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Difficulty: MediumMulti-Blank Dependency Tracking

Although early biographers depicted the diplomat’s private journal as a purely (i)________ account designed to settle old scores, subsequent historical analysis reveals that the entries were surprisingly (ii)________, offering an extraordinarily balanced and objective record of the negotiations.

Which of the following pairs of terms best completes the passage in a logically coherent manner?

  1. (i) rancorous, (ii) dispassionateAnswer
  2. B
    (i) rancorous, (ii) tendentious
  3. C
    (i) meticulous, (ii) dispassionate
  4. D
    (i) scrupulous, (ii) tendentious
  5. E
    (i) rancorous, (ii) superficial

Answer

The pair '(i) rancorous, (ii) dispassionate' correctly completes the text by establishing the required contrast between a bitter early portrayal and a balanced historical reality.
The sentence relies on a concessive transition ('Although') paired with internal elaboration clues. The descriptive phrase 'designed to settle old scores' points to Blank (i) needing a word meaning resentful or bitter ('rancorous'). In contrast, the second clause describes the entries as an 'extraordinarily balanced and objective record', requiring Blank (ii) to mean impartial or unbiased ('dispassionate'). Only the pair featuring 'rancorous' for Blank (i) and 'dispassionate' for Blank (ii) satisfies both semantic requirements concurrently.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the clue for Blank (ii)
The phrase 'offering an extraordinarily balanced and objective record' directly describes the second blank.
Blank (ii) must be a synonym or positive attribute corresponding to 'balanced' and 'objective', pointing to 'dispassionate'.
2
Identify structural transition and clue for Blank (i)
The initial contrast word 'Although' indicates that early biographers held a view opposite to the 'balanced and objective' reality, while 'designed to settle old scores' provides a specific negative clue for Blank (i).
Blank (i) requires a term indicating bitterness or hostility, pointing to 'rancorous'.
3
Verify inter-blank dependency and overall sentence coherence
Combining 'rancorous' and 'dispassionate' completes the contrast smoothly: early biographers saw it as a bitter account, but later analysis revealed it to be surprisingly objective.
Both blanks must work simultaneously to satisfy both the internal clause clues and the overarching concession structure ('Although...').

Key Concept

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking
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Topics

Multi-Blank Dependency Tracking

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