(GRE Big Book) Test 6 Text Completion Problems Q13

GRE GRE Verbal Problem Solving
1

Although Johnson ------- great enthusiasm for his employees’ project, in reality his interest in the project was so ------- as to be almost non-existent.

The correct answer is feigned…perfunctory.

I did this question using math strategy the same way as described in the solutions. I did B2 first because it was easier-- I used “as” as support–so B2 should support the idea that he was not interested. B2 could be “minimal.” Then I identified B1 to be part of an idea that contrasted the idea that we was not actually interested using the word “although.” Thus, B2 would have to be “showed.” Using this logic I eliminated “feigned” because if he “faked” enthusiasm, that contradicts the logic–it supports the fact that he is not interested… but this is obviously incorrect, why?

(on the other hand, perfunctory made perfect sense)

2

You are spot on with your analysis, but you ignored a key phrase, “in reality”.

Although sets up a contrast between idea 1 and idea 2, like you said, but “in reality” gives/narrows down the specific contrast : Appearance Vs Reality or Fake Vs Reality.

An Example to illustrate this point:

Although Johnson showed enthusiasm at the start, his interest in the project later waned as the weeks went by.

Notice how “showed” works in this context because, the contrast isn’t “Fake Vs Reality” but "Beginning Vs Now" or “Start Vs Later”.

Hence, more than one contrast can be set-up by “although”, but “in reality” shows the specific contrast to use/expect here.