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SAT Reading 3.8 Sentence Completion 164 Views


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Description:

SAT Reading Sentence Completion Drill 3, Problem 8

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:02

Here's a Shmoopy question for you... Which words could fill in the blanks so that

00:06

the sentence below makes sense?

00:08

Although the man believed in luck, he found that blank and blank were more important,

00:13

and more useful, than superstition.

00:15

And here are the potential answers...

00:21

Our two missing words need to be somehow related. Maybe they're third cousins, twice removed...?

00:27

How do we know they're related? Well... it would be the appearance of the magical

00:30

conjunction "and." Using this logic, we can quickly get rid of

00:34

choice (E), because "incompetence" and "mastery" are opposites.

00:41

Although you very well may have mastered incompetence. Congress, we're talking to you.

00:46

We also know that we're looking for positive-sounding

00:48

words, since they're supposed to be more "important" and "useful" than believing in luck.

00:53

Knowing this, we can get rid of some of these other choices too.

00:56

"Fanaticism" is when somebody is dangerously obsessed with something.

01:01

Most people would agree this is not a good thing, so (B) is out.

01:04

When somebody is in a "frenzy" it means they're going totally psycho about something.

01:09

Most would agree that being in a frenzy is generally a bad idea.

01:12

So we're going to cross this one off... for our health, as well as everyone else's.

01:17

Among other things, "impotence" can mean powerlessness and weakness, which nobody enjoys

01:21

very much.

01:22

Both "skill" and "preparedness" seem like good things to believe in. So (A) is the best

01:27

answer.

01:28

(A) for "Always be prepared."

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