Read the sentence, looking for clues
Despite the new master chef, the manager was "surprised" at the reaction of
regular patrons, who "commended", or "praised", a particular quality of their
favorite dishes as made by the new chef; the missing word will describe that
quality.
Predict an answer
Since all that is known about the master chef is that she's new, the only way for
the reaction to be surprising is if the food was commended for being not new, or
"unchanged." Regular patrons would not be happy if their favorite dishes were
changed.
Select the choice that most closely match your
prediction
This prediction perfectly matches (B)
consistent, which would
indicate the food had stayed the same. (A) innovative is the opposite of the prediction, since it would not be
surprising for a new chef to bring innovations to the cuisine. (C) slipshod is negative; it wouldn't make sense
for patrons to commend carelessly cooked food. (D) decadent or "overly indulgent" may be used to describe food, but
here has no keywords to support it, since the only thing known is that the chef is
a
new hire. (E) protean, or "changing", is
the opposite of the prediction.
Check your answer
Having hired a new master chef, the restaurant manager was surprised when regular
patrons commended the consistent quality
of their favorite dishes.
TAKEAWAY: Watch out for words that fit the general subject matter of the blank but
which don't fit the specific clues of the sentence.
