sandy wrote:
Although the Wright brothers' first attempted flight in 1896 was a _____________ and subsequent efforts similarly ended in failure, they persisted and ultimately made the first successful airplane flight 1903.
A) Fiasco
B) Debacle
C) Hindrance
D) Feat
E) Triumph
F) Precedent
Explanation: fiasco and debacle are the only pair of synonyms among the options.
The key words here are ALTHOUGH and SIMILARLY
We can write: ALTHOUGH their first attempted flight was a _______ and other efforts SIMILARLY were BAD, the brothers persisted.
This tells us that the brothers persisted DESPITE facing adversity (bad experiences)
Let's predict BAD EXPERIENCE for the blank.
Now check the answer choices....
We can eliminate D, E and F because these words aren't negative.
Among the remaining answer choices, A and B are synonyms.
Aside: HINDRANCE is not quite the same as FIASCO and DEBACLE.
A HINDRANCE is something that prevents you from doing something. In of itself, HINDRANCE does not connote a BAD EXPERIENCE.
Answer: A, B
Cheers,
Brent