Question 140·Medium·Words in Context
In her memoir, the scientist recounts how her childhood curiosity about the stars eventually ______ her decision to pursue astrophysics, guiding her through years of rigorous study.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words in Context questions, first paraphrase the sentence and focus on the key relationship (cause/effect, contrast, support) and tone (positive/negative). Then, before looking closely at the answer choices, decide what kind of meaning you need (for example, a word meaning “helped,” “contradicted,” or “blocked”). Next, quickly define each option in simple terms and eliminate any that clash with the sentence’s meaning or tone. Finally, plug the remaining word back into the sentence to confirm it produces a clear, natural meaning.
Hints
Use the second half of the sentence
Focus on the phrase after the comma: “guiding her through years of rigorous study.” Does her childhood curiosity seem to be helping her, hurting her, or hiding something?
Identify the relationship between curiosity and decision
Ask yourself: Is her childhood curiosity causing the decision to pursue astrophysics, opposing it, or covering it up?
Check each word’s general meaning and tone
Think about whether each option suggests support, contradiction, blockage, or concealment. Only a word with a supportive, guiding meaning will match the sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the basic meaning of the sentence
Paraphrase the sentence in your own words: the scientist is saying that her early curiosity about stars later affected her choice to study astrophysics and helped guide her through many years of hard studying. This is a positive, cause-and-effect relationship between childhood curiosity and a later decision.
Identify what kind of word is needed
The blank comes before “her decision to pursue astrophysics,” and the phrase after the comma, “guiding her through years of rigorous study,” reinforces that her curiosity helped or influenced her path. So we need a verb that describes her curiosity leading to or forming that decision, not blocking or hiding it.
Eliminate choices that clash with the meaning
Go through the clearly incorrect answers:
- belied means contradicted or gave a false impression of. That would mean her curiosity made her decision seem false, which does not match the idea of it guiding her.
- impeded means blocked, slowed, or hindered. That would mean her curiosity got in the way of her decision or studies, which is the opposite of “guiding her through years of rigorous study.”
- disguised means concealed or hid. That would mean her curiosity hid her decision, which also clashes with the idea that it guided her.
All three suggest some kind of contradiction, obstacle, or concealment, which does not fit the positive guiding relationship described.
Confirm the best remaining choice
The remaining option, “shaped,” means influenced, formed, or molded her decision. This fits perfectly with the idea that her early curiosity about the stars eventually shaped her decision to pursue astrophysics, guiding her through years of rigorous study, so the correct answer is C) shaped.