They gave a ________ dinner to celebrate the occasion, which impressed every guest.
- (a)austere
- (b)public
- (c)sumptuous
- (d)summary
Correct — C, sumptuous. 'Sumptuous' means splendid, lavish and expensive-looking, and it is the standard adjective for a meal laid on generously. The sentence supplies two clues that both point at lavishness — the dinner was given 'to celebrate the occasion', and it 'impressed every guest'. Only a spread that is rich and abundant does that.
- (a)austere — 'Austere' means severely plain and without comfort or decoration. It is the opposite of what the sentence needs — an austere dinner would be remembered for its bareness, not for impressing the guests.
- (b)public — 'Public' says who was allowed in, not what the food was like. It leaves the two clues in the sentence — the celebration and the impressed guests — completely unexplained.
- (d)summary — As an adjective 'summary' means done quickly and without the usual formalities, as in a summary dismissal. Applied to a dinner it would suggest something rushed and cut short, which cannot impress anyone.
A cloze item on adjectives of scale and style, decided by matching the adjective to the effect the sentence reports.
Work backwards from the result clause. The dinner 'impressed every guest', so the missing adjective has to be one that produces admiration. That single test eliminates 'austere' at once because it means the reverse, eliminates 'summary' because a hurried meal impresses nobody, and eliminates 'public' because it describes access rather than quality. 'Sumptuous' is the only one left standing, and it also fits the first clue, a celebration.
- 'Sumptuous' comes from the Latin sumptus, expense, and means lavish and costly-looking.
- 'Austere' means severely simple, and is also used of a person who is stern and self-denying.
- 'Summary' as an adjective means done quickly without the normal procedure, as in a summary trial.
- Near-synonyms of sumptuous are lavish, opulent, luxurious and splendid.
- Reading 'summary' in its familiar noun sense of a short account and assuming it fits.
- Choosing an adjective that describes the event rather than the quality of the food.
Asked as a one-blank sentence in which a result clause at the end quietly fixes what the missing adjective must mean.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word that best completes the sentence — The monk lived an ________ life, owning nothing but a bowl and a robe.
- (a)austere
- (b)sumptuous
- (c)public
- (d)summary
Answer(a) austere — it means severely plain and self-denying, which is what owning nothing describes.
- practice — not a real PYQ
'Sumptuous' is closest in meaning to
- (a)hurried
- (b)lavish
- (c)bitter
- (d)hidden
Answer(b) lavish — both words describe something splendid and generously provided.