Full Explanation

Sentence Structure & Logic

The passage makes an argument about the current academic mania surrounding video games. It moves through three stages:

Blank (i): The mania is ______
Evidence: Comparable outbursts have accompanied other media in their formative decades (e.g., early cinema in the 1920s).
Blank (ii): Yet such scholarly ______ seldom precedes a medium's finest achievements.
Blank (iii): Rather, it signals that a formal ______ has already passed, and a period of labored imitation has begun.


Blank (i) - predictable

The phrase "After all" introduces evidence that this has happened before with other media. If history repeats itself in this way, the current mania is not surprising or baffling-it is predictable.

Predictable = expected, foreseeable based on prior patterns.


Why not the others:

A. bewildering = confusing or puzzling. The "After all" clause explains why it is not bewildering-it has precedent.
C. misguided = wrong or mistaken. The passage does not judge the mania as an error; it simply notes it follows a historical pattern.


Blank (ii) - ferment

The "academic mania" described-proliferation of journals and conference tracks-is a state of excited intellectual activity and agitation.

Ferment = a state of excited activity, turmoil, or agitation, especially in intellectual or political contexts.


The sentence says such scholarly ferment seldom precedes a medium's finest achievements. Instead, it typically comes after the real creative breakthrough.

Why not the others:

E. detachment = aloofness, objectivity. The mania is the opposite of detachment-it is intense engagement.
F. stagnation = lack of activity. The proliferation of journals and conferences is the opposite of stagnation.

Blank (iii) - innovation

The sentence explains that scholarly ferment signals that a formal innovation has already been accomplished and acknowledged. Once the medium's defining creative breakthrough occurs, a period of "labored imitation and shrinking originality" follows.

Innovation = a new method, idea, or breakthrough. This is the formal achievement that has already passed.


Why not the others:

H. custom = a traditional practice. A "formal custom" does not fit the idea of a creative breakthrough that precedes decline.
I. hazard = a danger or risk. Irrelevant to the context of artistic achievement.