Question

completing the sentence - set a
choose the word that best completes each of the following sentences.

1. as soon as the last passenger had (select a word), the captain ordered the ship to get under way.
2. in view of the many able people in public life today, i do not agree that we are suffering from a(n) (select a word) of capable leaders.
3. we were all impressed by your (select a word) use of unusual words and expressions that you had learned only a few hours before.
4. humor should be clever and amusing but never so (select a word) that it hurts the feelings of other people.
5. the custom of putting erasers on pencils is one way of recognizing the fact that no one is (select a word).
6. i did not realize how beautiful the twins were until they fell asleep and i saw their faces in complete (select a word).
7. he is not merely unpleasant but actually dangerous whenever he gets into one of his (select a word) moods.
8. your (select a word) joy when it was announced that i had won the scholarship meant more to me than all the polite congratulations i received.

Explanation:

1. "Embark" means to board a ship or aircraft. Since the context is about passengers boarding a ship, "embark" is the correct choice.
2. "Dearth" means a scarcity or lack. The sentence is about not having a lack (contradicting the idea of suffering from a lack) of capable leaders, so "dearth" fits.
3. "Facile" can mean easy or effortless. Using unusual words learned recently in an easy way makes sense, so "facile" is appropriate.
4. "Pungent" can describe something (like humor) that is sharp or strong - in a negative sense here as it can hurt feelings.
5. "Infallible" means never wrong. The custom of erasers on pencils implies that no one is without mistakes (not infallible).
6. "Repose" means a state of rest or tranquility. Faces in sleep show a state of repose.
7. "Truculent" means eager to fight or aggressive. A dangerous mood is truculent.
8. "Unfeigned" means genuine. Genuine joy is more meaningful than polite congratulations.

Answer:

1. embark
2. dearth
3. facile
4. pungent
5. infallible
6. repose
7. truculent
8. unfeigned