SAT Reading & Writing: Hard Words in Context (Drill 21)

Question 1. The committee's report was praised for being ______ where earlier reviews had hedged: it stated plainly which projects had failed and named the decisions that had caused the losses.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word?

• A) exhaustive
• B) impartial
• C) conciliatory
• D) forthright ✓

Explanation: (D) The contrast with earlier reports that hedged, plus the plain naming of failures, points to frank directness, which forthright names. (A) exhaustive concerns thoroughness of coverage, not the willingness to speak plainly. (B) impartial speaks to fairness between sides, which the sentence does not weigh. (C) conciliatory suggests an effort to soothe, the opposite of stating failures bluntly.

Question 2. The naturalist argued that the bird's elaborate courtship dance was not ______ but learned: young males that grew up isolated from adults never performed it correctly.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word?

• A) innate ✓
• B) graceful
• C) territorial
• D) communal

Explanation: (A) The contrast with learned and the evidence that isolated young never master the dance point to something present from birth, which innate names. (B) graceful describes how the dance looks, not whether it is inborn or acquired. (C) territorial would describe a behavior tied to defending ground, which is not what the sentence sets against "learned." (D) communal would describe a group behavior, not whether the behavior is inborn or learned.

Question 3. The treaty language was deliberately ______: each clause could be read one way by the coastal states and another by their inland neighbors, and both sides signed believing they had won.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word?

• A) concise
• B) binding
• C) ambiguous ✓
• D) provisional

Explanation: (C) Each clause supports two opposed readings, so the language is open to more than one interpretation, which is exactly what ambiguous means. (A) concise concerns brevity, not the doubled meaning the sentence describes. (B) binding speaks to legal force, which is not the quality the two readings turn on. (D) provisional means temporary, but the clauses are unclear in meaning rather than limited in duration.

Question 4. The following text is adapted from Anthony Trollope's 1855 novel The Warden.

The dean and chapter had thought it more conducive to their honour to have a rich precentor appointed by the bishop than a poor one appointed by themselves.

As used in the text, what does the word "conducive" most nearly mean?

• A) damaging
• B) helpful ✓
• C) equivalent
• D) central

Explanation: (B) The chapter weighs which arrangement would do more for their standing, so conducive means tending to promote or help. (A) damaging reverses the sense, since they choose the course they think aids their honour. (C) equivalent would flatten the comparison the sentence is built on, in which one option does more than the other. (D) central implies being essential or at the core, a stronger claim than the modest promoting the word carries here.

Question 5. The startup's growth figures, impressive at first glance, turned out to be largely ______: most of the new accounts had never been used and were quietly closed within a month.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word?

• A) seasonal
• B) modest
• C) organic
• D) illusory ✓

Explanation: (D) The detail that the new accounts went unused and were soon closed shows the growth was more apparent than real, which illusory names. (A) seasonal would tie the figures to a time of year, which the sentence does not mention. (B) modest contradicts numbers described as impressive at first glance. (C) organic suggests genuine, natural growth, the opposite of figures that dissolved on inspection.