GRE Verbal Reasoning: Text Completion

1.Because the drill's vibration was cracking the thin shelf, the shop teacher braced the bench to ________ the shaking, not to end it, but to make it less damaging. Which word best completes the sentence?

2.On the morning trail, painted blazes were ________, appearing on nearly every trunk, so a hiker was never without a mark in sight. Which word best completes the sentence?

3.Although the town meeting liked a grand redesign, the committee chose a ________ plan because it used the lumber already in the shed and could be finished by Friday. Which word best completes the sentence?

4.The ice sculpture beside the library steps looked solid at dawn, but it was ________, because by noon the sun had reduced it to a puddle. Which word best completes the sentence?

5.The trail sign was ________, because the same arrow could be read as pointing toward the lake or back to the parking lot. Which word best completes the sentence?

6.The director slid a second brace under the stage flat to ________ it, so the painted wall would stay upright through the dance rehearsal. Which word best completes the sentence?

7.The repeated drip seemed to ________ the plaster above the stove, because a crack finally opened in the kitchen ceiling. Which word best completes the sentence?

8.The community garden was still ________, because only the first seedlings had broken the soil and no beds were finished yet. Which word best completes the sentence?

9.The town meeting called the two proposals ________, because one demanded a stone wall and the other an open lawn with no barrier at all. Which word best completes the sentence?

10.Although no one ever said it aloud, the kitchen crew kept a ________ agreement to save the bread heels, and any visitor could see every cook doing it. Which word best completes the sentence?

11.The stage manager was ________, meaning frank about faults, because she wrote that the second song dragged and did not soften the criticism. Which word best completes the sentence?

12.The new violinist stayed ________ during the notes session, although the conductor asked twice, and she answered with only a nod. Which word best completes the sentence?

13.After the run-through, the director rose to ________ the chorus in a short speech of praise, because their harmonies had stayed in tune and she offered no prize. Which word best completes the sentence?

14.Although many people liked the colors, a neighbor used the town newsletter to ________ the new mural by calling the painting clumsy. Which word best completes the sentence?

15.The librarian called the reading-room mural ________, meaning dull and ordinary, because it showed a gray bookshelf and nothing unusual. Which word best completes the sentence?

16.The shelf codes were ________, because only the oldest librarian could interpret the symbols and everyone else had to ask her. Which word best completes the sentence?

17.The trail captain was ________ about water stops, because she placed them on the steepest climbs and skipped the flat miles. Which word best completes the sentence?

18.The map sold at the trailhead was ________, because the publisher later admitted the creek and the bridge had been invented to fill an empty corner. Which word best completes the sentence?

19.The rope bridge's hold on the far post was ________, because one thin knot was all that kept the planks from swinging free. Which word best completes the sentence?

20.After canning day, the kitchen had a ________ supply of broth, meaning more than enough, so full jars covered every shelf and more crates sat by the door. Which word best completes the sentence?

21.The trail lunch was ________, because one small apple left the hikers hungry before the climb was half done. Which word best completes the sentence?

22.The choir director felt ________ about the new ending, because she liked the high note but worried it would crack on opening night. Which word best completes the sentence?

23.The treasurer was ________ with the town-meeting receipts, meaning painstakingly exact, because she matched every coin to the list and would not leave a single line unchecked. Which word best completes the sentence?

24.Despite the missed entrance, the substitute conductor seemed ________, because he shrugged and went on without a single comment. Which word best completes the sentence?

25.The kitchen diagram was ________, because it named every spice jar and drew a separate arrow for each stirring step, and none of the marks were decorative. Which word best completes the sentence?

26.The librarian's directions were ________, because one short sentence named the aisle, the shelf, and the exact book. Which word best completes the sentence?

27.The hike leader was ________ of the shortcut, because she asked where the tip came from and would not turn until she saw it on the map. Which word best completes the sentence?

28.The new hiker was ________ about the shortcut, because he left the marked trail at once when a stranger with no authority pointed, and he never checked a map. Which word best completes the sentence?

29.The chorus tried a ________ entrance, meaning one no company had used before, although every note of the hymn was old. Which word best completes the sentence?

30.The town clerk called the filing ________, meaning ordinary day-to-day work, although the Tuesday stack looked tall. Which word best completes the sentence?

31.Scratching the mosquito bites only seemed to ________ the itching, so the welts on the hikers' ankles grew hotter and harder to ignore. Which word best completes the sentence?

32.A cool cloth on the baker's wrist helped to ________ the burn pain, so the throbbing eased enough for her to finish the last tray. Which word best completes the sentence?

33.The oil in the skillet was ________, because a moment of extra heat sent it from a quiet shimmer to a smoking flare. Which word best completes the sentence?

34.The stack of music stands in the rehearsal room was ________, because one bumped elbow could send all of them crashing. Which word best completes the sentence?

35.The trail crew called the footbridge ________, meaning it recovered after the strain, because after the flood bent it, the planks sprang back and held the next morning's hikers. Which word best completes the sentence?

36.After the long matinee, the dancers' warm-up was ________, because their arms drifted slowly and no one had the energy for a jump. Which word best completes the sentence?

