The activists’ energetic work in the service of both woman suffrage and the
temperance movement in the late nineteenth century (i)__________ the assertion that
the two movements were (ii)__________.
Blank (i) Blank (ii)
• A undermines • D diffuse
• B supports • E inimical
• C underscores • F predominant
I chose supports and predominant as the work was energetic and thus supports the assertion that the movements were predominant. Can you let me know where I went wrong?
This is a double possibility:
The work on both movements reinforces the claim that the movements were harmonious
The work on both movements belies the claim that the movements were at odds
Looking at the choices to support the first possibility, we have (i) supports, which works, but nothing suitable for the second blank. Predominant would mean these were the major movements of the era, but the sentence itself says nothing about popularity or power. Plus, predominant doesn’t say anything about the harmoniousness of the two movements.
So instead we have to choose options that support the second possibility.
but where is it hinted that they were harmonious or odd?
We are told that the degree of the activist’s fervor for both movements indicates something about how the two movements are related to each other. Either it is surprising (at odds) or expected (harmonious) that the same people would work on both movements.
Also note that “at odds” does not mean the same thing as “odd”.