Why not astute?

You do need a negative connotation word such as unsound. The argument is bad, actually.

Astute is positive: means cunning.

Regards

I still do not get why we have to use a negative connotation to complete this sentence. As far as I see, there are two ways this sentence can be interpreted,

1) The reasoning behind the editorial is so irrational that no one should be deceived into thinking that it is logical.

2) The reasoning behind the editorial is sound enough that no one should be deceived into thinking it is unsound.

The answers go with 1) but as far as I can see, the word 'it' at the end of the sentence refers to the editorial, not to the logical stance of reasoning.

I never expect to take the voice tone (postive vs negative ) into consideration. I just thought "never be deceived" hints that the argument is strong and convincing.

The subject of the sentence is “the reasoning”.

The conjunctions “so-that” indicate the extent of the quality of the reasoning in the editorial. The conjunctions are followed by the clause “we cannot see how anyone can be deceived by it”.

If we were to put a word into the blank going by the clues in the sentence, the sentence could be as follows - the reasoning is so illogical that we cannot see how anyone can be deceived by it.
If it is obvious that the reasoning is illogical, that would be reason enough to say that we cannot see how anyone can be deceived by it.

The word ‘unsound’ conveys a similar meaning to illogical. So, it is one of the words that fits into the blank.

Coherent, which means ordered or consistent, has a positive connotation and so doesn’t fit into the blank.

Astute, which means to be mentally sharp or clever, also has a positive connotation and so, does not fit into the blank.

Dispassionate, which means not affected by personal involvement, does not suit the context of the sentence.

Scrupulous, which means having moral integrity, also does not suit the context of the sentence.

Specious, which means having a false look of truth, is the only other word that fits into the blank. If the reasoning only has an appearance of truth, then again no one can be deceived by it.

So, the most appropriate options are A and F.

Jayanthi Kumar.

Why not B and D. Although not direct synonyms, they produce a sentence alike in meaning that the reasoning was so clear, lucid, thorough including all the details that the reader cannot be deceived by any hidden information.

OE

I still do not get why we have to use a negative connotation to complete this sentence.
As far as I see, there are two ways this sentence can be interpreted,

The reasoning behind the editorial is so irrational that no one should be deceived into thinking that it is logical.

The reasoning behind the editorial is sound enough that no one should be deceived into thinking it is unsound.

you forget CANNOT. it is categorical in its imprinting in the way the sentence conveyed its meaning

We CANNOT have two interpreations

Hello from the GRE Prep Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GRE Prep Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.