It is refreshing to read a book about our planet by an author who does

Question

It is refreshing to read a book about our planet by an author who does not allow facts to be (i)___________by politics: well aware of the political disputes about the effects of human activities on climate and biodiversity, this author does not permit them to (ii)___________his comprehensive description of what we know about our biosphere. He emphasizes the enormous gaps in our knowledge, the sparseness of our observations, and the (iii)____________, calling attention to the many aspects of planetary evolution that must be better understood before we can accurately diagnose the condition of our planet.

Blank (i)
A. overshadowed
B. invalidated
C. illuminated

Blank (ii)
D. enhance
E. obscure
F. underscore

Blank (iii)
G. plausibility of our hypotheses
H. certainty of our entitlement
I. superficiality of our theories

Show Answer

Official Answer

A,E,I

Blank (i)
A. overshadowed
B. invalidated
C. illuminated

Blank (ii)
D. enhance
E. obscure
F. underscore

Blank (iii)
G. plausibility of our hypotheses
H. certainty of our entitlement
I. superficiality of our theories

carcass · Answer

So, it is true that we must also have a strong vocabulary for the GRE. Hands down. However, this comes after. You MUST know how to attack a question and scavenge its meaning, and find clues, and see why a word is there , what is the flow of the sentence, why a particular and precise portion of the same is telling me. All these things and many more we are going to dissect

My suggestion is to do EVERY time the following, in this precise sequence:

Reading the sentence the first time to see what is happening at a glance. Not a precise idea but a general and overall panoramic of the same 
 Reading the sentence once again, therefore the second time, to see possible clues/words/shifts if any 
  At this time, DO NOT look at the blanks. They will confuse you or put you on the wrong path because you  - and this is human nature - could fall in love with a particular word. Possibly because you like it, or you know its meaning and the others do not, then you will have a sort of bias toward it. NO. Your focus must be only on the sentence itself. Force yourself to do this. 
  Divide all the questions into chunks. Do not try to digest at one time. Usually, what I do is divide it into as many parts as the full stops in it but could be also a colon or a semi-colon

It is refreshing to read a book about our planet by an author who does not allow facts to be (I) ________ by politics:

What do we have here ?

Notice the keyword  refreshing . Usually, we try to search some other keyword of another genre: a connection word, some shift word, and so on. Instead, here the pivotal word is a verb: refreshing. What does the word suggest us ?
It suggests that reading a book about our planet brings us something new. Something that we haven't seen before the book itself. This is about when you are bored with the usual series on Netflix. When a new series is broadcasted and it is really amazing or particular, then is refreshing to watch something in a flat landscape.
 
   The book does not allow facts to be (I) ________ by politics : considering that the book is refreshing because it brings to us something in a way new and that the book itself, and its arguments, do not allow to politics what ? Clearly, the book and its argument will not stop to tell the truth or something else. And politics will not be able to mask this truth. I say the truth but could be another critical issue. Therefore, C is ruled out. We need a word that shows us politics will not stop or sink the argument in the book. This also shows you how is to analyze every part of the sentence and how logic is king.

well aware of the political disputes about the effects of human activities on climate and biodiversity, this author does not permit them to (ii) _______ his comprehensive description of what we know about our biosphere.

The arguments in the book show us clearly how there is a debate on climate change HOWEVER the author, through his book, does not permit them (those disputes) to do X about the description in the book about climate change.

What is our X?

What is clear here is that the political debate will not obfuscate or downplay the clear description of climate change we find in the book. I.E. the facts are clear, and there is no way to hide them before our eyes, thanks to the same description. Therefore, the only possible blank is E. We are sure of that. 
  Because our second blank is E and the first two portions of the sentence are in the same line, our logic suggests that the FIRST blank must be or follow the second blank. They must express the same concept. Therefore, the FIRST blank is A: overshadowed. C was already ruled out in the first part we explained. B is wrong just because does not express the same concept as expressed by E: obscure.

He emphasizes the enormous gaps in our knowledge, the sparseness of our observations, and the (iii) _______ , calling attention to the many aspects of planetary evolution that must be better understood before we can accurately diagnose the condition of our planet.

the enormous gaps in our knowledge,= X = we do not that much after all about climate change; 
 the sparseness of our observations= Y = our empirical observation are NOT enough; 
 and the (iii) _______ , =Z= our third blank must be the third element in the equation. 
  G. plausibility of our hypotheses,  
 H. certainty of our entitlement,  
 I.  superficiality of our theories   
 X+Y+Z= I. Consequentially, our third blank is I. Not so many thoughts on that

bronaugust · Answer

To solve this question, let us deploy  IMS's four-step technique .

STEP #1   ->  STORYBOARD

Let us read and understand the story.
 
The story begins with a book about our planet that the writer calls refreshing. The writer discusses the author of this book, stating that the author does not allow facts to be done  something  by politics. The writer suggests that the author is well aware of the political disputes about the effects of human activities on climate and biodiversity, and being aware, the author does not permit them (politics) to do  something  to his comprehensive description of what is known about our biosphere. The writer of this text further adds that the author of the book emphasizes the enormous gaps in our knowledge and the sparseness of our observations besides  something else , and by doing so, the author calls attention to (carefully points out) the many aspects of planetary evolution that must be better understood before we can accurately diagnose the condition of our planet.

STEP #2   ->  RELATE

We know we have a three-blank text completion question. To get an insight into each blank, we may ask ourselves two questions with respect to each of the three blanks.

- > What does the blank deal with?
-> What info do we have about what the blank deals with?

So, what does the first blank deal with? 
 The first blank deals with politics; we need a word that denotes an action that the author does not allow to be performed on facts by politics.  
 And what info do we have about politics?  
 There are political disputes about the effects of human activities on climate and biodiversity.

Now, what does the second blank deal with? 
 The second blank also deals with politics; we need a word that denotes an action that the author does not allow politics to perform on his comprehensive description of what we know about our biosphere. 
 And what info do we have about politics? 
 There are political disputes about the effects of human activities on climate and biodiversity.

Last but not least, what does the third blank deal with? 
 The third blank deals with something that the author emphasizes along with the enormous gaps in our knowledge and the sparseness of our observations. 
 And what info do we have about what the author emphasizes? 
 Through his emphasis, the author carefully points out the many aspects of planetary evolution that must be better understood before we can accurately diagnose the condition of our planet.

STEP #3   ->  PREDICT

Let us now come up with our own idea, which could be in the form of a word or phrase, for each blank. Based on the second step we executed, we know there are enough clues indicating that the author ensures the facts represented in his book are not diminished by political disputes. Note that the writer of the text finds it refreshing to read the book. 'CLOUDED' could therefore be our term for the first blank; for the second blank, 'CLOUD' should work as this blank also deals with politics (and we have the very same info about politics for both blanks, with each dealing with the same action the author prevents politics from performing on facts). For the third blank, we need a word or phrase that goes with 'enormous gaps' and 'sparseness.' Thus, 'LACK OF SUBSTANCE' could be our phrase.

STEP #4   ->  ELIMINATE

To choose the correct answer for blank (i), let us eliminate the options that do not closely match 'CLOUDED'.

To choose the correct answer for blank (ii), let us (again) eliminate the options that do not closely match 'CLOUD'.

To choose the correct answer for blank (iii), let us eliminate the options that do not closely match 'LACK OF SUBSTANCE'.

Thus, (A), (E), and (I) are the correct answers.

It is refreshing to read a book about our planet by an author who does

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