PP1 (Shorter) Verbal Section 2 (Medium) Q10

Pairing Up

First things first. We use the Pairing Strategy to identify any synonym pairs among the six answer choices.

- Pair 1: pristine/undisturbed (both mean untouched, in its original state)
- Pair 2: endangered/vulnerable (both mean susceptible to risk or danger)

We can now eliminate the other two answer choices since they cannot be paired: blighted and picturesque.

The Right Answer

We can use Math Strategy to figure out the blank. The comma just after the blank indicates support, looking to the right-hand side we can see that the vegetation has been "decimated or destroyed". The left side of the comma should also have this idea, but since the blank is preceded by "Far from", it should be a contrasting word to "decimated", something like "intact".

• [[far from (-)] i)----------] [, (=)] having been decimated

Alternatively, we can use the Block of 4 strategy with the contrast between "having been" and "far from":

• having been: decimated

• far from: i)---------

Once again, the blank should be something indicating the opposite of "destroyed".

The best match for this is the pair pristine/undisturbed.

The Wrong Answers

endangered/vulnerable: This pair contradicts the logic since the vegetation IS vulnerable to damage since it has been trampled on by hikers, so it would NOT BE FAR FROM endangered.