Big Book Verbal Question confusion!

GRE Verbal Problem Solving
1

image
I assumed that the answer to be opt A but the correct one is opt E can anyone please explain? I have used the Math strategy (although for contrast)

Help appreciated!

2

The clue here is “formal education”. If Shakespeare had received it, he would have been taught the works of classical authors.
For blank 2, choice is “unfamiliar with”.
For blank 1, “Although” creates a contrast.
General view ==> education ==> familiar with earlier works
To create a contrast, it would be to undermine/weaken the general view

1 Like
3

This one is quite tough, in my opinion.

[Although (-)] Shakespeare received little formal education, scholarship has in recent years ------ the view that he was ------- the work of classical authors.

Although would contrast what is left and to the right of the comma, so the idea on the right has to be something like “scholars went against the idea that shakespeare was formally educated”.

Also, there is a time contrast “in recent years” which suggests the idea to the left (from the past) is now suggested to be incorrect.

However, because we have 2 blanks missing, the right hand side is a block of 4 that can be one of the following:

  • scholars have proven that he was formally educated
  • scholars have proven wrong that he wasn’t formally educated

For scenario one:

  • Blank 1 has to be something like “proven” or “shown”, so “substantiated” works.
  • Blank 2 has to be something like “he was formally educated”, so being “influenced by” or “obsessed by” the classics works.

However, in old GRE the choices are paired, and we can’t pair a possible Blank 1 with a possible Blank 2 so this scenario is not what is happening.

For scenario two:

  • Blank 1 has to be something like “proven wrong” so “eroded” or “questioned” or “undermined” works.
  • Blank 2 has to be something like “he wasn’t formally educated”, so being “oblivious to” or “unfamiliar with” classical authors works.

Here, we can match “undermined” and “unfamiliar with”, so this must be the scenario.

Is the answer E - undermined…unfamiliar with ?

I don’t think you would get a question like this in the new GRE, because it relies on the pairing of the answers.