<ol>
<li>His book on the history of science is admittedly conventional, perhaps even _<strong><em>: nevertheless, it is _</em></strong> work that covers a formidable amount of ground.
A anachronistic…a superficial
B inscrutable…an exhaustive
C vacuous…a contentious
D audacious…a limited
E pedestrian…an edifying</li>
</ol>
<p>So basically, a book is conventional. What does conventional mean? Standard, not original. And it is perhaps even ___<strong><em>. Alright, let's look for a word in the answer choices that means standard, not original, or conventional. Anarchronistic? No, that means old. Inscrutable? No, that means hard to explain. Vacuous? No, that means empty. Audacious? No, that means bold. And pedestrian, aha, here we are. A word that means conventional, ordinary, not novel etc. By examining only the first portion of the sentence, we've already arrived at our answer. However, moving on to our second statement, notice that there is a "nevertheless" which signals a contrast between the first portion and the second portion. So, even though this book is conventional and pedestrian, it is a _</em></strong>_ work that (look closely here) covers a formidable amount of ground. That means the second word has to hold a positive connotation. Let's go through the given choices. Superficial, no, Exhaustive, no, Contentious (argumentative) no, Limited definitely no, and finally..edifying, or correcting..a word with positive connotation. There we are, this is our answer. B has no meaning if replaced in the sentence given. A certain book is conventional, perhaps even inscrutable? No, both of those don't relate to each other. Furthermore, a "nevertheless" signaled a contradiction, that means the second portion of the sentence holds a positive point, which cannot be illustrated by the word "exhaustive" which is negative.</p>
<ol>
<li>Although other European states broke apart under the stresses of political upheaval, the seventeenth-century Dutch republic proved remarkably _____.
A propitious
B illusory
C resilient
D pertinent
E poignant</li>
</ol>
<p>So again, we're going to look at the logic of the sentence before even approaching the answer choices. The first word we come across is "Although". This word signals that the first and second portions of the sentence are contradictory. Let's continue reading. Although these European states broke apart, the Dutch republic proved ________. So obviously the Dutch republic did not break apart. In fact, it stood strong and managed to stay intact. Let's look for a word that matches our guess. Propitious? No, that means fortunate. Illusory? No, that's misleading. Resilient? Yes. That's our word. Something that stands strong, not shaken. C is our answer. Pertinent? That's a no, pertinent means relevant, and finally, poignant is a no too because it means showy and does not relate whatsoever to fortitude or resilience.</p>
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