2012-04-12 09:00:44

The senator’s speeches were notoriously dull, and his aides often joked that they were more ______ than a sleeping pill.

(A) enervating
(B) galvanizing
(C) soporific
(D) innocuous
(E) lethargic

The correct answer is C

Explanation: To predict the meaning of the missing words, look for keywords in the sentence. Here, the keywords are “notoriously dull,” which, like the missing word, describes “the senator’s speeches.” The other keywords are in the “sleeping pill” the speeches are compared to. Since a sleeping pill induces sleep, and the speeches are, apparently, better than a sleeping pill, they too must be sleep-inducing. Since “soporific” means “sleep-inducing.” Therefore, choice C is correct.

Additionally, none of the other answer choices work:

Enervating: weakening or draining of energy (this does not work because a sleeping pill does not weaken someone or drain him or her of energy; it merely causes sleep)

Galvanizing: shocking or exciting someone to take action (this is the opposite of a correct answer)

Innocuous: harmless (a sleeping pill is neither harmful nor harmless, so this answer is completely off topic)

Lethargic: sluggish, slow-moving, and apathetic (this does not work because a sleeping pill might cause one to be lethargic, but a sleeping pill itself is not lethargic)