Question 38·Medium·Words in Context
While public campaigns often highlight the most dramatic climate projections, the report emphasizes adopting a more ______ tone, acknowledging both the urgency of the crisis and the meaningful steps already underway.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words-in-Context tone questions, first mark signal words like “while,” “but,” or “however” to see whether the blank contrasts or agrees with something else. Then, read a few words before and after the blank to decide if the tone should be positive, negative, or balanced. Quickly predict a rough idea (for example, “calm and balanced”) before looking at the choices, and then eliminate options that are too extreme or don’t match both parts of the description. Choose the word whose usual tone and intensity best fit the whole sentence, not just one phrase.
Hints
Use the contrast at the beginning
Focus on the word “While” at the start. How does the tone of the public campaigns ("the most dramatic climate projections") compare to the tone the report wants to use?
Look closely after the blank
Read the phrase right after the blank: “acknowledging both the urgency of the crisis and the meaningful steps already underway.” Ask yourself: Does this sound extreme and one-sided, or more balanced?
Check the emotional direction of each option
Think about whether each answer choice suggests extreme fear, extreme joy, or something in between. Eliminate choices that sound too intense in either direction for a tone that mentions both danger and progress.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking for
The blank describes the kind of tone the report wants to adopt. So this is a tone/attitude vocabulary question: you need a word that matches the attitude described in the rest of the sentence.
Use the contrast signal word
The sentence begins with "While", which sets up a contrast:
- Public campaigns: “highlight the most dramatic climate projections” (very intense, extreme).
- The report: “emphasizes adopting a more ______ tone.”
So the report’s tone should be less extreme than “the most dramatic” projections.
Pay attention to the description after the blank
The blank is followed by: “acknowledging both the urgency of the crisis and the meaningful steps already underway.”
This tells you the tone should:
- Recognize urgency (serious problem).
- Also recognize meaningful steps already underway (real progress, some positive side).
So the tone should be balanced, not all doom, and not all celebration.
Define each answer choice in simple terms
Now match that needed balanced tone with the choices:
- melodramatic: overly emotional, exaggerated, like in a soap opera.
- apocalyptic: suggesting total disaster or the end of the world.
- measured: calm, controlled, and not extreme.
- celebratory: full of celebration or joy, focusing on praise and good news.
Only one of these fits a tone that is serious but also calmly acknowledges progress.
Match the best word to the context
The sentence needs a word for a calm, balanced, not-too-extreme tone that recognizes both the seriousness of climate change and the positive actions already happening. That meaning matches “measured,” so the correct answer is C) measured.