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Text Solution:

We’re told that “an activity’s purpose can change dramatically from one generation to the next,” and the colon signals that the portion of the sentence containing the blank should agree with that statement. So, it must be that games that “are now used for lighthearted recreation” were previously not “lighthearted,” since we need to convey a dramatic change.

(A) boisterous

“Lighthearted (carefree and happy) recreation” does not represent a dramatic change from “games that once reflected boisterous (cheerfully noisy and energetic) realities.” Those two things are in keeping with each other. Thus, this choice goes in the opposite direction of what we need.

However, we should also note that it is not logical to describe “realities” as “boisterous.” People and events (where there are people) may be “boisterous,” but “realities” cannot be boisterous any more than “facts” can be boisterous.

(B) trivial

“Lighthearted recreation” does not represent a dramatic change from “games that once reflected trivial (unimportant, of no consequence) realities.” If anything, those two things seem to be in keeping with each other.

(C) auspicious

“Lighthearted recreation” does not represent a dramatic change from “games that once reflected auspicious (favorable, promising) realities.” If anything, those two things seem to be in keeping with each other. Thus, this choice goes in the opposite direction of what we need.

(D) intricate

“Intricate” (complex and elaborate) does not directly relate to whether something is “lighthearted.” In other words, a game could be intricate and still lighthearted, or it could be intricate but not lighthearted. So, we can’t clearly say that a game has changed “dramatically” if it goes from reflecting “intricate realities” to being “lighthearted recreation.” The word “dramatically” tells us that the word we need must convey that there was a very noticeable and significant change.

CORRECT ANSWER(E) somber

This is the only choice that conveys a dramatic change from “lighthearted recreation.” After all, “games that once reflected somber (gloomy, not cheerful) realities” are the opposite of “lighthearted recreation.” Thus, this choice fits the context best.

LEARNING JOURNAL

What went wrong, and what can you do differently next time?

Was there a particular sticking point, breakdown in your logic or conceptual knowledge, bad habit, or careless mistake that led you to the wrong answer? At what point in your process did that error occur?

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