Directions : A grammatically correct and contextually meaningful statement has…
2021
Directions : A grammatically correct and contextually meaningful statement has been given in each of the following questions. Five similar sentences have been placed next to each statement, one of which is contextually similar in meaning to the one given in the question. Choose the most appropriate sentence that conveys the same meaning as the given statement.
The idea of governments monitoring the operations of religious institutions appears to be repugnant to a democratic republic on the surface.
- A.
On the surface, the idea of governments overseeing religious institutions appears to be appealing to a democratic republic.
- B.
On the surface, the idea of governments supervising religious institutions appears to be incompatible with a democratic republic.
- C.
On the surface, the idea of governments overseeing religious institutions looks to be enticing to an autocratic nation.
- D.
The idea of governments supervising religious institutions looks to be tempting to a constitutional democracy on the surface.
- E.
On the surface, the idea of governments monitoring religious institutions appears to be intriguing to a constitutional democracy.
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
In a sentence-equivalence task, the goal is to pick the option whose overall meaning matches the original. The decision turns on the key evaluative word. Here that word is "repugnant", which means strongly objectionable or distasteful, and in formal usage about systems and laws it means inconsistent or incompatible with something. So the original says: government monitoring of religious institutions seems, at first glance, to clash with the values of a democratic republic.
Application
Match the meaning, not just the surface words. The equivalent sentence must keep two things intact: (1) the negative judgement carried by "repugnant", and (2) the entity it is judged against, namely a democratic republic, where a constitutional democracy means the same thing.
The sentence built on "incompatible with a democratic republic" preserves both: "incompatible" carries the same negative, clashing sense as "repugnant", and the entity stays a democratic republic.
Contrast
Each remaining option breaks the match on the evaluative word, the entity, or both:
"appealing to a democratic republic" reverses the judgement and makes the idea attractive, the opposite of objectionable.
"enticing to an autocratic nation" reverses the judgement (enticing means attractive) and also swaps the entity from a democracy to an autocracy.
"tempting to a constitutional democracy" again flips the sense to positive (tempting means attractive).
"intriguing to a constitutional democracy" makes the idea fascinating and attractive, once more the opposite of repugnant.
Only the "incompatible with a democratic republic" version keeps both the negative meaning and the correct entity, so it conveys the same meaning as the original.