Text Completion Drill #2

1. Despite its apparent -------, much of early Greek philosophical thought was actually marked by a kind of unconscious dogmatism that led to ------- assertions.

A. liberality . . doctrinaire
B. independence . . autonomous
C. intransigence . . authoritative
D. fundamentalism . . arrogant
E. legitimacy . . ambiguous

2. The spacecraft has two ------- sets of electronic components; if one fails, its duplicate will still function.

A. divergent
B. identical
C. simulated
D. mutual
E. prohibitve

3. Frank was confident that he had presented the most ------- plan possible, but in reality his proposals were just the opposite, neither practical nor useful enough to produce any worthwhile results.

A. efficacious
B. abstruse
C. conservative
D. protracted
E. misconstrued

4. The theory of the ------- of cultures argues that all societies with highly developed technologies will evolve similar social institutions.

A. isolation
B. aesthetics
C. convergence
D. fragmentation
E. longevity

5. Despite years of poverty and -------, the poet Ruth Pitter produced work that is now ------- by a range of literary critics.

A. security . . hailed
B. depression . . criticized
C. celebrity . . publicized
D. inactivity . . undermined
E. adversity . . acclaimed

6. The two travelers may have chosen ------- routes across the continent, but the starting point was the same for each.

A. coinciding
B. direct
C. charted
D. divergent
E. intersecting

7. The former cult-film director ------- his original audience by making films that appealed instead to the general public.

A. enchanted
B. moved
C. glorified
D. disappointed
E. influenced

8. Marine biologist Sylvia Earle makes a career of expanding the limits of deep-sea mobility, making hitherto impossible tasks ------- through the new technology designed by her company.

A. famous
B. feasible
C. fantastic
D. controversial
E. captivating

9. He ------- the practices of aggressive autograph seekers, arguing that anyone distinguished enough to merit such ------- also deserved to be treated courteously.

A. decried . . adulation
B. defended . . adoration
C. endorsed . . brusqueness
D. ignored . . effrontery
E. vilified . . disdain

10. In many cases, the formerly ------- origins of diseases have now been identified through modern scientific echniques.

A. insightful
B. mysterious
C. cruel
D. notable
E. useful

11. The attorney was expert in identifying ------- in contracts, ambiguities that could cause difficulties and therefore needed to be revised.

A. clauses
B. forgeries
C. loopholes
D. intervals
E. thresholds

12. Using detailed observations made by ancient astronomers in China, Korea, and Japan to ------- data collected by modern instruments, scientists can ------- precisely when a particular star exploded.

A. contradict . . speculate
B. replace . . disregard
C. simulate . . investigate
D. disseminate . . measure
E. complement . . establish

13. Records documenting the presence of Africans among the crews of explorers like Christopher Columbus ------- the antiquity of the African presence in the Americas.

A. create
B. illustrate
C. compromise
D. overlook
E. modify

14. Anderson's callous habit of ------- the suggestions of his coworkers made him seem ------- to them.

A. reviling . . amenable
B. soliciting . . accessible
C. revisiting . . cantankerous
D. ignoring . . approachable
E. deriding . . abhorrent

15. Rita Dove's poems are widely admired for their -------; as one critic has said, Dove has "planed away unnecessary matter."

A. complexity
B. lyricism
C. leanness
D. warmth
E. zest