Plodding, pedestrian.
That the economy expands at a certain pace is
described as “a problem.” This happens when “wages of the middle class are
stagnant,” showing no activity or only sluggishly growing. The blank, then,
likely refers to a sluggish or slow pace of economic expansion. “Lucrative”
and “profitable” are synonymous with each other, but imply economic
growth, which would not be a problem. An “exponential” pace would be one
that increases at a faster and faster rate, which is opposite the idea of
“stagnant” wages or a “problem” with the economy. If the economy expands
at a “normal” pace, the expansion is typical or expected, which is not negative
enough. Only “plodding,“ which means slow-moving, and “pedestrian,”
which means dull, fit the meaning of the sentence and produce sentences that
are alike in meaning.
133.
Profuse, prolific.
First, examine the structure of the sentence to
determine the role of the blank. “The abilities of microorganisms to [do
something] are more _________ than is commonly thought: from [X], to [Y],
their innovative capabilities know no end.” The blank describes the
“abilities.” The colon indicates that examples will follow of what is meant by
the first part of the sentence. In the idiom “from X, to Y,” the examples X and
Y are just two abilities, and the idiom suggests a range of other abilities in
between. This is further supported by “their innovative capabilities know no
end.” Thus, the blank should be a synonym for “unlimited.” The synonyms
“profuse” and “prolific” mean abundant or plentiful, which fits the desired
meaning. “Advantageous” and “beneficial” are synonyms meaning favorable
or leading to good results. “Accommodating” forms something of a false
triple with the previous pair: it means obliging someone else’s wishes and,
like “beneficial,” is a synonym for helpful. Any of these could describe
“abilities,” but none of the three address the meaning of the idiom or of
capabilities that “know no end.” Finally, “ineffectual” means unproductive, so
this choice is not only unpaired, it is also nearly opposite the intended
meaning.
134.
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