It is far from apparent and in fact somewhat doubtful that consumers will benefit if state and local governments continue to ___________ small businesses, making it possible for those companies to avoid paying more than a modicum of taxes.
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Solution
(D. propitiate, E. coddle)
Since the governments are allowing the businesses to merely pay a modicum (small portion) of taxes, they must be continuing to propitiate (gain the favor of) or coddle (treat with excessive kindness) them.
Due to the___________amount of information that most people are deluged with on a daily basis, it is vital to develop a keen eye for what is important and for what can be filtered out.
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Solution
(A. copious, D. profuse)
The clues given for the blank are deluged (overwhelmed) and the implication that people should filter out certain information. This makes sense if people receive copious (large) or profuse (abundant) amounts of information.
Sunspots, now recognized by scientists as areas of reduced solar surface temperature that are caused by magnetic activity, were once thought to be planets due to the ___________of astronomical knowledge at that time.
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Solution
(C. lack, D. scantness)
If sunspots were, in the past, incorrectly thought to be planets, there must have been a lack or scantness (insufficient quantity) of knowledge at that time compared to the knowledge available now.
Businesses that merely embrace the status quo and that do not devote a sizable portion of their budgets to research and development are not likely to compete well against more __________ companies that are not afraid to take risks in order to grow.
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Solution
(B. aggressive, F. intrepid)
The main clue for the blank is that the companies described after the blank “are not afraid to take risks,” implying they are aggressive or intrepid (bold). The other clue is that the businesses that embrace the status quo (the way things are) will not compete well against the later-mentioned companies.
The bursts of gamma-ray radiation generated by the mergers of binary star systems are___________in nature; scientists have found it difficult to collect meaningful data from such a brief time span.
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Solution
(C. transient, E. fleeting)
If scientists have trouble collecting data due to the brief time span, it follows that the bursts are either transient (short-lived) or fleeting. The use of “bursts” also conveys a short time-span.
It was ironic that the very professor who urged us to write simply and clearly could not do so himself: his directions were often ___________by layers of ambiguity.
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Solution
(C. obfuscated, F. obscured)
Since the professor cannot write simply and clearly, his directions must be the opposite of those characteristics. It is thus logical that his directions are obfuscated (made unclear) or obscured (hidden) by ambiguity (lack of clarity).
In private, the critic insisted that the novel was seriously flawed, citing both its sophomoric premise and lack of structure, but then wrote a review that___________the work.
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Solution
(B. extolled, D. celebrated)
The word but indicates that the critic’s review will be in contrast to his private insistence. Both extolled (praised) and celebrated create the necessary shift.
The politician’s tendency to______left even his most ardent supporters unsure of his position on certain issues.
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Solution
(B. equivocate, F. vacillate)
If even the politician’s ardent (passionate) supporters are unsure of his position, he must not be very clear. Equivocate (communicate to allow multiple interpretations) and vacillate (waver) both convey the politician’s lack of clarity