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Difficulty: HardInterpreting Continuation and Causal Structural Signals

While the preliminary trial findings were merely suggestive, the subsequent large-scale longitudinal study yielded unequivocally robust empirical data; accordingly, skepticism regarding the efficacy of the novel therapeutic intervention began to ________, giving way to widespread clinical adoption.

Select the TWO answer choices that, when inserted into the sentence, produce completed sentences that are coherent and equivalent in meaning.

  1. dissipateAnswer
  2. evaporateAnswer
  3. C
    escalate
  4. D
    persist
  5. E
    fluctuate
  6. F
    proliferate

Answer

The two choices that complete the sentence with equivalent meaning are 'dissipate' and 'evaporate'.
The causal transition 'accordingly' indicates that the robust data directly caused skepticism to vanish or fade away, enabling widespread adoption. Both 'dissipate' and 'evaporate' accurately convey this meaning of fading or disappearing, resulting in two sentences that are logically sound and identical in meaning.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze structural transition signals and sentence polarity.
The semicolon followed by 'accordingly' acts as a causal continuation signal, indicating that the second clause is a direct logical consequence of the first. Additionally, the phrase 'giving way to widespread clinical adoption' provides a positive contextual outcome.
Identifying the relationship between the robust empirical data and the decline in doubt is necessary to determine the direction of the missing word.
2
Determine the required contextual meaning for the blank.
Because the new study provided 'unequivocally robust empirical data', skepticism must diminish, fade, or disappear so that clinical adoption can occur.
Establishing that skepticism must decrease narrows the target definitions to words meaning to fade away or vanish.
3
Evaluate the choices to find a pair of near-synonyms fitting the context.
'Dissipate' and 'evaporate' both mean to fade away or disappear completely. Choosing either word maintains logical coherence and produces sentences of identical meaning.
Sentence Equivalence requires selecting two words that fulfill both contextual fit and semantic equivalence.

Key Concept

Interpreting Causal Structural Signals and Continuation Relationships in Sentence Equivalence
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Interpreting Continuation and Causal Structural Signals

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