Question

I've long anticipated this retrospective of the artist's work, hoping that it would make BLANK judgments about him possible, but greater familiarity with his paintings highlights their inherent BLANK and actually makes one's assessment BLANK.
BLANK 1 Options: (A) modish, (B) settled, (C) detached
BLANK 2 Options: (D) gloom, (E) ambiguity, (F) delicacy
BLANK 3 Options: (G) similarly equivocal, (H) less sanguine, (I) more cynical

Hint:

In sentences with contrast words like "but," "however," or "although," look for words that create a logical opposition between the first part of the sentence and the second. The expectation set up in the first clause is usually reversed in the second.

Answer 1

Correct Answer: (B) settled, (E) ambiguity, (G) similarly equivocal
Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This sentence completion question follows a contrast structure. The narrator hoped for one outcome from the retrospective (clarity), but the opposite occurred, leading to a different final result (uncertainty). We need to select words that fit this logical progression.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Blank 1: The narrator hoped the retrospective would make a certain type of judgment possible. A retrospective is a comprehensive review, which typically aims to provide a clear and final understanding. Therefore, the narrator was hoping for definitive or conclusive judgments. Of the choices, (B) settled best captures this idea of finality and certainty.
Blank 2: The word "but" signals a turn. Instead of leading to settled judgments, greater familiarity with the paintings revealed an inherent quality that prevents certainty. (E) ambiguity is the perfect word, as it directly opposes the idea of a "settled" judgment. If the works are inherently ambiguous, it is difficult to come to a final conclusion about them.
Blank 3: This blank describes the consequence of the ambiguity. If the paintings are ambiguous, then the narrator's assessment of them would naturally become uncertain or hard to define. (G) similarly equivocal means similarly ambiguous or open to more than one interpretation. This logically follows from the discovery of the paintings' "inherent ambiguity."
Step 3: Final Answer:
The sentence logically flows as follows: The narrator hoped for settled judgments, but the paintings' inherent ambiguity made the final assessment similarly equivocal.