GRE® Verbal Practice | Text Completion Q2

This GRE text completion question requires one to understand the usage of the words "while" and "but". Try the question without looking at the answer explanation. If you face difficulty in arriving at the correct answer, take help from the detailed explanation provided below.

Question 2: While alcohol causes obvious and immediate changes in moods and behaviours, nicotine has ________ effects, but is equally deleterious to health over prolonged periods of time.

1. more pronounced
2. less harmful
3. equal
4. less conspicuous
5. similar

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Explanatory Answer

The key words in this sentence are “While” and “But”. Both these words represent contrast.

While alcohol causes obvious and immediate changes, nicotine ...(try to use your own word or phrase here).. does NOT cause immediate or obvious changes. So we might think that nicotine is less harmful. But the word immediately after that “BUT” tells us that it is wrong to think so: Nicotine is equally harmful to health.

So the word or phrase in the blank has to mean “less obvious or immediate”.

Choice D is the best option.