2013-09-30 09:00:27

Critics remarked that the movie's sentimental ending was so cloying as to offend those who despise such ______.

(A) tremors
(B) trenchancy
(C) triages
(D) treacle
(E) traction

The correct answer is D
Explanation: To find the missing word, try to predict its meaning by using keywords in the sentence. Here, the best clue are the words "sentimental" and "cloying," both of which describe how the film's ending was interpreted by the critics. The missing word also describes that view, and it can be inferred that the word is a noun form of sentimental or cloying, as the word "such" modifies it. As such, choice D is the best choice: "treacle" is "cloying sentimentality."

None of the other choices work, either:

tremors: involuntary quivers
trenchancy: incision or sharpness
triages: assignments of degrees of urgency to emergency medical situations
traction: the ability to stick to a surface or become accepted