Hi everyone,
For this example, i focused on the words ‘traditions’ and ‘methodologies’ for the first blank, so I expected it to be ‘a new’ source or something of that nature. I understand that we were supposed to focus on the word ‘several’, but that what cam to my mind first. I was wondering if anyone can talk me through the logic of why they would choose several, and how I should approach other similar questions to avoid making the same mistake?
Hi there, the first blank is an adjective that describes “source”, so we’ll need to look at the next idea to find clues for that. Note that there are some similarities in their sentence structure:
- 1[His philosophy] 2[can be traced to] 3[___ source].
- 1[The philosophy] 2[draws liberally on] 3[several traditions and methodologies].
Here, “source” is sort of like a synonym for “traditions and methodologies”. The next idea uses “several” to describe “traditions and methodologies”. Since we know it’s a contrast from “despite”, we should use an antonym for “several”, like “one” or “single”.
If you’re still having trouble understanding this, it might help if you watch a video on “previously referenced” or “grammar strategy”.