Re: For charities operating in the developing world, when noble impulses
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12 Nov 2025, 08:15
Detailed Analysis
1. Analyze the Structure and Tone: The sentence describes a negative process: "noble impulses" turn into something bad, resulting in "vapid slogans" and a "further deterioration" of the situation they intended to help.
2. Determine Blank (i): The Change in Impulses
- Context: The "noble impulses" (good intentions) change into "mere (ii) _______ ." This process is one of decline, reduction, or decay.
- Fit: A. devolve means to pass or be transferred to a lower level, or to degenerate. This perfectly captures the sense of noble intentions failing or declining into something lesser.
- B. morph (to change form) is too neutral.
- C. coalesce (to come together) is the opposite.
3. Determine Blank (ii): The Result of the Decline
- Context: The devolved impulses turn into "mere _______ ." The result is associated with "vapid slogans" (meaningless words). We need a word that implies lofty but ultimately useless or impractical idealism.
- Fit: D. quixotry means idealistic, impractical, and extravagantly chivalrous action. This fits the idea of noble efforts that have become detached from reality, leading to hollow results (vapid slogans) rather than genuine impact.
- E. fraud (deception) is too extreme; the impulses are genuine, but the effort is failing.
- F. altruism (selflessness) is what they started as, not what they devolved into.
4. Determine Blank (iii): The Initial Goal
- Context: High-mindedness (the noble impulses) had initially sought to ______ the "very situation" that is now deteriorating. If the situation is deteriorating, the initial goal must have been to improve it.
- Fit: I. ameliorate means to make something better; improve. This is the goal of any legitimate charity working to solve a problem.
- G. limit (restrict) is too vague for a charitable goal.
- H. prevent is possible, but ameliorate is a much better fit for improving an existing negative "situation" in the developing world.
The completed sentence reads:
For charities operating in the developing world, when noble impulses devolve into mere quixotry vapid slogans rear their heads and we witness a further deterioration in the very situation such high-mindedness had initially sought to ameliorate.