1. Logical Walkthrough

The sentence has two logical moves connected by a semicolon, which here acts not as a "logical equals" sign but as a contrastive pivot between two time periods:
- Move 1: Pre-Enlightenment mapmaking sections are more ______ than modern ones
- Move 2: Once precision takes over, the prose becomes ______
The closing aphorism - "The well-trodden, it seems, inspires little wonder"- is the master key. It tells you directly that familiarity kills imaginative engagement. Therefore:
- The remote past = more captivating, imaginatively rich → evocative
- The familiar modern period = flat, uninspired → pedestrian

The phrase "as though familiar terrain resists imaginative investment" reinforces this by explicitly linking familiarity to a failure of imagination - making the two blanks mirror images of the same principle.

2. Blank-by-Blank Justification

Blank (i) - A. evocative:
The sentence says pre-Enlightenment sections are considerably more ________ than modern ones, and the closing aphorism says the well-trodden inspires little wonder. The blank must therefore name a quality that the modern sections lack: the power to stir imagination and feeling. "Evocative" - meaning powerfully expressive and emotionally resonant - is the only choice that satisfies this logic. The comparison is not about scholarly rigor or emotional detachment, but about imaginative vitality.

Blank (ii) - D. pedestrian:
The prose "becomes" something negative once modern surveying makes geography precise and familiar. "Pedestrian" in its figurative GRE sense means dull, ordinary, uninspired - the exact quality that results when familiar material resists imaginative investment. It is the perfect tonal counterpart to "evocative."