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Difficulty: HardIdioms and Phrasal Expressions in Context

The treaty of 1912 was heralded as a triumph of modern diplomacy, supposedly resolving the decades-long territorial disputes between the neighboring empires. In truth, the negotiators did little more than paper over the deep-seated ethnic and economic animosities that had fueled the conflict. By focusing solely on trade tariffs and neglecting border demarcations, they created a fragile peace that began to disintegrate within a year, culminating in a far more devastating war.

As it is used in the passage, the phrasal verb "paper over" most nearly means which of the following?

  1. A
    decorate a wall or structure with wallpaper
  2. B
    distribute official documents or flyers to
  3. C
    permanently resolve and settle
  4. superficially conceal or disguiseAnswer

Answer

superficially conceal or disguise
The correct answer is to superficially conceal or disguise. The passage states that the negotiators did little more than "paper over" the deep-seated animosities, and immediately follows this by explaining that they focused only on minor trade tariffs while neglecting major border disputes, leading to a fragile peace that quickly collapsed. This context demonstrates that they merely masked the problems without resolving them.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context clues surrounding the target phrase.
The text states that the treaty supposedly resolved disputes, but in reality, negotiators created a "fragile peace" by focusing on minor details and neglecting major issues, which soon led to war.
Looking at the contrast between the supposed triumph and the actual disintegrating peace helps identify how the negotiators handled the conflict.
2
Determine the figurative meaning of the phrasal verb.
Since the underlying animosities still existed and caused a war later, the negotiators merely hid or masked the problems temporarily rather than fixing them.
This matches the figurative definition of "paper over," which means to explain away or gloss over a difficulty.

Key Concept

Determining the meaning of idioms and phrasal expressions in context
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Idioms and Phrasal Expressions in Context

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