Lesson: Sentence Completion - 08

Don’t Choose an Answer Based on Advanced Vocabulary

Some test-takers try a shortcut to correct Sentence Completion answers by picking the choice containing the most obscure words. But the test-makers don’t design Sentence Completions to be solved so easily. Instead, try to guess based on the word’s prefix, root, how the word “sounds,” or even your gut instinct. Here’s an example that underscores this warning:
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Example

Solved Example

Exaplaination

The word coinciding suggests that events in television reflect the increasing popularity of tourism. The word incipience (meaning “beginning or initial stages”) is rather obscure, but that’s beside the point. It doesn’t help convey the sentence’s meaning very well, and that’s why it’s not the best choice. The word proliferation, which means “a great increase in number,” makes more sense in context: The increasing popularity of tourism reflected the increasing number of television channels catering to viewers interested in travelrelated topics.The correct answer is (B).
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