Question 148·Easy·Words in Context
In his autobiography, the renowned chef writes that the years he spent washing dishes were _____ to his later success, giving him patience and an eye for detail.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For words-in-context questions, first paraphrase the sentence in your own words and decide the general idea needed in the blank (for example, helping vs. hurting, central vs. unimportant). Then quickly check each choice against that idea and the sentence’s tone, eliminating options whose basic meanings (like “against,” “unrelated,” or “in conflict”) do not match the relationship shown by the surrounding context. Avoid choosing a word just because it “sounds smart”; make sure it fits the exact role described in the sentence.
Hints
Use the second half of the sentence
Focus on the phrase after the comma: "giving him patience and an eye for detail." Ask yourself: does this describe something good for his career or something bad?
Think about the relationship between the two parts
Is the sentence saying that washing dishes helped his success, hurt his success, or had almost nothing to do with his success? That overall relationship is what the blank must express.
Match the option to the overall tone
The tone here is respectful and positive about the chef’s early years. Eliminate any choice that suggests conflict, damage, or that the experience was barely related to his success.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the basic meaning of the sentence
Paraphrase the sentence: The chef says that the time he spent washing dishes affected his later success by giving him patience and an eye for detail. This shows a positive cause-and-effect relationship between washing dishes and success.
Decide what kind of word belongs in the blank
The blank describes how the dishwashing years relate to his later success: those years led to or contributed to his success (because he gained patience and attention to detail). So we need a word that matches a helpful, contributing role, not something negative or unrelated.
Test each answer choice against the sentence meaning
Insert each option:
- "the years he spent washing dishes were opposed to his later success" implies the dishwashing worked against his success, which conflicts with the positive description.
- "were tangential to his later success" means they were only slightly related or almost irrelevant, but the sentence shows they mattered.
- "were contradictory to his later success" means they were in conflict with his success, again contradicting the idea that they helped.
- The remaining option is the only one that fits a helpful, strongly connected role in his later success.
Choose the word that best fits the positive, causal role
The only word that correctly shows the dishwashing years as playing a key, helpful role in causing his later success is D) instrumental.