Sentence Completion on GRE

[sajiv]

Sentence Completion on GRE

The Verbal section of the GRE will contain approximately 6 sentence completion questions. Each includes a sentence with either one or two blanks. You must select the correct word (or pair of words) to best complete the sentence. The sentences are not biased toward any particular field of study and you will NOT need any specific knowledge of the subject being discussed. Sentence completion questions are intentionally structured to provide all the clues you need to identify the missing word(s).

The directions for the section are:
Directions: Each of the following questions begins with a sentence that has either one or two blanks. The blanks indicate that a piece of the sentence is missing. Each sentence is followed by five answer choices that consist of words or phrases. Select the answer choice thatcompletes the sentence best.

Example:
After a hectic week in the city, as a relief from ______ pressures, Carrie plans to _____ on her long weekend.
(A) inveterate -- pique
(B) urban -- rusticate
(C) pent -- prate
(D) neolithic -- venerate
(E) laconic -- slake

Solution: Choice B is correct. The key word "city" indicates that the first word must relate to urban life. The trigger for the second word is long weekend. We know that Carrie wants to get away from the city, making "rusticate" a good choice.

Example:
After surgery for my knee injury, my doctor gave me painkillers that made me _____ and _____.
(A) articulate -- copious
(B) doltish -- overt
(C) autocratic -- congruent
(D) torpid -- phlegmatic
(E) ludicrous -- remiss

Solution: The first key word in this is "pain killers", which are known to induce drowsiness. The second key word is "and", indicating that the two words we seek are synonyms.