Sharpen your GRE skills with medium-difficulty text completion questions focused on 1–2 blanks, designed to strengthen vocabulary and reading comprehension for exam success. This quiz helps prepare test-takers by challenging their context clue analysis and word choice accuracy.
Although the candidate's speech was filled with inspiring rhetoric, it ultimately lacked the necessary ______ to address the audience’s concerns in a concrete manner.
Explanation: The word 'substance' correctly conveys the idea that the speech lacked real content or meaningful information, which fits the context of failing to address concerns concretely. 'Subtlety' refers to being nuanced or delicate, which does not align with the requirement of concrete information. 'Substitution' means replacing one thing with another and is irrelevant here. 'Subsistence' refers to basic survival needs, which doesn't fit the context of a candidate's speech.
The scientist, confronted with a novel idea, responded not with skepticism but with ______, eager to learn more about the discovery.
Explanation: 'Curiosity' means a desire to learn or know more, which matches the context of someone eagerly wanting to learn about a discovery. 'Cynicism' is a negative attitude that does not fit the scientist's open-minded response. 'Contempt' indicates disrespect, which is not described here. 'Culpability' means blame or guilt, which is unrelated to the scenario.
Despite their ______ exchanges in public, the two colleagues often disagreed heatedly in private meetings.
Explanation: 'Cordial' describes friendly or polite interactions, which contrasts with heated disagreements in private, highlighting the difference between public and private behavior. 'Curt' means rudely brief, which does not imply friendliness. 'Critical' implies judgment and would not mask disagreements. 'Credible' means believable, but does not describe the tone of their exchanges.
Public support for the new policy began to ______ when unexpected consequences became apparent.
Explanation: 'Wane' means to decrease or diminish, appropriately showing the decline in support after negative results emerge. 'Wanee' is a misspelling and not a valid word. The repetition of other 'wanee' options are distractors meant to mimic spelling errors, which makes them incorrect choices.
The project encountered multiple obstacles, each one more ______ than the last, ultimately leading to its demise.
Explanation: 'Insurmountable' means impossible to overcome, which explains why the obstacles led to failure. 'Insensible' means lacking awareness, which doesn’t describe obstacles themselves. 'Insecure' relates to stability or confidence, not to the difficulty of obstacles. 'Insatiable' means impossible to satisfy, which doesn’t fit the context of barriers or challenges.