GRE Prep Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Sep 28Live Online Class with Top GRE Expert Mike Butville
08:00 PM EDT
-10:00 PM EDT
Top scores are possible when you enroll in a powerful GRE course, taught live online + 6 months access to TTP GRE OnDemand video courses included! Class starts Mon/Wed Sept. 28, 2026 - Dec. 9, 2026, 8:00pm-10:00pm EST
A recent survey of wine-writing over the past decade turns up a striki
[#permalink]
28 Jul 2026, 16:04
28 Jul 2026, 16:04
1
Expert Reply
00:00
Question Stats:
10% (01:31) correct
89% (01:22) wrong based on 19 sessions
Hide Show timer Statistics
A recent survey of wine-writing over the past decade turns up a striking pattern: reviews increasingly organized around (i) ________ rather than the vintage itself, as critics chase a distinctive voice by centering their own palates, memories, and moods above all else - this despite the fact that generations of critics have upheld (ii) _______ as the discipline's defining virtue.
| Blank (i) | Blank (ii) |
|---|---|
| A. dispassion | D. incivility |
| B. partisanship | E. conformity |
| C. lucidity | F. solipsism |
- Part of the project: GRE Hard and Tricky Verbal Practice: NEW Questions Daily
- Also replying to the unanswered questions
- The Definitive GRE Vocabulary Masterclass - 3,000 Words List
- GRE Beginner: The Definitive Guide
Re: A recent survey of wine-writing over the past decade turns up a striki
[#permalink]
09 Aug 2026, 23:09
09 Aug 2026, 23:09
Expert Reply
1. The Logical Skeleton
The Trend: The sentence describes a recent shift in wine-writing over the past decade. Critics are now focusing heavily on their own personal perspectives-specifically "centering their own palates, memories, and moods above all else."
Blank (i): We need a word that captures this extreme self-centeredness or self-absorption in writing.
The Contrast ("this despite the fact that..."): The second half introduces a sharp contrast between this modern self-centered trend and the traditional ideal of criticism.
Blank (ii): Historically, "generations of critics" believed in the opposite approach-judging the wine objectively without personal bias or emotional influence. We need a word that means objectivity, impartiality, or emotional detachment.
2. Why the Correct Options Work
F. solipsism (noun): The philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist, or broadly, extreme self-absorption/egocentricity. Centering only one's internal "memories and moods" above the objective object being reviewed (the vintage) is an act of literary solipsism.
A. dispassion (noun): Freedom from passion, bias, or emotion; objective impartiality. This stands as the direct traditional virtue that opposes subjective, mood-driven reviewing.
3. Why the Distractors Fail
Blank (i):
B. partisanship (noun): Prejudice or bias in favor of a particular cause, political party, or faction. While modern reviews are biased, the bias described is specifically self-centeredness, not devotion to a political or factional party.
C. lucidity (noun): Clarity or easy comprehensibility. Personal anecdotes and moods do not inherently make writing clearer or more lucid.
Blank (ii):
D. incivility (noun): Rudeness or impolite behavior. The text contrasts self-centeredness with traditional professional standards, not with politeness.
E. conformity (noun): Compliance with standards, rules, or laws; behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions. While critics adhered to shared standards, the core virtue opposed to "centering one's own mood" is objective judgment (dispassion), not mere blind conformity.
The Trend: The sentence describes a recent shift in wine-writing over the past decade. Critics are now focusing heavily on their own personal perspectives-specifically "centering their own palates, memories, and moods above all else."
Blank (i): We need a word that captures this extreme self-centeredness or self-absorption in writing.
The Contrast ("this despite the fact that..."): The second half introduces a sharp contrast between this modern self-centered trend and the traditional ideal of criticism.
Blank (ii): Historically, "generations of critics" believed in the opposite approach-judging the wine objectively without personal bias or emotional influence. We need a word that means objectivity, impartiality, or emotional detachment.
2. Why the Correct Options Work
F. solipsism (noun): The philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist, or broadly, extreme self-absorption/egocentricity. Centering only one's internal "memories and moods" above the objective object being reviewed (the vintage) is an act of literary solipsism.
A. dispassion (noun): Freedom from passion, bias, or emotion; objective impartiality. This stands as the direct traditional virtue that opposes subjective, mood-driven reviewing.
3. Why the Distractors Fail
Blank (i):
B. partisanship (noun): Prejudice or bias in favor of a particular cause, political party, or faction. While modern reviews are biased, the bias described is specifically self-centeredness, not devotion to a political or factional party.
C. lucidity (noun): Clarity or easy comprehensibility. Personal anecdotes and moods do not inherently make writing clearer or more lucid.
Blank (ii):
D. incivility (noun): Rudeness or impolite behavior. The text contrasts self-centeredness with traditional professional standards, not with politeness.
E. conformity (noun): Compliance with standards, rules, or laws; behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions. While critics adhered to shared standards, the core virtue opposed to "centering one's own mood" is objective judgment (dispassion), not mere blind conformity.
gmatclubot
Re: A recent survey of wine-writing over the past decade turns up a striki [#permalink]
09 Aug 2026, 23:09
Moderators:
