Sentence completion question

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>State commissioner Ming Hsu expected that her Commission on International Trade would not merely ______ the future effects of foreign competition on local businesses but would also offer practical strategies for successfully resisting such competition.</p>

<p>(A) counteract
(B) intensify
(C) imagine
(D) forecast
(E) excuse</p>

<p>I chose (A), but the answer is (D) forecast. Why is the answer (D) and not (A)?</p>

2

<p>The sentence says it would not merely X, but would also Y. The key word “merely” implies that X is of a lesser degree than Y. </p>

<p>If you pick counteract, it is of a greater or similar degree than “offer practical strategies for resisting.” But *forecast *is less involved than offering practical strategies for resisting.</p>