PP1 (Shorter) Verbal Section 2 (Hard) Q10

Pairing Up

First things first. We use the Pairing Strategy to identify any synonym pairs among the six answer choices. There are usually two, sometimes one, sometimes three. We call the "triple pair" the Great White Buffalo.

• Pair 1: be keen on / be inclined to

• Pair 2: dispense with / turn its back on

The words arrange and credit are NOT a pair, so we cross them out: arrange and credit.

The Right Answer

Use Math Strategy to identify a relationship between the ideas in the sentence. The "but" after the word "evidence" tells us that the first idea is in contrast to the second. Looking to the right of "but," we see that it would be a scandal if "trials were avoided." If we rephrase that, it means the government should definitely do the trials. The idea to the left of "but" has to be the opposite of that and indicate that the government should NOT do the trials. Because we have the word "hardly" before the blank, which basically means "no" or "not" in GRE-land, we should guess a word like "hardly want to do the trials."

The best match for this guess is the pair be keen on / be inclined to.

The Wrong Answer

• dispense with / turn its back on: This pair contradicts the logic of the sentence. If the government could "hardly turn its back on" trials, that would support the second idea in the sentence after "but." But we want a contrast -- not a support.