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Difficulty: MediumSentence Equivalence: Contextual Synonym Pair Selection

While early nineteenth-century economic theorists dismissed the merchant's detailed journal as mere anecdotal clutter, modern historians regard the text as __________, recognizing that its granular records of daily transactions offer invaluable insights into regional trade networks. Which two of the following answer choices, when inserted into the sentence, produce completed sentences that are similar in meaning?

  1. illuminatingAnswer
  2. revealingAnswer
  3. C
    incandescent
  4. D
    luminescent
  5. E
    exhaustive
  6. F
    inconsequential

Answer

The sentence is completed with equivalent meaning by selecting 'illuminating' and 'revealing'.
The words 'illuminating' and 'revealing' both mean providing valuable insight or making significant details clear. When inserted into the blank, both words emphasize how modern historians view the detailed merchant journal as a source of rich understanding, directly contrasting with earlier dismissals of the text.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze structural pivot signals and sentence polarity.
The initial clause uses 'While' to establish a contrast between early economic theorists who 'dismissed' the journal as 'mere anecdotal clutter' and modern historians who place positive value on it ('invaluable insights').
Identifying contrast signals establishes that the target blank requires a positive adjective signifying informative value.
2
Evaluate candidate words for contextual fit.
'Illuminating', 'revealing', and 'exhaustive' fit the context of providing deep historical insight.
The missing word must describe a historical text that provides detailed, useful understanding.
3
Identify synonymous choice pairs that yield equivalent sentence meaning.
'Illuminating' and 'revealing' are contextual synonyms that both denote providing significant insight or clarity, completing the sentence with identical semantic meaning.
GRE Sentence Equivalence requires choosing two options that produce equivalent overall sentence meaning, eliminating unpaired words like 'exhaustive' and non-contextual pairs like 'incandescent' / 'luminescent'.

Key Concept

Sentence Equivalence: Contextual Synonym Pair Selection
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Sentence Equivalence: Contextual Synonym Pair Selection

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