Blank (i)

The first clause describes a quality that "makes a lucid philosophical treatise easy to assimilate at a single sitting" but that "such works sacrifice in richness." The blank must name the quality that enables rapid assimilation - a word meaning clarity, ease of understanding, or approachability. The word "sacrifice" signals that this quality comes at a cost.
- A. opacity - Obscurity, difficulty of understanding. Opacity would make a text harder to assimilate, not easier. Incorrect.
- B. accessibility - Ease of approach or understanding; intelligibility. "The very accessibility that makes a treatise easy to assimilate" perfectly captures the quality that aids quick comprehension but sacrifices richness. Correct.
- C. convolution - Complexity, intricacy, tortuousness. Like "opacity," convolution would impede assimilation, not enable it. Incorrect.

Blank (ii)
The second clause contrasts the lucid text with a "dense, allusive text." This kind of text "refuses to resolve into a single, stable meaning" and offers "a plurality of readings." The blank names the quality that makes such a text attractive despite its difficulty. The structure "the ______ of a dense text lies in its refusal..." requires a positive noun meaning appeal, charm, or attraction.
- D. liability - A disadvantage, burden, or handicap. A liability would not be described as "lying in" the text's richness of meaning in a positive contrast. Incorrect.
- E. allure - Attraction, appeal, charm, fascination. "The allure of a dense, allusive text lies in its refusal to resolve" perfectly captures the seductive quality of ambiguity. Correct.
- F. stigma - A mark of disgrace or shame. A negative term that contradicts the positive framing of the contrast. Incorrect.

Blank (iii)
The dense text offers "a plurality of readings, each as ______ as the next and none enjoying the status of a final interpretation." Since no reading is final, all readings are on equal footing - each is as defensible, legitimate, or justifiable as any other. The blank must mean valid, defensible, or wellfounded.
- G. tenable - Able to be defended or justified; rationally sustainable. "Each as tenable as the next" perfectly captures the idea that all interpretations are equally defensible, with none being definitive. Correct.
- H. candid - Frank, honest, straightforward. "Candid" describes a manner of expression, not the logical status of an interpretation. An interpretation can be candid yet untenable. Incorrect.
- I. entrenched - Firmly established, deeply rooted, habitual. "Entrenched" describes something that is fixed and hard to change - the opposite of what is needed, since the sentence emphasizes that no single reading is fixed or final. Incorrect.