Hi, not sure how abnegation fits as she says she will abjure (renouce/ take back) any thoughts of self- abnegation- where abnegation means to self-deny. Am I missing something? Because it sounds like the sentence is contradicting itself and restating.

1. Analyze Blank (i):
- Clue: The sentence mentions the student persisted in her "spendthrift ways" and "spent prodigally" (spending money freely and wastefully).
- Pivot/Trigger Words: "Even when faced with continuing [Blank i]..." The phrase "even when faced with" sets up a contrast. Normally, if you are experiencing a certain financial condition, you should stop spending recklessly. Because she kept spending wastefully, Blank (i) must mean a lack of money or poverty.
- Evaluating Choices for Blank (i):
- A. lucre: Wealth or money (usually gained dishonorably). This creates a direct contradiction to the contrast setup; if she had ongoing wealth, continuing to spend wouldn't be "recalcitrant" or surprising.
- B. penury: Extreme poverty; destitution. This perfectly fits the contrast: Even though she was facing ongoing poverty, she kept spending wastefully.
- C. avarice: Extreme greed for wealth. This describes a psychological state of wanting to hoard money, which contradicts her action of spending it prodigally.
- Selection for Blank (i): B. penury

2. Analyze Blank (ii):
- Clue: The sentence states she "abjured [renounced/rejected] any thought of self[Blank ii] and spent prodigally."
- Logic: If she is spending recklessly and refusing to restrain herself despite having no money, she is rejecting self-denial or self-restraint.
- Evaluating Choices for Blank (ii):
- D. adumbration: A sketchy overview, foreshadowing, or blurring. (Logically irrelevant).
- E. aggrandizement: The act of increasing the wealth, power, or status of something. "Self-aggrandizement" means making oneself seem greater or more powerful. While spending money recklessly can be a form of showing off, the phrase "abjured any thought of" means she rejected this. If she rejected selfaggrandizement, she wouldn't be spending to look rich.
- F. abnegation: The act of renouncing or rejecting something. Self-abnegation specifically means self-denial or setting aside one's own interests/desires (often financial restraint). Since she abjured (rejected) self-denial, she allowed herself to spend freely.
- Selection for Blank (ii): F. abnegation