Question

Choose the best word for blank (46) in the passage above.

• A. Refreshing
• B. Stimulating
• C. Boring
• D. Dreary
• A. Invalidated
• B. Overshadowed
• C. Illuminated
• D. Interfered
• A. Analyse
• B. Garble
• C. Obscure
• D. Enhance
• A. Leanness
• B. Neatness
• C. Tidiness
• D. Sparseness
• A. Showiness
• B. Resistance
• C. Certainty
• D. Superficiality

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

This blank sets the tone for the whole sentence, which praises an author for refusing to let politics distort scientific facts about the planet. The word must match that positive, appreciative tone.

1. Refreshing: This means pleasantly new or welcome, especially as a change from what is usual. Reading a book that sticks to facts instead of bending to politics is exactly this kind of pleasant change, which is why it fits the sentence.
2. Stimulating: This means intellectually exciting. It sounds positive too, but the sentence is not really about excitement, it is about relief from political bias, so this word misses the specific point being made.
3. Boring: This is negative, and it clashes with the rest of the sentence, which clearly approves of the author's approach.
4. Dreary: This also means dull and depressing, which again contradicts the appreciative tone set by the colon and the explanation that follows it.

The correct choice is "Refreshing", since it captures the sense of relief and pleasant surprise at finding a book that keeps facts free of political spin.

Let's summarize:

• The sentence after the colon explains and supports the missing word, so the word must be positive.
• "Refreshing" specifically conveys relief from something unwelcome (political bias), which is the exact idea being described.

So the answer to blank (46) is "Refreshing".

Answer 2

This blank describes what politics tries to do to facts, something the author refuses to allow. The word needs to describe facts losing their proper place or prominence because of political pressure.

1. Invalidated: This means proven false or made legally worthless. Politics does not usually prove a fact false, it just tries to push it aside or spin it, so this word is too strong and not quite the right idea.
2. Overshadowed: This means pushed into the background or made less important by something else. Facts being overshadowed by politics means political noise drowns out or eclipses the plain facts, which fits perfectly with what the author refuses to allow.
3. Illuminated: This means made clear or lit up. This is the opposite of what politics is being accused of doing to facts here, so it does not fit.
4. Interfered: This word normally needs "with" after it ("interfered with"), and using it here reads awkwardly. It also does not carry the specific sense of facts being pushed into the background.

The correct choice is "Overshadowed", because it exactly describes facts being eclipsed or pushed aside by political concerns, which is what the author is said to resist.

Let's summarize:

• The sentence is about facts losing prominence to political noise, not about facts being proven wrong or clarified.
• "Overshadowed" is the word that means exactly this loss of prominence.

So the answer to blank (47) is "Overshadowed".

Answer 3

Here "them" refers back to the political disputes mentioned just before. The author does not let these disputes do something harmful to his comprehensive, clear description of the biosphere, and the blank names that harmful action.

1. Analyse: This means to examine closely. Disputes are not usually described as "analysing" a description, and this does not carry any negative or blocking sense, so it does not fit.
2. Garble: This means to distort or confuse a message during transmission. It is closer in spirit, but it is normally used for scrambled communication, not for a full comprehensive description being clouded by disputes.
3. Obscure: This means to make unclear or hide from view. Political disputes clouding or blurring a comprehensive description is a very natural fit, and it matches the idea of the author protecting clarity from politics.
4. Enhance: This means to improve or make better. This is a positive word, but the sentence is about the author blocking a negative effect of the disputes, so a positive word does not fit here.

The correct choice is "Obscure", since the author is protecting the clarity of his description from being clouded by political disputes.

Let's summarize:

• The blank must describe a negative effect that political disputes could have on a clear description, one the author successfully blocks.
• "Obscure" precisely means to make something unclear, which is exactly this negative effect.

So the answer to blank (48) is "Obscure".

Answer 4

This sentence lists three related weaknesses in our current understanding of the planet: gaps in knowledge, a problem with our observations, and a problem with our theories. The blank needs a noun that names a weakness in the quantity or richness of our observations.

1. Leanness: This usually describes a lack of fat, or a minimal, stripped down style. It is an unusual word to pair with "observations", since observations are not normally described this way.
2. Neatness: This means being tidy or well organised, which is a positive quality and has nothing to do with a shortage of data, so it does not fit a list of weaknesses.
3. Tidiness: Like neatness, this is a positive quality about order, not about how much or how little data exists, so it does not fit here either.
4. Sparseness: This means being scarce or scattered, thinly spread out. Sparse observations means we simply do not have enough data points, which fits perfectly with the "gaps in our knowledge" theme of the sentence.

The correct choice is "Sparseness", since it names exactly the kind of shortage, too few observations spread too thinly, that continues the sentence's list of weaknesses in our understanding.

Let's summarize:

• The sentence lists weaknesses (gaps, then observations, then theories), so the blank must name a weakness, not a positive quality.
• "Sparseness" is the standard word for too little data spread too thin, matching "gaps" and setting up "superficiality" that follows.

So the answer to blank (49) is "Sparseness".

Answer 5

This blank finishes the same list of weaknesses: gaps in knowledge, sparse observations, and now a problem with our theories. The word needs to describe theories that do not go deep enough, matching the passage's later point that "many aspects... must be better understood".

1. Showiness: This means being flashy or attention seeking. It has nothing to do with how deep or shallow a theory is, so it does not fit a sentence about gaps in understanding.
2. Resistance: This means opposing or pushing back against something. Theories do not "resist" in this sense, so this word does not fit the list of weaknesses either.
3. Certainty: This is the opposite of what the passage is describing. The passage is about how much we still do not know, so a word meaning our theories are too certain would contradict the whole point.
4. Superficiality: This means staying on the surface, lacking depth. Theories that are superficial have not yet captured the full complexity of the subject, which fits perfectly with the passage's point that much more needs to be understood.

The correct choice is "Superficiality", since it names the lack of depth in our current theories, closing out the list of weaknesses started by "gaps" and "sparseness".

Let's summarize:

• The whole sentence is a list of shortcomings in our understanding, so the last blank must also name a shortcoming.
• "Superficiality" means a lack of depth, matching the passage's later call to better understand "many aspects" of the topic.

So the answer to blank (50) is "Superficiality".