OE


“Although,” a detour road sign, starts off the sentence, indicating that the ideas of the first and second clause will be opposites. While external knowledge might tell you that Paine was, in fact, a famous writer, it is important to remember that the correct answer will be derived from clues in the sentence alone. Also, the key words “political pamphlets” and “many different subjects” tell us what is being contrasted here: one subject (politics) versus many subjects. You might predict that Paine was well known for his political writing but was actually a good writer on many subjects. For the first blank, (C) famous for is a perfect match for your prediction. Choices (A) inimical to and (B) condemned for are both negative and, therefore, incorrect. Then for the second blank, neither (D) abstruse nor (F) terrible indicates that Paine wrote well. However, a (E) prolific author writes a lot, and it can be presumed that writing comes easily to him. Therefore, (E) is the correct answer for the second blank. Choices (D) abstruse and (F) terrible could work in a different sentence, but there is no choice for the first blank that will allow the resulting sentence to make sense. The answer will always be clear and definite—choices (C) famous for and (E) prolific create a sentence that makes sense without requiring any other knowledge or qualifications.