Read the passage excerpt below carefully:
"Despite the overwhelming public pressure to implement immediate reforms, the lead auditor decided to reserve her final verdict until all financial records were fully scrutinized. She refused to entertain the premature conclusions put forward by the press, warning that unverified rumors could easily compromise the integrity of the ongoing investigation. Furthermore, while the committee hoped to arrest the rapid decline of institutional trust, they acknowledged that doing so would require unprecedented transparency."
Match each highlighted word from the passage on the left with its precise contextual meaning on the right.
- reserveWithhold or defer giving a formal decision until further evaluation
- entertainConsider or give serious thought to an idea or assertion
- compromiseRisk damaging or weakening the sound condition of something
- arrestStop, check, or halt the progression of a process
Answer
'reserve' matches with 'Withhold or defer giving a formal decision until further evaluation'; 'entertain' matches with 'Consider or give serious thought to an idea or assertion'; 'compromise' matches with 'Risk damaging or weakening the sound condition of something'; 'arrest' matches with 'Stop, check, or halt the progression of a process'.
Each highlighted word is correctly matched based on its functional role within the passage context. 'Reserve' functions as deferring judgment; 'entertain' means giving consideration to an idea; 'compromise' signifies putting integrity at risk; and 'arrest' denotes stopping or checking a decline.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Determining contextual word meaning through syntactical substitution and passage analysis
Estimated Time:2m 0s