37.The scene-change rehearsal became ________, because crews sprinted at cross purposes and shouted over one another without a pause. Which word best completes the sentence?

38.The prop carpenter was ________ about the hinges, meaning exact about tiny details, because she measured each screw hole twice and rejected any screw that sat even slightly crooked. Which word best completes the sentence?

39.The first layout of the bake-sale table was ________, because cupcakes, forks, and price cards were set down wherever a hand was free. Which word best completes the sentence?

40.The librarian shelved the returns in a ________ way, because she sorted every book by number before she stepped onto the ladder. Which word best completes the sentence?

41.The oven's heat was ________, because one tray of rolls browned in ten minutes and the next tray, on the same rack, stayed pale. Which word best completes the sentence?

42.The staff had moved every listing onto the computer, so the card catalog in the library lobby was ________, and no one consulted the drawers anymore. Which word best completes the sentence?

43.The stage crew's pulley was ________, meaning a method no earlier show in that hall had used, because it lifted the backdrop with a bicycle chain. Which word best completes the sentence?

44.The town chorus kept a ________ seating plan, because singers stood in the same rows their teacher had used for twenty years. Which word best completes the sentence?

45.The committee chair was ________ about the agenda order, meaning she treated her opinion as unquestionable truth, because she called every alternative a mistake by definition. Which word best completes the sentence?

46.The carpenter stayed ________ about the warped board, although the others showed him the gap and he still refused to recut it. Which word best completes the sentence?

47.After the sharp exchange, the chair offered a ________ remark, because she suggested a break and a rewrite both sides could accept. Which word best completes the sentence?

48.The two section leaders grew ________ during rehearsal, because each one contradicted the other and neither would share the microphone. Which word best completes the sentence?

49.The guest conductor stayed ________ at the town rehearsal, because he kept to the side aisle and declined every invitation to sit with the players. Which word best completes the sentence?

50.The librarian at the front desk was ________, because she greeted each visitor with an easy smile and made a complicated question feel easy to ask. Which word best completes the sentence?

51.The kitchen lead was ________ with the new volunteer, because she answered 'Knives there,' offered no scolding, and turned away before he could ask anything more. Which word best completes the sentence?

52.The apprentice's reply was ________, because he laughed at the shop teacher and said the safety rule was a waste of time. Which word best completes the sentence?

53.The student stagehand was ________ toward the senior carpenter, because she waited to be addressed and accepted each correction with a quiet yes. Which word best completes the sentence?

54.The visiting soloist seemed ________ at the community rehearsal, because she refused a folding chair and said the church hall was beneath her usual rooms. Which word best completes the sentence?

55.The banquet centerpiece was ________, because it rose in gilded curls whose only purpose was to show off, not to feed anyone. Which word best completes the sentence?

56.The cafeteria manager was ________ with the produce money, meaning economical rather than mean, because she compared prices, bought the sale apples, and still put out a full tray of crisp for the students. Which word best completes the sentence?

57.The prop budget became ________, because the crew bought new velvet for a backdrop that would be seen for only one scene and given to no one. Which word best completes the sentence?

58.The church-kitchen recipe was ________, because it called for bread, water, and salt, and no extra flavoring of any kind. Which word best completes the sentence?

59.The restored theater lobby looked ________, because marble, gilt mirrors, and a crystal lamp filled a room that had once held only a bench. Which word best completes the sentence?

60.The program cover was ________, because a deliberate pattern of gold vines twisted around every letter. Which word best completes the sentence?

61.The white tablecloth for the library reception was ________, meaning perfectly unspoiled, because it had just come from the press and showed no stain and no crease. Which word best completes the sentence?

62.Despite having stood for years, the trail shelter was ________, because the roof sagged, two walls leaned, and the door had come off its hinge. Which word best completes the sentence?

63.The back room of the cafe kitchen was ________, because grease, rotting peels, and standing water covered the floor. Which word best completes the sentence?

64.After the spring rains, the trail meadow was ________, because new grass and leafy shoots covered every bank that had been brown in March. Which word best completes the sentence?

65.Above the tree line the slope was ________, because it held gravel and lichen and not a single shrub. Which word best completes the sentence?

66.By late afternoon the community garden was ________, because the soil had cracked and the bean leaves hung limp for lack of water. Which word best completes the sentence?

67.The shop teacher's safety talk was ________, even though the talk itself was long, because every new apprentice could repeat the steps without asking her to explain one of them again. Which word best completes the sentence?

68.The chair's welcome at the town meeting was ________, because a simple hello stretched into a speech that restated the same greeting four times. Which word best completes the sentence?

69.The trail guide's answer was ________, because when asked about the ford he gave the complete fact in two words, Knee-deep, and kept walking. Which word best completes the sentence?

70.The volunteer at the library desk was ________, because a visitor who asked for a pencil got a ten-minute story that did not help him find one any faster. Which word best completes the sentence?

71.The student speaker was ________ at the town meeting, meaning fluently persuasive, because her appeal moved the room to fund the trail repair. Which word best completes the sentence?

72.The morning kitchen crew was ________, because they leaned on the counters and were slow to start a task they knew by heart. Which word best completes the sentence?

