PP1 (Shorter) Verbal Section 2 (Medium) Q11

Pairing Up

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

• Pair 1: apposite/germane (both mean relevant or appropriate)

• Pair 2: ahistorical/anachronistic (both from a different time period)

• Pair 3: disinterested/objective (both mean unbiased and impartial)

We have a rare triple pair here, so we can't eliminate any answers.

The Right Answer

We can use Math Strategy here. The word "from" indicates a continuation, looking to the right, we can see "present-day partisans", so the left-hand side should also have a similar idea. So, the blank should be something indicating either "present-day" or "partisan".

The best match here would be the pair ahistorical/anachronistic. This pair does convey the meaning of "present-day" IN THIS PARTICULAR SENTENCE. If we use some logic here, we can see that she is "reckoning" about stuff in the past, so the ideas/commentary from "present-day" would be "anachronistic" in relation to her objectives.

The Wrong Answers

• apposite/germane: This pair has no evidence. We don't know how relevant the present-day commentary is to studying the past.

• disinterested/objective: This pair contradicts the logic. Remember that based on our math strategy the blank can indicate the idea of "partisan" or "biased". This is the opposite, going against the logic of the sentence.