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Difficulty: Very hardInferring Meaning from Examples and Explanations

Read the following passage from a historical archive:

In evaluating the historical accounts of a maritime trade dispute, the archivist observed that the ambassador’s intense personal animosity toward the merchant guild began to vividly color his official reports. Unlike his earlier dispatches—which had cataloged tariff adjustments and cargo manifests with clinical detachment—his subsequent correspondence grew markedly skewed. These final documents injected profound emotional prejudice and distorted analyses into what were ostensibly impartial administrative records.

Based on the context clues provided in the passage, the word "color" is used to describe which of the following?

  1. A
    To enhance the visual and descriptive quality of
  2. B
    To document events with strict clinical detachment
  3. C
    To formally catalog tariffs and administrative data
  4. To negatively influence or introduce prejudice intoAnswer

Answer

To negatively influence or introduce prejudice into
The passage explicitly contrasts the ambassador's later reports with his earlier ones. The earlier reports were written with 'clinical detachment.' The transition word 'Unlike' indicates that to 'color' his reports means the opposite of being objective. The passage further explains this by stating his correspondence became 'markedly skewed' and 'injected profound emotional prejudice and distorted analyses.' Therefore, in this context, the word means to negatively influence or introduce bias.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate the target word and its immediate surroundings.
The target word 'color' is used in the phrase 'vividly color his official reports'.
Establishing the immediate grammatical context is necessary before looking for broader structural clues.
2
Analyze the passage for contrastive context clues.
The transition word 'Unlike' contrasts the affected reports with earlier ones that were written with 'clinical detachment' and 'strict objectivity'.
Contrast clues define a word by explicitly showing what the word does not mean.
3
Identify any explanatory clauses that define the changed state.
The text explains that the subsequent correspondence grew 'markedly skewed' and 'injected profound emotional prejudice and distorted analyses'.
Explanatory clauses directly provide the working definition of the target word within the specific scenario.
4
Synthesize the clues to determine the contextual meaning.
Because the reports changed from objective to prejudiced, 'color' in this context means to bias or distort.
Matching the synthesized contextual meaning with the provided options reveals the correct answer.

Key Concept

Inferring the contextual meaning of a multiple-meaning word by analyzing contrastive transitions and explanatory clauses.
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Inferring Meaning from Examples and Explanations

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