Aesthetics.
The sentence states that “the distinction between architecture
and engineering professions” is that architecture must consider something in
addition to “functionality.” Later, the sentence indicates that architectural
clients base decisions more on beauty than practicality, so architecture must
consider visual appeal as well as functionality. The word that best fits this
meaning is “aesthetics.” “Insouciance,” meaning carelessness or indifference,
does not fit. “Utility,” “price,” and “profundity” are all characteristics that
architects might consider, but they don’t take into account the fact that clients
base their decisions on beauty.
19.
Insensibly.
The phrase “once considered” suggests that whatever follows
is no longer thought to be true, so the blank will oppose the clue “capable of
genuine imitation” and go along with the idea that the bearded dragons were
thought to be acting “without understanding the action’s deeper significance.”
An appropriate choice, then, will mean something like “mindlessly.”
“Listlessly” means unenergetically, while “actively” means the opposite.
“Consciously” is a reversal trap. To do something “attentively” means to do
so with great interest. This leaves “insensibly,” which means unaware or
incapable of perception.
20.
Coda.
There are two possibilities for the blank: something like a bad
ending (yet another bad event occurred in December) or something like an
inconvenience (relative to the other “devastating” events). A “coda” is an
ending that sums up what came before, which, in this case, was pretty bad. A
“rampage” is bad but does not fit grammatically before the word “to,” nor
does it correctly describe an earthquake—rather, murderers or mobs go on
rampages. A “prologue” would be at the beginning of the year, not at the end.
“Catharsis” means an emotional release and doesn’t fit the context of a natural
disaster, which would build up emotional distress rather than release it. And
finally, “homily” is a lecture, sometimes religious, but this doesn’t fit the
context of a natural disaster.
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