ny times english questions

1. Using context clues in the following sentence, you can tell that "penchant" most likely means --

No longer is Roche, who lives in Orlando, Fla., invited to Tebow-watching parties as he was last season, when Tebows PENCHANT for last-minute comebacks made Denver Broncos games must-see television.A) Aversion

B) Tendency

C) Delusion

D) Abrasiveness

E) Culpability

2. Which word pair best completes the following sentence from the article?

Far from being ________, the towns spa waters are actually harmful, thanks to the decision taken by its leaders (namely Peter) to go against Thomass ________ about where to lay the pipes.

A) Salubrious/Recommendation

B) Puerile/Prediction

C) Abundant/Edict

D) Resplendent/thesis

E) Photogenic/Warning

3. From the following, you can conclude that becoming a cause clbre has gotten Ms. Livingston ________.

Jennifer Livingston, a news anchor in Wisconsin, went on the air to publicly scold a viewer who wrote her an e-mail suggesting that her excess weight made her a poor role model, and she became a cause clbre.

A) Reviled

B) Ignored

C) Noticed

D) Scrutinized

E) Sidetracked

4. Which of these correctly completes the sentence?

Since late July, Mitik and a second orphaned walrus, Pakak, _____________ to health with bottle feedings and exercise at the Alaska SeaLife Center.

A) Has been nursedB) Have being nursed

C) Have been nursed

D) Was nursed

5. Which is the best synonym for "pervaded," as it is used in the following?

HANGA ROA, Easter Island Not long ago, as some elders of the Rapanui people wistfully recall, a sense of profound isolation pervaded this windswept speck of land in the Pacific.

A) Permitted

B) Evaded

C) Suffused

D) Persuaded

E) Defeated

6. Which of these is punctuated correctly?

A. Dr. Sereno said, My eyes popped, as it was clear this was a distinct species.

B. Dr. Sereno said My eyes popped, as it was clear this was a distinct species.

C. Dr. Sereno said, My eyes popped, as it was clear this was a distinct species.

D. Dr. Sereno, said, My eyes popped, as it was clear this was a distinct species7. Which is the best antonym for "aloof," as it is used in the following?

He would squat in silence on his clubhouse chair before games, balancing on the balls of his feet to stretch his surprisingly strong calves. The players who found him aloof, McLaren said, misread Suzukis intense pregame focus.

A) Distant

B) Reluctant

C) Austere

D) Affable

E) Taciturn

8. Which word pair best completes the following?

Even Richards burial place was left uncertain, an ___________ deemed fitting by Tudor successors whose _________ was secured when Richard was killed pole axed, according to witnesses at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

A) Ignominy/dominion

B) Anathema/fait accomplice

C) Honorarium/ruination

D) Intricacy/abdication

E) Oeuvre/coup9. Which is the best synonyms for "inexorable," as it is used in the following?

The allure of living in New York City, particularly for young singles, is as inexorable as the cruel math of making it happen.

A) Preventable

B) Fleeting

C) Relentless

D) Eccentric

E) Incoherent10. Which word pair best completes the following sentence?

One lesson Ive learned while writing about fitness is that few things ________ on an active life as much as writing about fitness all that time spent hunched before a computer or puzzling over scientific journals, the countless hours of _______, seated procrastination.

A) Glom/Willful

B) Intercede/inconsequential

C) Weigh/uninhibited

D) Impinge/feckless

E) Commentate/inevitable11. All of these are acceptable substitutes for "zeitgeist" as it is used in the following EXCEPT --

Common themes in the show captured the zeitgeist in the capital of this mountain nation between India and China.

A) Mood

B) Spirit

C) Climate

D) Feeling

E) History

12. Which word correctly completes the following?

For better and sometimes for worse, Mr. McDonald treats familiarity as if it _____ an enemy to be conquered.

A) Was

B) Were

C) Been

D) Being

E) Had

13. Which of these is the best synonym for "sobriquet," as it is used in the following?

This is House, Taylor says when he answers his phone. The sobriquet has stuck since he was in high school. Around his hometown, only his parents still call him John.

A) Epigram

B) Nom de plume

C) Moniker

D) Trope

E) Synecdoche

14. Which is the correct spelling of the word that completes the following sentence and describes something that is widespread or easy to find?

They like the _________ of single-sex floors in dorms, and even single-sex dorms at some schools.

A) Prevalance

B) Pravelance

C) Previlence

D) Prevalince

E) Prevalence

15. Which adverb best completes the following sentence?

_________, Scottish independence could turn out to be the best guarantee of a friendlier relationship between England and the ancient, obstinate little nation on its northern border.A) Predictably

B) Unfortunately

C) Paradoxically

D) Fittingly

E) Controversially

16. Which word correctly completes the following sentence?

The family tried to make her feel at home, giving her free _____ of the house, buying her a pool pass, taking her to weddings and eventually teaching her how to drive.

