Verbal Challenge: The nation’s people were so hungry for a politician...

GRE Verbal Challenge Question: 

The nation’s people were so hungry for a politician who would tell them the truth that they received the candidate enthusiastically, despite the fact that his ________ was so different from theirs.

A) ideology
B) candor
C) deportment
D) dogma
E) credence
F) constitution


Directions: Select the two answer choices that, when used to complete the sentence, fit the meaning of the sentence as a whole and produce completed sentences that are alike in meaning.

Explanation:

The word “despite” is a detour road sign that indicates a contrast. The population is enthusiastic about the candidate; what follows the word “despite” will be a reason why they might, under different circumstances, not be so enthusiastic. Generally, people vote for politicians who share their own ideas, so a good prediction would be “despite the fact that his ideas were so different from theirs.” 

Answer choices (A) ideology, meaning “set of ideas and beliefs,” and (D) dogma, meaning “a set of beliefs,” match our prediction and are the correct answers.

Answer choices (B) candor, meaning “honesty,” and (E) credence, meaning “credibility,” match the population’s desire for truth described in the first part of the sentence. However, we are looking for a reason that the population might not embrace the candidate, so these choices are incorrect. 

Answer choice (C) deportment means “behavior,” which makes sense in the sentence, but there is no second choice that produces a logically similar meaning, so this choice is incorrect.

 Answer choice (F) constitution when used to refer to a person means “physical health” and would not make sense in context.

Choices (A) and (D) are the correct answers.