GRE Big book text 11 section 3 Q4

GRE Verbal Problem Solving
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Borrowing a copyrighted book from a library
amounts to a form of theft ------- by entrenched
custom: the copyright owner’s property, the book,
is used repeatedly without ------- for such use.
(A) engendered … application
(B) anticipated … acknowledgment
(C) sanctioned … compensation
(D) provoked … adjustment
(E) perpetrated … permission

I choose ans E but the actual ans is C
Thought process – i eliminated opt B and D cause does not fit.

i am confused between which option (out of the remaining ones) to choose. Also what strategy to use when solving this type of question. @gregmat

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It sounds like you would benefit from our video on Following the Process for text completion questions. You can find those here: Follow The Process - GregMat Course - GregMat

Those videos will teach you how you should approach a TC Question like this from beginning to end.

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Thank you so muchh!! i been lookin for the exact stuff… i binged the whole verbal section.

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It will be better if you can elaborate a little on your thought process.
as this is too shallow of an approach. It;s similar to how someone may explain this question to you and just say that C is correct because it’s the best fit among the given answer choices without elaborating on how they arrived at this conclusion or why other answer choices are wrong. You will gain nothing from their explanation.

Anyways here is how I will solve it:
First we will try to find clues from the given question:

  • “Form of theft”: Indicates an action that is ethically or legally questionable.
  • “Entrenched custom”: Suggests a widely accepted practice.
  • “Used repeatedly without…”: This implies there’s something missing in the transaction, something that should be given to the copyright owner but isn’t.

Then we evaluate each answer choices :

  • (A) engendered … application: ‘Engendered’ means caused, and ‘application’ in this context doesn’t fit. The sentence needs words that suggest a missing ethical or legal component.
  • (B) anticipated … acknowledgment: ‘Anticipated’ doesn’t align with the idea of an unethical practice, and ‘acknowledgment’ doesn’t fit the context of a missing ethical or legal requirement.
  • (C) sanctioned … compensation: ‘Sanctioned’ can mean approved, fitting the ‘entrenched custom’ part. ‘Compensation’ fits well with the idea of something that should be given for the use of copyrighted material.
  • (D) provoked … adjustment: ‘Provoked’ doesn’t align with the tone of the sentence, and ‘adjustment’ doesn’t address the ethical/legal aspect of copyright.
  • (E) perpetrated … permission: ‘Perpetrated’ suggests a negative action but ‘permission’ doesn’t fit the context of something missing or required.
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Thank youu!!