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Question

Difficulty: HardMulti-Blank Dependency Tracking

Fill in each blank in the passage below to complete the text in a logically coherent manner.

Answer:While nineteenth-century critics dismissed the author's final novel as a (i)【haphazard】 collection of disjointed vignettes, contemporary scholars argue that its structural fragmentation was entirely (ii)【calculated】; far from representing a failure of narrative control, the disjunction served as a deliberate (iii)【repudiation】 of conventional linear storytelling.

Answer

Blank 1 requires a word meaning random or unplanned, such as 'haphazard'; Blank 2 requires a contrasting term indicating purposefulness, such as 'calculated'; Blank 3 requires a noun signifying a formal rejection, such as 'repudiation'.
The sentence contrasts early critical dismissal with modern appreciation. The word 'haphazard' fits the critics' view of the work as randomly disjointed; 'calculated' completes the counterargument that the fragmentation was intentional; and 'repudiation' logically completes the idea of a conscious turning away from conventional linear storytelling.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structural shift signaled by 'While' at the beginning of the sentence.
Establishes a contrast between the views of nineteenth-century critics and contemporary scholars regarding the novel's fragmented structure.
Understanding the main structural contrast is necessary to align the polarity of the blanks.
2
Determine the relationship between Blank 1 and Blank 2.
If critics saw the novel as lacking plan or order, Blank 1 must mean unplanned or random ('haphazard'). In contrast, contemporary scholars see it as planned ('calculated').
The sentence pairs an initial negative dismissal of disjunction with a modern recognition of intentional design.
3
Evaluate the pivot clause 'far from representing a failure of narrative control' for Blank 3.
The clause reinforces that the fragmentation was an intentional choice against traditional story structure, requiring a word like 'repudiation' or 'rejection'.
'Far from' reverses 'failure of narrative control', confirming that the technique was a purposeful abandonment of conventional linear form.

Key Concept

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking
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Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking

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