Sentence Completion 04

Despite ------- on taking rare tamarins from their habitat, the illegal trade in the tiny monkeys remains -------.

• commendations . . obligatory

• consultations . . predominant

• restrictions . . local

• penalties . . illicit

• prohibitions . . active

Representing a round world on a flat surface is impos-sible without some -------: the Mercator projection map shows Greenland as over ten times larger than Mexico, a country in fact only slightly smaller than Greenland.

• oversight

• simplification

• distortion

• sophistication

• superficiality

The highly publicized redesign of the car is essentially -------: the exterior has been updated, but the engine remains unchanged.

• intuitive

• cosmetic

• incoherent

• consequential

• retroactive

Many of our memories are -------, escaping our con-sciousness just as we strain to recall a face or a name.

• elusive

• pervasive

• unvaried

• insensitive

• impractical

Although Caroline Gordon was rigorously objective in her journalistic writing, her lively and ------- private correspondence ------- a delightful capacity for biting commentary on the social scene.

• incisive . . disguised

• eloquent . . derided

• dispassionate . . demonstrated

• exuberant . . minimized

• entertaining . . exhibited

An effective member of a debating team must focus clearly on the ------- issue and avoid ------- arguments.

• equivocal . . obstreperous

• designated . . pertinent

• comprehensive . . general

• principal . . peripheral

• subtle . . significant

The ------- with which merchants and landowners in early-nineteenth-century Maryland and Virginia ------- Joshua Johnston's professional services attests to his artistic skill as a portrait painter.

• avidness . . sought

• diffidence . . purchased

• patience . . replaced

• elegance . . regarded

• zealousness . . overlooked

The man's colleagues characterized him as ------- because he had an irritable, quarrelsome disposition.

• tyrannical

• disingenuous

• sanctimonious

• cantankerous

• morose

After winning the lottery, John bought sports cars, built a mansion, and wore designer suits; however, by thus ------- his -------, he alienated his friends.

• tranquility

• immobility

• consistency

• desirability

• complexity

The study of biology, once considered the key to solving nature's mysteries, has instead served to emphasize nature's incredible -------.

• enduring . . hardship

• flaunting . . prosperity

• undermining . . image

• calculating . . successes

• moderating . . consumption