would incite his own downfall.

"Disdain" is synonymous with extreme dislike due to feeling superior to something or someone else, and "restraint" means self-control or something that limits movement or options. Here, it is clear that if revenge is desired since the individual does not like the crook, and that if revenge is not taken, restraint must have been shown.

The sense desired by this sentence is that reality is more powerful and lively than that found in still life. To have "dynamism" means to have activity and vigor. It is derived from Greek roots meaning “power”, and we can see the same base in words like “dynamite” and “dynamic.”

To be in flux means to be flowing—something that would be true of a dynamic, changing reality. It is derived from Latin roots that give us other such words connoting “flowing”—such as “confluence,” “influx”, and “fluent.”

The key words here are “wanted to curry favor with the crowd.” A “demagogue” is someone who argues to a crowd by appealing to their wishes and prejudices and not to logic. This negative sense is clearly communicated by the key expression. The word is derived from Greek roots meaning to lead the people. The “dem-” portion means people (taken as a whole, as the “crowds,” so to speak) and is found in English in words like “democracy.” The “-agogue” portion is found in many words that denote action. (The “g” sound often can harden into a “c,” and the Latinization of the Greek root here ultimately will give us many words that have not merely the “c” but a “-ct-” and hence “-act-”).

Rhetoric is the art of being convincing in speech or writing. While we often give it a negative connotation, it is really a neutral term. Here, it works well because of the good match made by “demagogue” in the second half of the sentence.

All that we know is that someone is asking John things. No other details are given regarding those speaking to him; therefore, all we can say is that they are “interrogators”—people asking questions.

The word comes from Latin roots that ultimately mean to ask (or, more directly, to ask questions between persons—the “inter-” alters the meaning). The “-rog-“ portion comes from “rogare,” meaning to ask. There are many related words like “derogatory,” “rogation,” and “abrogate.”

The word “obfuscation” comes from the Latin “fuscus,” meaning “dark.” Related words are rather obscure – “fuscine” and “fuscous.” However, one can see how “obfuscation” (rendering something unclear or obscure) is related to being dark.

The two words we are looking for should be synonymous with deceitful and charm, respectively. "Chicanery" most closely means trickery or deceitfulness, while a person who is charming is "flattering."

Do not assume any specificity unless you need to do so. For this question, a number of the options for the first blank specify more than you might be able to imply from the few details given in the sentence (e.g. “bombings”, “shelling,” and “explosions”). The case of “ravage” captures the general sense of destruction that would appropriately pair with the claim that Sebastian had an increased “fortitude” for dealing with hardships. The latter term is derived from the Latin for strong and is related to words like “fortify,” “force,” and “forte.”

We can infer that for the first blank, we're looking for a noun that describes something used to transport water across land. Either "aqueducts" (man-made, above-ground channels for transporting water) or "pipelines" could work. For the second blank, we can tell that we need a noun that means something like "achievement"; either "feat" (accomplishment) or "accomplishment" (something achieved) could work. Of the potentially correct answers we've identified, only "aqueducts" and "accomplishment" appear in a single answer choice, so "aqueducts . . . accomplishment" is the correct answer.

The phrases “commenced,” “build up” and “complete the three-day bar examination” suggest that Harold began a systematic procedure to build up the stamina to finish a three-day exam. Only "regimen" (a systematic procedure) and "endurance" (a synonym for stamina) work for the blanks.

The sentence states that Scott has a capacity for work, so this fact should specify the chosen words most directly. One is considered “industrious” if he or she is hard working; therefore, “tireless industry” would well match a “capacity for work”—at least better than the other options. One is called “indefatigable” if he or she is “untiring.” The “-fatigable” portion of the word is related to the English “fatigue,” though the “in-” prefix negates this base’s meaning.

Here, the contrast is between the production of something related to being male and some potential female characteristics. The word “androgen” means “male hormone.” The first portion, “andro-” is related to the English “polyandry,” meaning “having many husbands” and is also related more generally to words having “anthro-” in them, such as “anthropology” and “misanthrope.” Note, that these latter terms do not necessarily imply being male. The “-gen” portion means “producing” as in words like “genesis” and “genetic.”

Although it is difficult to find the best meaning for this sentence, it is relatively easy to ascertain the “least bad” one. Since nothing is said about the specific places in which people could not smoke, the safest answer will be the one that merely implies that one cannot smoke at all within the town (as is stated in the independent clause starting with “nobody”). The word “limits” functions best here, merely indicating that one cannot smoke within the city’s borders. The word “prohibition” does not merely mean the banning of alcohol, as many might think. It first means “to forbid something.” It is from this first meaning that the later laws were named. It is clearly related to “prohibit” but likewise has related English words like “rehabilitate” and “inhibition.”

The correct answer refers to the depravity that the knight could commit ("turpitude") and still retain his position, something that earned the ire of his peers ("umbrage"). Incorrect answers either fail to identify the knight's actions as being emphatically negative ("righteousness" and "virtuousness") or that his peers' thoughts of him were not all contemptuous ("commiseration" and "satisfaction").

The sentence implies a strengthening of meaning from the first blank to the second. This is indicated by the use of “passing” for the first and “much closer” for the second. An “evaluation” can merely mean a general judgment regarding the worth (or value) of someone or something. A “scrutiny,” on the other hand, is an in-depth examination of something. This fits well with the needed strengthened sense in the second blank.

From the use of the words “infamous” and “could not bear” you know that the blanks being described are probably negative. You also know that the blanks must be similar or identical in meaning because there is no clause or conjunction indicating a change in meaning. The correct answer is therefore arrogance and smugness; this is the only answer choice in which the meanings of the two answers are similar. Delegation means to allocate tasks; mollycoddling means to pamper and spoil someone; apathy means not caring; gregariousness refers to sociability; degradation describes the squalor of something.

The first blank is the easiest to fill in because it is something difficult that you will have to overcome. Adversity and trouble could both fit here, so we look at the second blank, which requires a positive quality that will help you though tough times. Vulnerability does not fit here, so "adversity . . . composure" is the correct answer.

Conspiracy theorists generally question the truth behind certain events. So in this case, they would think that the moon landing was fake. We can easily fill in the second blank first by picking a word that would mean the landing was fake. This could be trick or hoax. Looking at the first blank, we can say that they questioned the truth or possibility of the moon landing, and the word that fits here would be plausibility.

We can infer that because Black Friday is "the busiest shopping day of the year," that every store will be in chaos trying to deal with customers. So, we need to pick out an answer choice that means something like "chaos" for the first blank. Either "an uproar" ("a loud and impassioned noise or disturbance)" or "turmoil" ("a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty") could be potentially correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a noun that means something like "group" and can refer to a group of "impatient, demanding customers." Either "horde" ("chiefly derogatory: a large group of people") or "mob" ("a large crowd of people, especially one that is disorderly and intent on causing trouble or violence") could be potentially correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "an uproar" and "horde" appear in the same answer choice, so the correct answer is "an uproar . . . horde."

For the first blank, we need to pick out a noun that means something like "calmness," because calmness would be disrupted if "sharks began to swim" near where one was swimming. Either "tranquility" ("the quality or state of being tranquil; calm") or "peace" (" freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility") could be correct. For the second blank, we need to pick out a noun that describes a body of water that could be "connected . . . with the ocean." Either "cove" ("a small sheltered bay") or "bay" ("a broad inlet of the sea where the land curves inward") could be correct. Of the possible words that we've identified as potentially correct for each blank, only "tranquility" and "cove" appear in the same answer choice in the correct order, so the correct answer is "tranquility . . . cove."