PSAT-READING Exam Questions and Answers

QUESTION: 46

The firm's books were out of balance; there was a (n) ____________ between the amount of physical inventory and the amount of calculated inventory.

anachronism
enigma
discredit
discrepancy
dissension

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

If the "books were out of balance," there had to be some sort of differential between the two inventories. Only the last two choices pertain to any differential. Dissension, however, is a difference in feelings; discrepancy (inconsistency) fits the context.

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QUESTION: 47

As a ____________ he was a disaster, for his students rarely understood his lectures; yet he was a ____________ scholar.

dean .. banal
philosopher .. failed
teacher .. formidable
professor .. second-rate
speaker .. contemptuous

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

Yet indicates that the second clause will have a meaning that contrasts with that of the first clause. In the first clause, someone is a disaster. The only choice for the second blank that contrasts with that idea is formidable, meaning that he was a first-rate scholar.

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QUESTION: 48

Far from the ____________ crowds of the city, I find refuge at my ____________ cabin on Big Lake.

pervasive .. dominant
aggressive .. listless
petrified .. motivating
overwhelming .. secluded
extensive .. scanty

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

The logic of this sentence is based on contrast; the clues are crowds, refuge, and cabin. In choices A. and (B), the first substitution works, but the second is meaningless. In choices C. and (E), neither word lakes sense in context.

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QUESTION: 49

The professor's oldest colleague was selected to give the ____________ at the funeral.

eulogy
elegy
epigraph
eponymy
epitaph

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

What is the name of the kind of talk that is delivered at a funeral? Eulogy. If you know this, the answer pops out at you. If you did not know it, consider each of the choices in their turn. Epigraph is a quote at the beginning of a piece of writing. Eponymy is something with the same name as something else. Epitaph is what is written on a gravestone. That leaves A. and (B). Elegy is a poem written in memory. You don't "give" a poem. That leaves (A), the correct answer.

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QUESTION: 50

The new team member's ____________ was an encouragement to the rest of the team, who had become ____________ by the string of defeats.

enthusiasm. .elated
vigor. .inundated
ebullience. .dispirited
dourness. .undone
excessiveness. .downcast

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

On this dual-blank sentence, let's do the first blank first since we know that the blank was an encouragement to the rest of the team. Good spirits would be an encouragement to the rest of the team. You can eliminate D. and (E). As for the second blank, what does a string of defeats do to a team? It discourages them. (A), elated, does not match this. Nor does (B), inundated. But (C), dispirited, fits well and you've already eliminated D. and (E). Choice C. is the best answer.

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College Board PSAT-READING Exam (page: 10) College Board Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test - Reading Updated on: 15-Feb-2026

QUESTION: 46

Explanation:

QUESTION: 47

Explanation:

QUESTION: 48

Explanation:

QUESTION: 49

Explanation:

QUESTION: 50

Explanation:

College Board PSAT-READING Exam (page: 10)
College Board Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test - Reading
Updated on: 15-Feb-2026