Part A: You’re correct about “though” as a contrast signal, and your conclusion that the words will be opposites. However, I would push back on using “different/no different” as the filler words. No different doesn’t fill the meaning of Blank 2 — it’s a setup to explain how scientists are like everyone else.
Part B: I agree the colon is support for blank 1, but does it also support for blank 2? Look at the words after the blank: “human beings enmeshed in a web of personal and social circumstances”.
This is what fills the meaning of blank 2–it describes in what way the scientists are “no different” from the rest of us. Since the scientists are unable to escape outside influences, we know they are something closer tobiased.
If blank 2 is biased, we need a contrasting word for blank 1: unbiased.
That’s why answer choice D, disinterested/passionate, works:
- disinterested: * free from selfish or interest; unbiased*
- passionate: showing or caused by strong feelings or a strong belief
Eliminating fervent/vulnerable: we need options that are opposites of each other, so let’s first see if these words work as opposites:
- fervent: exhibiting or marked by great intensity of feeling
- vulnerable: open to attack or harm
These don’t really have any effect on each other, meaning they aren’t opposites, and can be eliminated.
Your Practice Scores
It’s hard to assess the quality of your practice scores without knowing:
- How long you’ve been studying
- Your target score
- How long until your test
Everyone has different goals, so there’s no universal “good” or “bad”.
As for ways to improve, please check this post out: