Text Solution:
To correctly answer this Vocab question, we have to carefully consider the highlighted word “drew” in the full context in which it appears and avoid being tempted into choosing a choice that provides a definition of “drew” that somehow relates to a nearby word but doesn’t capture the meaning communicated by “drew” in the context of this passage.
To understand the context in which “drew” appears in the passage, we can reread the entire sentence in which “drew” appears. Rereading that sentence, we see that it says that Darwin “drew … information … from common understanding.” So, we get the sense that, in this context “drew” means something along the lines of “got,” as in “Darwin … got information … from common understanding.”
We can also consider the word “drew” in the context of the overall passage. In doing so, we see that the passage indicates that the “eventual fall” of Darwin’s atoll formation theory resulted from his using in forming his theory a “belief” that was “shown … to be incorrect.” Since that belief was something “included” in common understanding, it makes sense to say that Darwin got that belief from common understanding. Thus, it makes sense that the meaning of “drew” in the context of this passage is “got.”
So, the correct answer must convey this meaning, rather than simply match the meaning of words in the passage near “drew” that don’t mean “got.”
CORRECT ANSWER(A) acquired
As we discussed in the introduction to this explanation, in this passage “drew” is used in the context of “drew … information … from.” So, in the context of this passage “drew” means something along the lines of “got.”
Thus, since “acquired” means “got,” “acquired” matches the meaning communicated by “drew” in the context of this passage.
(B) depicted
This choice could be tempting because, not only is “depicted” (one of the meanings of “drew,” but also “illustrates” appears a few words before “drew” in the passage, and “depict” is a synonym of “illustrate.”
However, we have to be careful not to choose a Vocab question answer choice simply because it conveys the meaning of a word that appears near the highlighted word in the passage.
The correct answer to this Vocab question has to capture the meaning of the “drew” as it is used in the passage, and it doesn’t make sense that Darwin would have “depicted” information from common understanding to form his theory.
(C) proposed
This choice could be tempting because the sentence in which the highlighted word “drew” appears and the preceding sentence mention Darwin’s “theory,” and the word “proposed” is often used in the context of discussing a theory, as in “proposed the theory.”
However, the correct answer to this Vocab question has to capture the meaning of “drew” as it is used in the passage, and “proposed” is not one of the meanings of “drew.”
(D) hypothesized
This choice could be tempting because the sentence in which the highlighted word “drew” appears and the preceding sentence mention Darwin’s “theory,” and the word “hypothesized” is often used in the context of discussing a theory. Also, “hypothesized” is a synonym of “theorized.”
However, we have to be careful not to choose a Vocab question answer choice simply because it matches the meaning of a word that appears near the highlighted word in the passage.
The correct answer to this Vocab question has to capture the meaning of “drew” as it is used in the passage, and “hypothesized” is not one of the meanings of “drew.”
Furthermore, it doesn’t make sense that Darwin would have “hypothesized” information from common knowledge in the process of developing his theory.
(E) sketched
This choice could be tempting because not only is “sketched” one of the meanings of “drew,” but also “illustrates” appears a few words before “drew” in the passage, and “sketch” is a synonym of “illustrate.”
However, we have to be careful not to choose a Vocab question answer choice simply because it conveys the meaning of a word that appears near the highlighted word in the passage.
The correct answer to this Vocab question has to capture the meaning of the “drew” as it is used in the passage, and it doesn’t make sense that Darwin would have “sketched” information from common understanding to form his theory.
Correct answer:
A
