Craft and StructureEasyChoosing a precise adjective in a biography
Craft and Structure practice question
The botanist Ynes Mexia was a ____ record keeper: for forty years she noted the location, date, and condition of every specimen she collected, filling dozens of notebooks.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
- A. meticulousCorrect
- B. careless
- C. occasional
- D. reluctant
Answer: A. meticulous
Recording every specimen in notebooks for forty years shows extreme care and thoroughness — 'meticulous.'
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. careless
- 'Careless' contradicts the detailed forty-year record the sentence describes.
- C. occasional
- 'Occasional' contradicts 'every specimen' and the unbroken forty years.
- D. reluctant
- Nothing suggests she hesitated; the sentence stresses her thoroughness.
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