Explaination
What is there about the sentence that tells you to
look for a contrast? It’s the word “Whereas.” In other words, the first part of the
sentence tells you something about most artists that should contrast with what
the second part of the sentence tells you about really at artists. The only
answer choice that provides this contrast is despondency.The correct answer is (E).
Here are some other signpost words that are used to signal a contrast:
| Although | nevertheless |
| But | nonetheless |
| by contrast | on the other hand |
| despite | unlike |
| however | yet |
.
Note that you could use almost any word from the preceding list instead of “whereas”
to set up the same contrast. (Some you’d use to introduce the first part of the sentence;
others you’d use to introduce the second part of the sentence.) Try each one to see if it
fits, and if so, where.
Not all sentences with contrasting ideas will use one of the signpost words listed
above. Let’s look at a challenging dual-blank question in which the sentence contains
no obvious signposts but its rhetorical structure nevertheless intends to convey contrasting
ideas:
Example 2
Most social psychologists ae that the root of human prejudice lies more in
_______, almost primal, sense of fear than in the sort of _______ that is learned
and can therefore be “unlearned.”
- an overriding . . behavior
- an irrational . . bias
- an intrinsic . . distrust
- a heightened . . awareness
- an instinctive . . emotion
Solved Example
Explaination
The phrase almost primal, set off as an appositive,
tells you that the first blank should contain a close synonym of primal. Both
intrinsic and instinctive fit the bill, but none of the other first-blank choices do.
The sentence’s rhetorical structure tells you that the word in the second blank
should convey an emotion distinguished from (in contrast to) a “sense of fear,” in
that it can be learned. The word distrust fits the bill nicely. The word emotion
does not establish a contrasting idea and hence it is rhetorically less effective.
The correct answer is (C).
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Video Lessons and 10 Fully Explained Grand Tests
Large number of solved practice MCQ with explanations. Video Lessons and 10 Fully explained Grand/Full Tests.