A) Rain

B) Reign

C) Rane

D) Rein

E) Ran

17. Which is the best synonym for "quixotic" as it is used in the following?

However quixotic the notion of mounting a 12-hour concert is, and however impractical it can be to attend one in its entirety, I feel guilty when I am unable to be at the annual Bang on a Can Marathon from start to finish.A) Urbane

B) Regretful

C) Rational

D) Idealistic

E) Obscure

18. Which is the correct spelling of the word that belongs in the blank?

In 1995, after her mothers death and her own divorce, Cheryl Strayed decided to hike the _______ Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State, alone.A) Mountainious

B) Mountainous

C) Mountenous

D) Mountanous

E) Mountanious

19. Which is the best synonym for "moxie" as it is used in the following?

I adored Beatrice Weilands moxie. She used her first name as a graphic logo on her camouflage pants and raggedy knits. Her clothes had a pleasing in-your-face quality that, to me, felt contemporary.

A) Derivation

B) Reticence

C) Intellectualism

D) Nerve

E) Disinterest

20. Which adverb best completes the following?

Theres no Ping-Pong table, but Sunshine is _________ trying to make entrepreneurs feel as though theyve left the South Bronx and stepped into Silicon Valley.A) Nevertheless

B) Albeit

C) Notwithstanding

D) Meantime

E) Anyhow

21. Which is the best antonym for "ostentatious" as it is used in the following?

Last year, as Antilia was nearing completion, many Mumbai residents criticized the building as an ostentatious display of wealth in a country where most people live on less than $2 a day and a city where more than half the population lives in slums.

A) Hypocritical

B) Flamboyant

C) Undeserved

D) Incongruous

E) Understated


Wieber never ________ when she was asked to do a skill, Karolyi said, and she never celebrated too much when she mastered something or ________ too much when she failed.A) Cooperated/criticized

B) Relented/boasted

C) Demurred/ swanned

D) Hesitated/wallowed

E) Compiled/gloated

23. Which of these is punctuated correctly?

A. Relying heavily, on muscle memory Gillette sprinted down the track. He knew to jump,on his 16th step after more than 108 feet.

B. Relying heavily on muscle memory Gillette, sprinted down the track. He knew to jump on his 16th step after more than 108 feet.

C. Relying heavily on muscle memory, Gillette sprinted down the track. He knew to jump on his 16th step, after more than 108 feet.

D. Relying heavily on muscle memory Gillette sprinted, down the track. He knew to jump on his 16th step after more, than 108 feet.24. Which is the best synonym for "mien" as it is used in the following?

Her squeaky voice, elfin mien and the inevitable Saturday Night Live caricature of both ended up stealing some attention from what shed pulled off, but make no mistake: Kerri Strug was heroic.

A) Anger

B) Predilection

C) Fabrication

D) Appearance

E) Main

25. Which word pair best completes the following sentence?

Picture 11 miles of smoothly paved bike path __________ through the countryside. Largely ________ by roads or intersections, it passes fields, backyards, chirping birds, a lake, some ducks and, at every mile, an air pump.A) Meandering /uninterrupted

B) Undulating/bisected

C) Marching/connected

D) Cavorting/diminished

E) Criss-crossing/overtaken26. What is the correct spelling of the adjective that means "extremely exciting" and fits in the blank to complete this sentence?

Linsanity, the _________ rush sparked by Lins meteoric rise to fame, is over, at least in New York.

A) Exhilarating

B) Exhelarating

C) Exhillarating

27. Which is the best synonym for "penchant," as it is used in the following?

When a reporter approached him recently, he was lost in thought, scribbling on a notepad. Everyone who spoke about Mr. McConaughey for this article remarked on his penchant for preparation, and it turns out he was taking notes for the interview.

A) Disinclination

B) Satire

C) Predilection

D) Aversion

E) Abstaining

28. Can you choose the word pair that best completes the sentence?

An _________ and record-setting heat wave peaked this weekend, beating a broad swath of states into sweaty ________, with above-normal triple-digit temperatures stretching from St. Louis to Washington.A) Adamant/comfort

B) Obvious/grandeur

C) Ubiquitous/triumph

D) Unrelenting/submission

E) Irrelevant/debasement

29. What is the correct spelling of the word that belongs in the blank?

Its Death and Taxes and Zombies.

See? Interesting! Its what weve all been waiting for: an investment strategy angle on the whole zombie _______.

