Last visit was: 15 Nov 2024, 20:28 It is currently 15 Nov 2024, 20:28

Close

GRE Prep Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GRE score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Close

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel
Verbal Expert
Joined: 18 Apr 2015
Posts: 29961
Own Kudos [?]: 36241 [11]
Given Kudos: 25909
Send PM
avatar
Director
Director
Joined: 09 Nov 2018
Posts: 505
Own Kudos [?]: 133 [1]
Given Kudos: 0
Send PM
avatar
Intern
Intern
Joined: 06 Jun 2019
Posts: 7
Own Kudos [?]: 5 [0]
Given Kudos: 0
Send PM
GRE Prep Club Tests Editor
Joined: 13 May 2019
Affiliations: Partner at MyGuru LLC.
Posts: 186
Own Kudos [?]: 332 [4]
Given Kudos: 5
Location: United States
GMAT 1: 770 Q51 V44
GRE 1: Q169 V168
WE:Education (Education)
Send PM
Re: Perhaps then the greatest failing of this deluge of positive [#permalink]
3
Expert Reply
1
Bookmarks
Carcass wrote:
Perhaps then the greatest failing of this deluge of positive psychology books is not that they (i) ______ the complexity typical of psychology in general— and in this case replace it with a breezy glibness— but that they dispense advice that is so (ii) ______ and littered with platitudes as to be bereft of the very succor the public requires during our (iii) ______ times.

Blank (i)Blank (ii)Blank (iii)
(A) invoke(D) pat(G) heady
(B) address(E) evocative(H) trying
(C) eschew(F) convoluted(I) halcyon

To solve hard multi-blank GRE Text Completions, consider the subject of the blank and what is known about that subject to predict your own word(s) for the blanks one-at-a-time.

For the first blank
Subject: "greatest failing of positive psychology books" as pertains to "typical complexity"
Know: matches "replace typical complexity with breezy glibness"

As our prediction for the first blank we can simply reuse "replace".
(A) invoke - Does not match "replace" in this context. Eliminate Choice A.
(B) address - Does not match "replace" in this context. Eliminate Choice B.
(C) eschew - Matches "replace" in this context. Keep Choice C.

For the second blank
Subject: "advice of positive psychology books" as pertains to "this case" of "breezy glibness"
Know: matches "breezy glibness"

As our prediction for the second blank we can simply repurpose "glibness" into its simpler form "glib", which means overly simplistic.
(D) pat - Secondary definition of "trite" or "simple" matches the prediction. Keep Choice D.
(E) evocative - Reversal of the prediction. Eliminate Choice E.
(F) convoluted - Reversal of the prediction as "convoluted" is the opposite of "simple". Eliminate Choice F.

For the third blank
Subject: "our times"
Know: matches "succor public requires" and is opposite of "glibness"

As our prediction for the third blank we can simply take the opposite of "glibness" such as serious.
(G) heady - Broad reversal of the prediction. Eliminate Choice G.
(H) trying - Secondary adjectivial definition of "hard" or "difficult" matches the prediction. Keep Choice H.
(I) halcyon - Broad reversal of the prediction. Eliminate Choice I.

Read each of the kept choices into the sentence to ensure it creates a coherent meaning throughout the sentence. Once confirmed, select Choices C, D, and H.
GRE Instructor
Joined: 24 Dec 2018
Posts: 1065
Own Kudos [?]: 1424 [1]
Given Kudos: 24
Send PM
Perhaps then the greatest failing of this deluge of positive [#permalink]
1
Carcass wrote:
Perhaps then the greatest failing of this deluge of positive psychology books is not that they (i) ______ the complexity typical of psychology in general— and in this case replace it with a breezy glibness— but that they dispense advice that is so (ii) ______ and littered with platitudes as to be bereft of the very succor the public requires during our (iii) ______ times.

Blank (i)Blank (ii)Blank (iii)
(A) invoke(D) pat(G) heady
(B) address(E) evocative(H) trying
(C) eschew(F) convoluted(I) halcyon


They are talking about the failing of the deluge of positive psychology books. And in this case, it has got something to do with the "complexity typical of psychology books". Therefore, the only possible choice is eschew. For if they address it, or invoke it, it would be appropriate and correct, because the complexity is typical of psychology books. The fact that they replace the complexity with a glibness further tells us that the original complexity was dispensed with (eschewed).

Next the real failing is described - "they dispense advice that is so ______ and littered with platitudes....". We need a word that is a synonym or related to platitudes. Pat (glib and unconvincing) is the only correct choice, as it is related to platitudes (cliches which have lost their force and meaning) and is also a synonym of glib - and we know that the book contains breezy glibness.

And next - "as to be so bereft of the very succor that the public requires during our ____ times". Only during difficult times that the public requires help, so the word for the blank can only be trying. Halcyon refers to golden period and heady means intoxicating or exhilarating, not the right word.
User avatar
SVP
SVP
Joined: 07 Jan 2021
Posts: 1688
Own Kudos [?]: 53 [0]
Given Kudos: 0
Send PM
Re: Perhaps then the greatest failing of this deluge of positive [#permalink]
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.
Prep Club for GRE Bot
Re: Perhaps then the greatest failing of this deluge of positive [#permalink]
Moderators:
GRE Forum Moderator
37 posts
GRE Instructor
234 posts
GRE Instructor
1065 posts

Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group | Emoji artwork provided by EmojiOne