The SHSAT doesn't have a vocabulary section, but the scrambled paragraphs and reading passages sometimes have higher-level vocabulary words. The better your vocabulary is, the better you will be able to read, in general.
malignant - evil, causing harm, causing death (in regard to medical terminology)
obscured - covered
elated - very happy
utilitarian - useful
aesthetic - dealing with art or design
inexplicable - can't be explained
provisional - temporary
pedantic - wanting to show that one possesses knowledge, just to impress and not educate others
altruistic - concerned about others more than oneself
a din - a loud noise or amount of noise
to be conducive to - to lead to
plausible - possible
1. Although it is _____________ that there was more than one assassin of John F. Kennedy, no firm evidence has come to light.
2. Rebecca was relieved when the doctor told her that the tumor found in the X-ray was not _____________. As a benign tumor it would cause no real problems.
3. The architect has a great deal of style and was quite innovative, but the company who hired him was not happy with his new building design. They felt it was not _________________: it did not provide the necessary rooms for the necessary activities the company needed a building for.
4. An inability to negotiate is not_______________ to good diplomacy.
5. During a solar eclipse the sun is _____________ by the moon.
6. We met at a Starbucks but the ___________ from the music and the loud conversations was too much for us, so we left.
7. Joe was ____________ to receive the news that he had been accepted for graduate studies at the university he wished to attend.
8. A dress designer certainly needs utilitarian skills like sewing and computer design, but a good ______________ sense is the foundation of good dress design.
9. One would think that doctors and lawyers would be attracted to their professions through _____________ reasons, yet many feel that their primary concern is money, money and more money.
10. It's true that Dr. Schneider was a brilliant man who had studied in his field for several decades, but he was not a good educator. Indeed, he was too ____________. In every lecture he tried to impress his students with his knowledge instead of teaching them anything.
11. The reasons as to why prehistoric people painted various animals inside of caves remains ______________. There are many theories, but none of them is really satisfying.
12. Although Bob's company signed a contract to supply parts to an automobile manufacturer, the contract was ________________ and could be changed or replaced if Bob's company was not able to obtain certain materials.
Answers are below:
Answers:
1. plausible
2. malignant
3. utilitarian
4. conducive
5. obscured
6. din
7. elated
8. aesthetic
9. altruistic
10. pedantic
11. inexplicable
12. provisional