A) Phenomenon

B) Presence

C) Swan

D) Drudge

E) Triumph

30. Which is the best synonym for "portends," as it is used in the following?

Real wages have risen little in recent decades, and the prospect that they will keep stagnating portends further erosions in coverage.

A) Prevents

B) Eliminates

C) Pretends

D) Signals

E) Describes

31. Which word part best completes the following sentence?

He was _______ to guard Swedens cultural heritage, but instead this senior librarian spent years ________ stealing and selling scores of its rare and precious books.

A) Entrusted/surreptitiously

B) Acquitted/brazenly

C) Beholden/vainly

D) Ordained/inadvertently

E) Resigned/capriciously32. Which is the best antonym for the word "venerable," as it is used in the following sentence?

If your image of a city hall involves a venerable building, some Roman pillars and lots of public employees, the version offered by this Atlanta suburb of 94,000 residents is a bit of a shocker.

A) Opulent

B) Respectable

C) Redoubtable

D) Hallowed

E) Contemporary


If paying scandalously low rent for one of the citys 39,000 remaining rent-controlled apartments is ______ as the holy grail of New York real estate, that is only because so few are aware of the existence of an even more ______ and lustrous prize.A) Marginalized/ephemeral

B) Vilified/obscure

C) Viewed/elusive

D) Perceived/accessible

E) Overlooked/triumphant


Mr. Wallenda said he was being pressured by his sponsors to accept some further safety measure. Ill be ________ until the end that I do not want to wear a tether, Mr. Wallenda said. But he said if it comes down to the point where either you wear a tether or you dont do it, he wouldA) Ambiguous/kowtow

B) Adamant/acquiesce

C) Tenuous/renegeD) Amenable/capitulate

E) Circumspect/withhold

35. Which is the correct spelling of the word that describes an insincere oversimplification?

Presidential libraries are built, in large part, to showcase the accomplishments of the presidents, Mr. Alexander wrote. It would be ___________ to ignore a presidents failings, mistakes and frailties; they all had them. But its far worse to revel in those failings in a way that keeps a dark cloud hovering over their accomplishments.A) Disingenuous


During the introspective, achingly beautiful fourth movement, an audience members cellphone loudly rang. And rang. And rang again. ... I closed my eyes, hoping the sounds of the orchestra would ______ over the ________ ringing.

A) Glom/dulcet

B) Harbor/endemic

C) Resonate/mundane

D) Curtain/soothing

E) Prevail/obnoxious

37. Which is the best antonym for "scabrous" as it is used in the following sentence?

Mr. Bourdain landed in the public consciousness in 2000 with his book Kitchen Confidential, a scabrous look at the mayhem behind the fine dining tables of Manhattan.A) Scandalous

B) Problematic

C) Indecent

D) Innocuous

E) Salacious]


No store is known to have had the _______ taste to advertise a mid-January white sale in the name of the murdered civil rights figure. This doesnt mean that holiday bargains were not advertised. They were usually rendered in _______ fashion, though, as a weekend sales event.

A) Impeccable/ironic

B) Innovative/bombastic

C) Prescient/amateur

D) Condescending/outlandish

E) Dubious/anodyne

39. What is the best synonym for "cavalier" as it is used in the following?

The cause of the sinking was not yet clear. Large-scale accidents have sometimes led to anger at the government, especially when the countrys somewhat cavalier approach to safety has played a role.

A) Neurotic

B) Scientific

C) Dismissive

D) Cautious

E) Antiquated


If the Maid of the Mist interrupts its boat service in New York for lack of a storage area, that could ______ its contract with the state void. ... While state officials seem sympathetic to the ________ the family faces, they are saying little publicly.

A) Forge/ambivalence

B) Magnify/solution

C) Refine/munificence

D) Render/quandary

E) Amend/serendipity

41. Which is the best antonym for "languish" as it is used in the following?

First you want to remind people to use mustard like theyve always done, but additionally you want to inspire them to use it differently, Mr. Zotti said. When winter rolls around, rather than languish in the back of the refrigerator, Frenchs will still be top of mind, Mr. Zotti said.

A) WitherB) Transform

C) Thrive

D) Replicate

E) Decay

42. Which word pair best completes the following sentence?

Sister Dolores, the principal of Fontbonne Hall Academy, once jumped out of her 2004 Toyota Corolla, _________ a girls beer, emptied it into the gutter, explained that as a certified alcohol counselor she could have the girl arrested, then waited while the _________ child called her parents to report herself.

A) Demoted/petulant

B) Chided/nonplussed

C) Mandated/unrepentant

D) Purloined/incredulous

E) Confiscated/shell shocked

ny times english questions

Documents