73.The trail-clearing work was ________, because the crew swung axes in a steady, powerful rhythm and had the fallen limbs cut before noon. Which word best completes the sentence?

74.The sugar flowers for the reception cake were ________, because a warm fingertip could bend a petal and the baker carried the tray with both hands. Which word best completes the sentence?

75.The camp soup was ________, because a single bowl warmed the trail crew and kept them full through the afternoon's work. Which word best completes the sentence?

76.The director's blocking was still ________, because she marked the crosses in pencil and said they might change after one more rehearsal. Which word best completes the sentence?

77.The town clerk issued a ________ ruling on the booth locations, because she said the map would not be revised and every vendor had to follow it. Which word best completes the sentence?

78.The judge of the baking contest was ________, because she scored her own neighbor by the same checklist she used for every other entry. Which word best completes the sentence?

79.The later measurement helped to ________ the shop teacher, meaning to clear her of blame, because the board was the length she had claimed and the complaint against her was dropped. Which word best completes the sentence?

80.The librarian brought the old yearbook to ________ the claim that the reading room had always been in the basement, because the photo showed it on the main floor. Which word best completes the sentence?

81.A second trail log helped to ________ the ranger's report, meaning to confirm it by a separate match, because it described the same fallen tree at the same mile on the same day. Which word best completes the sentence?

82.The choir voted to ________ the rumor, meaning to reject it as untrue, because the director read a statement that the group had never agreed to cancel the concert. Which word best completes the sentence?

83.The shop teacher would not ________ running the lathe without goggles, meaning she would not treat that unsafe shortcut as acceptable, so she shut the machine off. Which word best completes the sentence?

84.The town meeting voted to ________ the missed deadline, because the motion used the words 'formal disapproval' and named the delay a public fault. Which word best completes the sentence?

85.The newsletter existed to ________ the volunteer bakers, because every paragraph praised them highly and none mentioned a flaw. Which word best completes the sentence?

86.The trail leader paused to ________ the pair who left the path, because she warned them firmly that the next blaze was easy to miss. Which word best completes the sentence?

87.To ________ the angry vendors, the clerk yielded the front booths they had demanded, and she did it only so the shouting would stop. Which word best completes the sentence?

88.The sarcastic note on the rehearsal door seemed meant to ________ the cast, because voices rose and an argument started before warm-ups. Which word best completes the sentence?

89.The baker stayed to ________ the line cook, because she listened and lowered her voice until his anger cooled, and she did not give him the shift he demanded. Which word best completes the sentence?

90.The unlabeled jars seemed to ________ the new kitchen volunteer, because he could not tell salt from sugar and stood staring at the shelf. Which word best completes the sentence?

91.The conductor tapped the score to ________ the repeat, because several singers had looked lost and her few words made the road map plain. Which word best completes the sentence?

92.The added footnotes tended to ________ the recipe, because a once-clear soup method became harder to follow with every aside. Which word best completes the sentence?

93.A single spark seemed to ________ the evacuation of the workshop, because the room emptied at once and no one waited for the usual closing bell. Which word best completes the sentence?

94.The librarian moved to ________ the argument, because she posted the room rule before the two clubs could meet and quarrel. Which word best completes the sentence?

95.A second checkout desk was opened to ________ the line, so patrons with short stacks finished in a few minutes instead of waiting half an hour. Which word best completes the sentence?

96.The fallen branch did ________ the hike, because every person had to climb over it and the group still reached the overlook, twenty minutes late. Which word best completes the sentence?

97.The crack in the stage floor was ________, because it stayed hidden under the rug until the dance rehearsal pulled the rug aside. Which word best completes the sentence?

98.The leak became ________ during the lunch rush, because water spread across the kitchen floor where every cook could see it. Which word best completes the sentence?

99.The trail club had been ________ all winter, because it held no hikes and sent no notes until the March meeting woke it up. Which word best completes the sentence?

100.The weekend market was ________, meaning it was growing quickly, because each month brought new growers and the row of stalls kept lengthening. Which word best completes the sentence?

101.Interest in the late rehearsal was ________, meaning it was steadily declining, because fewer singers came each week. Which word best completes the sentence?

102.The cook used a second pot to ________ the soup, so the original batch grew large enough to serve the whole trail crew. Which word best completes the sentence?

103.Opening the windows did ________ the kitchen smoke, so the haze thinned and the cooks could see the far wall again. Which word best completes the sentence?

104.The storm forced the town meeting to ________ the agenda, because members debated only the budget and left the park question for another night. Which word best completes the sentence?

105.The stage manager chose to ________ the surprise encore, because she told the chorus the hidden song title before the show. Which word best completes the sentence?

106.The judge decided to ________ the winner's name, because she kept it secret on purpose until the last receipt had been counted. Which word best completes the sentence?

107.The chair's answer about the tax booth was ________, meaning it could be taken either way, because she said both 'yes, probably' and 'no, not yet.' Which word best completes the sentence?

108.The shop teacher's instruction was ________, because she said the guard must stay down, with no second meaning anyone could claim. Which word best completes the sentence?