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Question

Difficulty: HardMulti-Blank Dependency Tracking

Fill in each blank in the passage below with the term that best completes the text in a logically coherent manner.

Answer:Contrary to the long-held assumption that Renaissance glassmakers maintained their technical edge through (i) 【hermetic】 insularity, recent chemical analyses of trade artifacts reveal that their formulas depended on a surprisingly (ii) 【cosmopolitan】 exchange of raw materials across Mediterranean trade routes; consequently, historians must now view the guild's legendary secrecy not as an absolute (iii) 【embargo】, but rather as a carefully managed system of selective disclosure.

Answer

Blank 1: hermetic, Blank 2: cosmopolitan, Blank 3: embargo
The sentence relies on two main contrast pivots: 'Contrary to...' and 'not as an absolute..., but rather as...'. The first blank requires a word denoting complete or airtight isolation to pair with 'insularity'; 'hermetic' fits precisely. The second blank opposes this isolated state by describing an exchange across widespread networks, making 'cosmopolitan' the correct choice. The third blank contrasts with 'selective disclosure', requiring a term for total prohibition of trade or communication, which 'embargo' accurately provides.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify structural contrast clues controlling Blank 1 and Blank 2.
The opening pivot 'Contrary to...' sets up an opposition between the assumed state in Blank 1 and the empirical reality in Blank 2.
The sentence contrasts an assumption of isolated secrecy ('insularity') with an actual 'exchange of raw materials'.
2
Evaluate inter-blank dependency between Blank 1 and Blank 2.
Blank 1 requires an adjective intensifying complete isolation, such as 'hermetic' (airtight/complete), while Blank 2 requires an adjective reflecting broad, international exchange, such as 'cosmopolitan'.
If the exchange in Blank 2 was broad across networks, the prior belief in Blank 1 must have been an assumption of absolute or airtight insularity.
3
Resolve Blank 3 based on the concession pivot 'not as an absolute..., but rather as...'
Blank 3 requires a noun representing a total prohibition or complete blockage of exchange, such as 'embargo'.
The structural clue 'not as an absolute [Blank 3], but rather as a carefully managed system of selective disclosure' indicates that Blank 3 must contrast with partial/selective disclosure.

Key Concept

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking
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Topics

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking

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