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Difficulty: HardMulti-Blank Dependency Tracking

Consider the following passage from a cognitive neuroscience review:

"Far from representing (i)________ reactions dictated solely by subcortical circuitry, human emotional responses are increasingly viewed as (ii)________ phenomena, continually recalibrated by sociocultural norms and cognitive appraisal; consequently, treating affective states as biologically hardwired entities is to misrepresent the dynamic nature of human feeling."

Which of the following word pairs best completes the blanks in the passage to maintain its logical and structural coherence?

  1. (i) unmediated ... (ii) plasticAnswer
  2. B
    (i) visceral ... (ii) intrinsic
  3. C
    (i) plastic ... (ii) unmediated
  4. D
    (i) deliberate ... (ii) immutable
  5. E
    (i) autonomous ... (ii) visceral

Answer

The pair '(i) unmediated ... (ii) plastic' correctly completes the passage.
The correct completion is '(i) unmediated ... (ii) plastic'. The pivot phrase 'Far from' indicates that the two clauses present opposing views of human emotional responses. The first clause describes reactions 'dictated solely by subcortical circuitry', making 'unmediated' (meaning direct and without higher cognitive intervention) the precise fit for Blank (i). The second clause argues that emotional responses are 'continually recalibrated by sociocultural norms and cognitive appraisal', requiring 'plastic' (meaning malleable or adaptable) for Blank (ii) to complete the contrast with rigid biological determinism.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify structural contrast signals and dependency clues.
The opening pivot phrase 'Far from' establishes an opposition between the concept in Blank (i) and the concept in Blank (ii).
Understanding structural pivots is essential to setting up the relationship between interdependent blanks.
2
Analyze textual clues for Blank (i).
Blank (i) describes reactions 'dictated solely by subcortical circuitry' and 'biologically hardwired'. Thus, Blank (i) requires a word meaning direct, automatic, or unmediated by higher cognition.
The surrounding clause defines the specific nature of the initial view of emotional reactions.
3
Analyze textual clues for Blank (ii) using inter-blank dependency.
Blank (ii) describes phenomena 'continually recalibrated by sociocultural norms and cognitive appraisal'. This contrasts with rigid biological hardwiring, requiring a word meaning adaptable, malleable, or plastic.
The second blank must complete the contrast set up by 'Far from' and align with 'continually recalibrated'.
4
Evaluate word pairs simultaneously to confirm mutual alignment.
The pair containing 'unmediated' for Blank (i) and 'plastic' for Blank (ii) satisfies both local clause meanings and overall sentence contrast.
Only when both words are evaluated together does the passage achieve full logical and thematic coherence.

Key Concept

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking via Contrast Pivots
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Topics

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking

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