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Difficulty: MediumInterpreting Contrast and Concession Structural Signals

Granted that the senior climatologist viewed the preliminary data on Arctic ice retention as distinctly ________, she nevertheless cautioned against making definitive projections about long-term climate stability. Which two of the following answer choices, when inserted into the blank, produce completed sentences that are logically equivalent and coherent in meaning?

  1. encouragingAnswer
  2. B
    alarming
  3. hearteningAnswer
  4. D
    unsettling
  5. E
    equivocal
  6. F
    rigorous

Answer

The correct choices are encouraging and heartening, which both express positive initial findings that contrast logically with the climatologist's cautious stance.
The sentence relies on the concession structure 'Granted that [X], [she] nevertheless [Y]'. Because the main clause highlights a cautious stance regarding long-term projections, the conceded clause must present favorable or promising initial data. Both 'encouraging' and 'heartening' provide this positive connotation and produce logically identical sentences.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structural signals in the sentence stem.
Identified 'Granted that' as an introductory concession signal and 'nevertheless' as a contrast pivot.
Concession signals establish a premise that contrasts in polarity with the main clause outcome.
2
Determine the required contextual valence of the blank.
The main clause states that the climatologist 'cautioned against making definitive projections'. Therefore, the conceded premise must reflect favorable or positive data.
A concession requires that favorable evidence ('encouraging/heartening') is acknowledged before introducing a cautious reservation.
3
Evaluate option pairs for semantic equivalence and correct polarity fit.
'encouraging' and 'heartening' both convey a positive, promising assessment of the ice retention data and maintain identical sentence meaning.
Sentence Equivalence demands two choices that independently yield coherent sentences with identical overall meaning.

Key Concept

Interpreting Contrast and Concession Structural Signals
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Topics

Interpreting Contrast and Concession Structural Signals

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