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Difficulty: MediumMulti-Blank Dependency Tracking

Far from being (i)________ by the discovery of irregular orbital oscillations in the outer solar system, the astrophysicist's unified theory of planetary resonance was actually (ii)________; the seemingly anomalous data provided the exact empirical validation needed to confirm the model’s underlying predictive structure.

Which of the following choices best completes the blanks in the passage?

  1. (i) discredited, (ii) vindicatedAnswer
  2. B
    (i) discredited, (ii) undermined
  3. C
    (i) bolstered, (ii) vindicated
  4. D
    (i) bolstered, (ii) undermined
  5. E
    (i) obfuscated, (ii) ignored

Answer

The pair '(i) discredited, (ii) vindicated' logically completes both blanks by aligning the contrast pivot with the concluding evidence.
The combination of '(i) discredited' and '(ii) vindicated' correctly fulfills all structural signals in the sentence. The phrase 'Far from being (i)________' anticipates a negative expectation (discredited) which is then contrasted by 'was actually (ii)________' with a positive resolution (vindicated), matching the semicolon clue that the data provided empirical validation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify structural pivots and sentence direction.
The opening phrase 'Far from being (i)________' indicates that blank (i) requires a negative condition that one might expect anomalous data to cause, while 'was actually (ii)________' signals a reversal to a positive outcome.
'Far from being X, Y was actually Z' sets up an antonymic relationship between the expected negative impact X and the actual positive impact Z.
2
Analyze the semicolon context clue for inter-blank dependency.
The clause following the semicolon states that the anomalous data provided 'the exact empirical validation needed to confirm the model's underlying predictive structure.'
This confirms that the actual outcome in blank (ii) must mean supported or proven true ('vindicated').
3
Verify cross-blank semantic alignment.
If the theory was actually 'vindicated' (ii), then far from being 'discredited' (i), the anomalies actually proved its strength.
The pair '(i) discredited, (ii) vindicated' maintains complete thematic and structural coherence.

Key Concept

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking & Contrast Pivot Alignment
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Topics

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking

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