Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / November 2003

There was obviously anotehr sentence beforehand taht was being
contrasted with this statement. Otherwise it's unnecessary.

Personally I can't understand the sentence with any of the alternatives
on offer - and I'm a native speaker and an English teacher - what kind
of crazy examples are they using in this test?

Have you already doine this test? Which answer do you think is correct?

Regardcs, Einde

It means something like "even so": "Even if they are intelligent and high
achievers, people can be..." Is the correct answer (E)?

(A)

Adrian

Though I'm a native speaker, this question doesn't make any obvious
sense. Since this is the GRE, however, the test of it may be to pick
the only word-pair that don't imply a contradiction.

In picking answer D, you are accusing these people both of truculence
(being disposed to violence) AND of lacking independence. That sort
implies a contradiction - being truculent AND dependent.

In picking answer C, you are accusing these people both of being
obsequious (servile) AND of lacking deference. That's an outright
contradiction.

In picking answer A, you are accusing these people both of being
devious (dishonest) AND perhaps of lacking the propensity
(inclination) to be devious.

I'd personally pick B, since this answer says these people are so
culpable (already guilty of some misdeed) and lacking in prosperity
(means or money) that they would break the law to further their own
ends.

I'm positive here that the answer is A.

To debunk usually means to disprove. Categorically in this sense means
"without exception".

A number of scientists have published articles DEBUNKING (disproving)
global warming, stating CATEGORICALLY (emphatically, and without
exception) that there is no solid scientific evidence to support the
theory that the Earth is warming because of increases in greenhouse
gases.

E would be a contradiction: The sentence would read that scientists
have proven global warming, only to candidly state that there is no
scientific evidence for it.

D wouldn't make much sense, either: In it, scientists dismiss the idea
of global warming (as being untrue) but only hesitantly claim that
there is no solid scientific evidence to support the existence of
global warming.

C doesn't make any sense at all: In this sentence, scientists deplore
(speak against and despise) global warming, then optimistically deny
its existence.

The same is true of B, which implies a contradiction: Scientists
REJECT the idea of global warming, only to PARADOXICALLY (implying
contradiction against their original point) reject evidence for global
warming.

Oops!

What I meant to say in my last post was that "Though I'm a native
speaker, this question doesn't make any obvious sense. Since this is
the GRE, however, the test of it may be to pick the only word-pair
that DOESN'T imply a contradiction."