# Stretch questions

Harder items where the wrong answers are near-synonyms with the wrong connotation.

3 question(s), with answers and distractor explanations.

### Researchers were careful not to ____ the decline to a single cause, since three pressures acted at once.

*stretch · science*

0. attribute  **← answer**
1. ascribe wholly
2. quantify
3. anticipate

**Why it fits:** To attribute is to assign a cause, and the sentence warns against assigning the decline to one cause when three were acting.

**Why the others fail:**
- *ascribe wholly* — "Ascribe wholly" is close in meaning but reads awkwardly here; the standard verb for assigning a cause is "attribute", and the sentence already supplies "to a single cause".
- *quantify* — "Quantify" means to measure, which is not what the caution is about.
- *anticipate* — "Anticipate" means to expect in advance, and the decline has already happened.

### Ordinarily talkative, he became ____ whenever the subject of the trial came up.

*stretch · literature*

0. reticent  **← answer**
1. voluble
2. irate
3. jovial

**Why it fits:** "Ordinarily talkative" sets up a contrast, so the word must mean unwilling to speak.

**Why the others fail:**
- *voluble* — "Voluble" means talkative — the same as his ordinary state, so there would be no contrast.
- *irate* — "Irate" means angry, which is a plausible reaction but not what the contrast with talkativeness demands.
- *jovial* — "Jovial" means cheerful, which does not contrast with being talkative at all.

### The new protocol does not guarantee agreement; it merely ____ the conversation between the two parties.

*stretch · social-science*

0. facilitates  **← answer**
1. mandates
2. obviates
3. adjudicates

**Why it fits:** "Does not guarantee ... merely" indicates the protocol makes the conversation easier without forcing an outcome.

**Why the others fail:**
- *mandates* — "Mandates" means requires, which is stronger than the sentence allows.
- *obviates* — "Obviates" means makes unnecessary, but the conversation still happens.
- *adjudicates* — "Adjudicates" means judges and decides, which contradicts not guaranteeing agreement.

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