Words in Context
The invention in 1958 of the integrated circuit (or microchip) radically altered the semiconductor industry. In fact, some historians argue that it fundamentally ______ the industry by enabling it to take advantage of mass production methods for the first time.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. overwhelmed
B. bypassed
C. obstructed
D. transformed
D: Transformed
The following text is adapted from Johanna Spyri’s 1881 novel Heidi (translated by Elisabeth Stork in 1915). Eight-year- old Heidi and her friend’s grandmother are looking at some illustrated books.
Heidi had come and was looking with wondering eyes at the splendid pictures in the large books, that Grandmama was showing her. Suddenly she screamed aloud, for there on the picture she saw a peaceful flock grazing on a green pasture. In the middle a shepherd was standing, leaning on his crook. The setting sun was shedding a golden light over everything. With glowing eyes Heidi devoured the scene.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A. Heidi is upset until she sees a serene image of a pasture in one of Grandmama’s books.
B. Heidi is delighted and fascinated by an image she sees in one of Grandmama’s books.
C. Heidi is initially frightened by an image in one of Grandmama’s books but quickly comes to appreciate its beauty.
D. Heidi is inspecting an image in one of Grandmama’s books because she has never seen a shepherd with his sheep before.
B. Heidi is delighted and fascinated by an image she sees in one of Grandmama’s books.
The following text is from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The narrator is being driven in a carriage through a remote region at night.
The baying of the wolves sounded nearer and nearer, as though they were closing round on us from every side. I grew dreadfully afraid, and the horses shared my fear. The driver, however, was not in the least disturbed; he kept turning his head to left and right, but I could not see anything through the darkness.
As used in the text, what does the word “disturbed” most nearly mean?
A. Disorganized
B. Alarmed
C. Offended
D. Interrupted
B: Alarmed
Recent measurements of the mass of the W boson (a subatomic particle) were notable not only for the mere fact that the particle’s mass differed from expectations but for the ______ of that difference: the measured mass of the W boson was seven standard deviations higher than predicted by the standard model of particle physics.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. cause
B. existence
C. implication
D. scale
D: Scale
Cuttlefish appear to be surprisingly ______ at exercising self-control: in a 2021 study conducted by behavioral ecologist Alexandra Schnell, these cephalopods routinely demonstrated restraint by delaying gratification, waiting for a favorite treat instead of instantly devouring a readily available meal.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. awkward
B. imaginative
C. manageable
D. competent
D: Competent
Close analysis of the painting Girl with a Flute, long attributed to the seventeenth-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, has revealed subtle deviations from the artist’s signature techniques. These variations suggest that the work may be that of a student under Vermeer’s tutelage—potentially ______ our understanding of Vermeer as a solitary artist.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. negating
B. prefiguring
C. entrenching
D. substantiating
A: Negating