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Question

Difficulty: MediumMulti-Blank Dependency Tracking

Read the passage below:

While early musicologists dismissed the composer��s late symphonic sketches as mere (i)________ fragments never intended for performance, recent archival discoveries reveal that these draft scores were in fact (ii)________ to her final masterpiece, as key thematic motifs from the sketches recur directly throughout the completed work.

Which of the following combinations of words logically completes the blanks in the passage?

  1. (i) chimerical, (ii) integralAnswer
  2. B
    (i) chimerical, (ii) peripheral
  3. C
    (i) pragmatic, (ii) integral
  4. D
    (i) provisional, (ii) superfluous
  5. E
    (i) indispensable, (ii) peripheral

Answer

The combination '(i) chimerical, (ii) integral' logically completes both blanks by establishing the required contrast between the initial dismissal of the sketches and their actual importance to the final work.
The correct choice establishing '(i) chimerical' and '(ii) integral' satisfies both local context clues and structural contrast. 'Chimerical' fits the view of the sketches as unrealizable fragments, while 'integral' aligns with the evidence that their core motifs appear throughout the final masterpiece.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze structural signals and contrast pivots in the sentence.
The opening word 'While' and the phrase 'in fact' indicate a contrast between how early musicologists viewed the sketches ('dismissed... as mere (i)________') and what recent discoveries demonstrate ('were in fact (ii)________').
Tracking inter-blank relationships requires identifying the logical pivot connecting the two clauses.
2
Determine the required meaning for Blank (i).
Because the sketches were 'dismissed' and described as 'never intended for performance', Blank (i) requires a word meaning fanciful, unrealistic, or imaginary, such as 'chimerical'.
The context clue 'mere... fragments never intended for performance' defines the negative characterization in the first clause.
3
Determine the required meaning for Blank (ii) using cross-sentence evidence.
The concluding clause notes that 'key thematic motifs from the sketches recur directly throughout the completed work,' indicating that the draft scores were essential or central, making 'integral' the correct fit.
The final clause provides the evidence confirming the exact degree of importance needed for the second blank.

Key Concept

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking
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Topics

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking

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