Question 66·Hard·Words in Context
While some energy analysts vilify subsidies for renewable technologies as market distortions, others view such support as a pragmatic step toward correcting the fossil-fuel industry’s long-standing _____ advantage.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For SAT Words-in-Context questions, first ignore the answer choices and restate the blank in your own simple words using the sentence clues, especially nearby adjectives like “long-standing” and verbs like “correcting.” Then, go through each option and define it in your head; quickly eliminate any that clash with the time frame, tone, or logic of the sentence (for example, words that contradict “long-standing”). Finally, choose the option that fits both the meaning you inferred and the grammatical structure of the sentence, rather than just picking the most difficult or sophisticated-sounding word.
Hints
Focus on the key descriptive phrase
Look closely at the phrase “long-standing _____ advantage.” Think about what kind of advantage can be described as “long-standing.”
Use the purpose of the subsidies as a clue
The sentence says some people see subsidies for renewables as a step toward correcting the fossil-fuel industry’s advantage. What does that suggest about the nature of this advantage?
Connect each option to "long-standing"
Ask yourself for each choice: Could this kind of advantage reasonably be described as “long-standing,” and would it make sense that people want to correct it? Eliminate any options that clash with that idea.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure and contrast
The sentence contrasts two views of subsidies for renewable technologies:
- Some analysts vilify these subsidies as market distortions.
- Others see them as a pragmatic step toward correcting something: the fossil-fuel industry’s long-standing _____ advantage.
So the blank must describe the kind of advantage fossil fuels have had that needs to be corrected or offset.
Use the clue "long-standing" to define the advantage
The phrase “long-standing” tells you this advantage has existed for a long time. It suggests something real and persistent, not recent, fake, or on-and-off.
Ask yourself: What kind of advantage, if it has been around for a long time, would now need to be corrected by giving subsidies to renewables? It should sound like a stable, ongoing advantage.
Test each option against "long-standing" and the idea of correction
Go through the choices and see if they match the idea of a real, lasting advantage that must be corrected:
- Illusory means not real; based on illusion. A “long-standing illusory advantage” would be an advantage that only seemed to exist but actually didn’t. But if the advantage were not real, it wouldn’t make sense to say it needs to be corrected.
- Incipient means beginning to exist; in an early stage. That clashes with “long-standing”; something cannot logically be both long-standing and just beginning.
- Sporadic means irregular or occasional. A “long-standing sporadic advantage” would mean the advantage comes and goes irregularly, which doesn’t fit the idea of a steady, long-term advantage that has consistently favored fossil fuels.
All three of these either contradict “long-standing” or don’t fit the idea of a real, stable advantage that must be corrected.
Confirm the remaining option fits all clues
The remaining option, “entrenched,” means firmly established and difficult to change. A “long-standing entrenched advantage” perfectly matches the idea of a real, deeply established advantage the fossil-fuel industry has had for a long time, which others think subsidies for renewables can help correct.
Therefore, the correct answer is D) entrenched.