Verbal Challenge Question:
Having been chastised once for impropriety, the professor—now more cognizant of the sensibilities of her students—tried to refrain from mentioning topics that might be upsetting and used _______ language when those topics could not be avoided.
A) Delicate
B) Callous
C) Prolix
D) Verbose
E) Euphemistic
F) Elucidatory
Choose all that Apply !
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:
In this sentence, the phrase “having been” is a straight-ahead road sign that indicates a logical succession of ideas in the sentence. We can predict that because the professor had been reprimanded for being offensive, she must subsequently have used language she hoped would be inoffensive or language that would soften unavoidable but potentially upsetting topics.
Answer choices (A) delicate, “considerate of others’ feelings,” and (E) euphemistic, “substituting a mild or indirect term for a blunt or offensive one,” match this prediction; both choices describe language meant to present potentially offensive material in an inoffensive way. These are the correct answers.
Answer choice (B) callous means “insensitive,” so it is the exact opposite of what we want and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choices (C) prolix and (D) verbose mean “excessively wordy,” which would not make offensive topics sound less offensive, so both are incorrect.
Answer choice (F) elucidatory is incorrect because it means “clarifying,” which also would not make an offensive topic seem less offensive.
Answer Choices (A) and (E) are the correct answers.
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