OE

In this sentence, the straight-ahead road sign “consequently” indicates that the correct answer will support or elaborate on another word or phrase in the text. The key word to note in this example is “badly.” The first clause in the sentence indicates that the team should have been good. However, the team was doing poorly, and this is “difficult” for everyone because it did not make sense. In other words, it was difficult to "understand" why the team was not doing well. The second blank must support or elaborate on the phrase “so badly,” so you can predict that the correct answer will be similar to “playing so poorly.”

For the first blank, the answer choice most like “understand” is (A) fathom. For the second blank, the choice that most closely matches “playing poorly” is choice (F) floundering. Plugging the selected words into the sentence fits the context: “Everyone believed the team was favored with athletic talent and a seasoned, successful coaching staff; consequently, it was difficult to fathom why the team was floundering so badly against one of the worst teams in the division.”