<p>Difficult working conditions that ranged from merely ________ to extremely intimidating were the norm for jazz performer Billie Holiday.
A. engaging
B. daunting
C. uniform
D. congenial
E. abominable</p>
<p>The answer is B.</p>
<p>I guess I’m confused by the set up “From _____ to ______”</p>
<p>I thought that the first blank would be the opposite of the second blank, like “From very small to gigantic.” That’s why I chose D, even though it didn’t make sense. Is that not the case? …</p>
<p>B is correct.</p>
<p>The first blank should not be the opposite of extremely intimidating in this case because the first three words tell you that both adjectives should describe difficult working conditions.</p>
<p>It might be hindsight bias, but “merely” implies that it is a less severe version of what comes next, so the answer would be B.</p>
<p>Merely to extremely should give you the clue to the answer.</p>
<p>A range doesn’t have to include the absolute best and the absolute worst. The range in this case is from somewhat intimidating (daunting) to extremely intimidating, and that makes logical sense with “difficult working conditions.”</p>