In showing the shocking images of depravity and degradation, the curators of the art museum said that the importance of historical accuracy outweighed the danger of encouraging ____.
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Solution
Correct Answer: A,D
Explanation:
Prurience and voyeurism both indicate taking an unhealthy interest in something unwholesome (especially something sexual). [avarice = greed for money]
The insertion of a fiction into a news bulletin cannot be condoned, but inserting propaganda for a good cause seems less ____.
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Solution
Correct Answer: C,E
Explanation:
If something cannot be ‘condoned’ (tolerated) it must be very bad. The only words that mean something bad enough not to be tolerated under any circumstances are ‘reprehensible’ and ‘insupportable’. [untoward = unexpected; credible = believable; utilitarian = concerned with the usefulness of something]
When aid is given to an autocracy, the donors are prone to rationalize their decision to support non-democratic governments, and thus lay themselves open to the charge of ____.
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Solution
Correct Answer: B,C
Explanation:
By rationalizing (trying to justify) their decision, donors are exposing the fact that they are not being entirely honest about their motives. Hence they are open to the charge of ‘hypocrisy’ (saying one thing and doing another) or ‘equivocation’ (using words in deliberately ambiguous ways). [nepotism = favoring relatives etc when assigning jobs, positions etc.]
Both commentators noted the way that Dylan can submerge himself in tradition while somehow managing to create works of startling ____.
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Solution
Correct Answer: B,F
Explanation:
We can infer from the sentence structure that the word to fill the blank should be unlike ‘tradition’. ‘Originality’ fits the bill well. Now all you need to do is to recognize that ‘singularity’ can mean something unique which would also give the same overall sense to the sentence. [gestation = period of development; provenance = authenticated origin; nonchalance = appearance of indifference]
Icons would be well-advised to write their own memoirs; there are too many ____ writers out there who forego accuracy to pander to the preconceptions of the market.
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Solution
Correct Answer: D,E
Explanation:
The words ‘sycophantic’ and ‘fawning’ are synonyms to describe people who suck up to others. This is just the kind of word we need to fill the blank as we are looking to describe writers who ‘pander’ to the public (and, presumably, to the icons that they portray).
Svensson’s ____ in his work earned him few friends: his colleagues probably thought that he would be unwilling to overlook their foibles.
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Solution
Correct Answer: C,E
Explanation:
Someone who notices every little mistake in his work, and who pays attention to the details, that is someone ‘meticulous’ or ‘punctilious’, might be unwilling to overlook the little quirks or ‘foibles’ of others. Note that ‘prevarication’ and ‘mendacity’ are close in meaning but would not fit the overall logic of the sentence. [ xenophobia = fear of foreigners; mendacity = telling lies; prevarication = avoiding the truth]
Their latest theory aims to integrate the seemingly ____ elements of twenty years of research to form a coherent whole.
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Solution
Correct Answer: D,E
Explanation:
The sentence implies that elements that seem separate are to be combined into a coherent whole. ‘Disparate’ and ‘discrete’ both imply ‘separate’. (Do not confuse ‘discrete’ and ‘discreet’!) [sporadic = on and off; incessant = non stop]
Although his findings were initially greeted with ____ , the unlikely hero was finally vindicated when the French Academy acknowledged his work.
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Solution
Correct Answer: A,F
Explanation:
‘Although’ indicates the need for opposite ideas. So by choosing A you are saying that although he was initially treated with ‘derision’ (scorn), he was finally proved right (vindicated). Similarly, if he was treated with ‘incredulity’ (disbelief) at first, to be proved right would be surprising. [jubilation = great joy]
Far from being an innocent prank, their action is a ____ attempt to spoil my reputation.
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Solution
Correct Answer: A,F
Explanation:
The expression ‘far from’ is the clue; it indicates that the action is NOT an innocent prank. Hence we need words that are the opposite of innocent: ‘malicious’ (having bad or evil intentions) and ‘callous’ (deliberately unfeeling) are the best choices. [salubrious = health-giving; saturnine = gloomy; innocuous = harmless]
Even though Byron is frequently glib, it is still hard to dismiss him as a ____ thinker.
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Solution
Correct Answer: A,C
Explanation:
The word ‘though’ indicates an opposition of ideas. Byron is ‘glib’ (smooth-talking, possibly insincere) but it does not mean that his thought is ‘superficial’ or ‘lightweight’. [profound = deep; verbose = wordy]