Although the professor's early lectures were praised for their clarity, her later talks grew increasingly ______, leaving even her most devoted students confused.
- Alucid
- Bconcise
- Copaque
- Dengaging
- Erehearsed
Text completion: although signals a reversal
Try it before you scroll. Two minutes on the clock, then commit to an answer.
Correct answer: C
Two signals point the same direction. “Although” sets up a contrast with “clarity,” so the blank needs a word meaning unclear. The result clause confirms it: the talks left students confused.
- (C) opaque means not able to be seen through, and by extension hard to understand. It reverses clarity and produces confusion. Correct.
- (A) lucid is a synonym of clear, exactly what “although” tells you the later talks are not.
- (B) concise means brief; brevity would not confuse devoted students, and it does not contrast with clarity.
- (D) engaging is positive, so it breaks the contrast and fails to explain the confusion.
- (E) rehearsed describes delivery, not understandability, and does not oppose clarity.
The method: find the pivot word (although, but, yet, despite), identify what is being contrasted (early clarity vs later talks), then pick the choice that completes the reversal. When a sentence gives you both a pivot and a result clause, treat them as two independent confirmations. Here both point to opaque.