SAT OwlQuestion bank / Words in Context
The painter's early critics found her canvases ______, complaining that her symbols were so private that viewers could not follow them. Later scholars, working with her letters and journals, discovered that nearly every puzzling symbol referred to a specific place or event in her life.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
obscure
conventional
cheerful
crowded
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The critics complained that the symbols were so private that viewers couldn't follow them. Work that is hard to understand is "obscure."
Choice D might describe busy canvases, but the complaint is that the symbols couldn't be understood, not that there were too many.
Why the other choices are wrong
- B. Symbols too private for viewers to follow are the opposite of conventional.
- C. The complaint is about how hard the work is to understand, not its mood.
- D. The critics objected that the symbols couldn't be followed, not that the canvases held too much.
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