1. Stephen was always (i)____ ; in fact, his own father described him as having a(n) (ii)____ vacillation.


[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (i)
A. indecisive
B. earnest
C. volatile
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (ii)
D. concern for
E. propensity for
F. aversion to
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


2. The cricket match seemed ____ to our guests; they were used to watching sports in which the action is over in a couple of hours at the most.

A. unintelligible
B. inconsequential
C. interminable
D. implausible
E. evanescent

3. Our present accountant is most (i)____ ; unlike the previous (ii)____ incumbent, he has never made a mistake in all the years that he has worked for the firm.


[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (i)
A. pusillanimous
B. punctilious
C. asinine
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (ii)
D. craven
E. unreliable
F. mercenary
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


4. The refugee's poor grasp of English is hardly an _____ problem; she can attend classes and improve within a matter of months.

A. implausible
B. insuperable
C. inconsequential
D. evocative
E. injudicious

5. The (i)____ shades of meaning, and still subtler echoes of association, make language an instrument which scarcely anything short of genius can wield with (ii)____ and (iii)____ .


[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (i)
A. eloquent
B. nuanced
C. stygian
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (ii)
D. sincerity
E. certainty
F. hope
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (iii)
G. alacrity
H. precision
I. disinterest
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


6. His musical tastes are certainly ____ ; he has recordings ranging from classical piano performances to rock concerts, jazz and even Chinese opera.

A. antediluvian
B. eclectic
C. harmonious
D. sonorous
E. dazzling

7. All the truly outstanding breakthroughs in this area have come from historians who have been willing to adopt innovative techniques and pursue (i)____ lines of inquiry. Yet we should not (ii)____ the more (iii)____ research, which, after all, has given us the solid core of our knowledge of this important era.


[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (i)
A. conservative
B. unorthodox
C. hidebound
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (ii)
D. decry
E. applaud
F. acknowledge
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (iii)
G. moribund
H. convergent
I. mundane
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


8. Before his marriage the Duke had led an austere existence and now regarded the affectionate, somewhat (i)____ behavior of his young wife as simply (ii)____ .


[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (i)
A. restrained
B. frivolous
C. ungainly
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (ii)
D. delightful
E. sublime
F. puerile
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


9. Wilson (i)____ that human beings inherit a tendency to feel an affinity and awe for other living things, in the same way that we are (ii)____ to be inquisitive or to protect our young at all costs.


[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (i)
A. contends
B. fears
C. demurs
[/TD]
[TD="class: td1"]Blank (ii)
D. predisposed
E. taught
F. encouraged
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


10. The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of ____ smells and of oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills.
A. fragrant
B. evocative
C. dolorous
D. resonant
E. fetid