A vocabulary question tests whether you can use the text to work out a missing word's meaning. Read the whole text and look for the clue and its direction. A contrast word sets two ideas against each other, so ask which idea describes what the blank must mean. Then predict in plain words and test each choice by its meaning. Reject words that sound possible for the topic but don't express what the clue shows.
Hints
- Hint 1
Find the word that signals a contrast at the start of the sentence. Which part of the sentence tells you how the program seems?
- Hint 2
In the second half, check what the host's reactions suggest. What does spontaneous mean, and how would those reactions make the program seem?
Step-by-step
Use the contrast and predict
Step 1Read the contrast
The opening Although the new cooking show is filmed in a studio sets up a contrast. What is set against that studio setting? The host's reactions affect how the program seems, so the missing word needs to describe how the show feels to viewers, not where it's made.
- Step 2
Predict from the reactions
What do the host's spontaneous reactions tell us about that feeling? Spontaneous means happening naturally, without being planned ahead. Those reactions can make the show feel genuine rather than staged, even though it's filmed in a studio. Let's predict real or genuine, because the host's natural behavior is what makes the program seem a certain way.
- Step 3
Test the meanings
Tedious means boring, and intangible means unable to be touched; neither describes whether the show feels natural. Rehearsed means practiced in advance, which goes against unplanned responses. Authentic means genuine, so it describes how real the show feels because of the host's spontaneous reactions. Choice C.