SAT 21

Question 0

cordial; adj.

Answer 0

—friendly; welcoming; warm and gracious; courteous
“Welcome or not, I found it necessary to attach myself to someone before I should begin to address cordial remarks to the passers-by”.

Question 1

contiguous; adj.

Answer 1

—adjacent to; touching upon; adjoining; side-by-side

Gatsby’s mansion and Nick’s modest home are contiguous properties in West Egg.

Question 2

​corpulent; adj

Answer 2

—fat; obese; fleshy; rotund; plump; podgy / slim

“I had expected that Mr. Gatsby would be a florid and corpulent person in his middle years” (53).

Question 3

credulity; noun

Answer 3

—gullibility; naïveté; innocence

“As our credulity switched back to her she leaned forward with enthusiasm” (48).

Question 4

​hauteur; noun

Answer 4

—arrogance; conceit; pride; self-importance

“The intense vitality that had been so remarkable in the garage was converted into impressive hauteur” (35).

Question 5

innuendo; noun

Answer 5

—a remark that suggests something but does not refer to it directly; hint; insinuation; suggestion
Gatsby can defend himself against the innuendos and attacks on his character.

Question 6

​melancholy; adj.

Answer 6

—sad; gloomy; weary

Daisy had a melancholy tone in her voice when she told Nick about the time when her daughter was born.

Question 7

oculist; noun

Answer 7

—ophthalmologist; optometrist
“Evidently some wild wag of an oculist set them there to fatten his practice in the borough of Queens and then sank down himself into eternal blindness or forgot them and moved away” (27).

Question 8

omnibus; noun

Answer 8

—a bus
“On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight…” (43).

Question 9

prodigality; adj.

Answer 9

—reckless, wasteful, dissolute / cautious

“Laughter is easier, minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word” (44).

Question 10

provocation; noun

Answer 10

—something that causes anger or irritation; aggravation; frustration
“We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl who gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter” (51).

Question 11

quiver; verb

Answer 11

—tremble; shake; shudder; shiver

I quiver at the thought of the Gatsby final test.

Question 12

reciprocal; adj.

Answer 12

—mutual; give-and-take; joint; shared
“Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face” (15).

Question 13

scorn; noun

Answer 13

—contempt; disdain; disrespect; derision / respect; admiration
“Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn” (6).

Question 14

sinister; adj.

Answer 14

—menacing; ominous; threatening; evil; disturbing

“I could see nothing sinister about him” (54).

Question 15

supercilious; adj.

Answer 15

—arrogant; condescending; haughty; disdainful; pompous / humble
“Now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner” (11).

Question 16

temperament; noun

Answer 16

—nature, character; personality; disposition; temper

Nick has a positive temperament, whereas Tom is hot-headed.

Question 17

vacuous; adj.

Answer 17

—empty-headed; unintelligent; stupid, blank / bright; smart
“A celebrated tenor had sung in Italian and a notorious contralto had sung in jazz and between the numbers people were doing ‘stunts’ all over the garden while happy vacuous bursts of laughter rose toward the summer sky” (51).

Question 18

vulnerable; adj.

Answer 18

—susceptible; weak, defenseless; helpless

Gatsby is vulnerable to rumors and criticism because people do not know him well; but he can take it.

Question 19

wan; adj.

Answer 19

—pale; pallid; ashen
“Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face” (15).