2014-11-03 09:00:38

Sightings of Bigfoot and Sasquatch are never confirmed, and, unfortunately, the proliferation of TV shows devoted to capturing proof only creates more ______ sightings, rather than the authenticated ones the shows advertise.

(A) ingenuous
(B) validated
(C) expurgated
(D) corroborated
(E) spurious

The correct answer is E
Explanation: To find the missing word, try to predict its meaning by using clues in the sentence. Here, the best clue is the phrase "rather than the authenticated ones," which contrasts the types of "sightings" the missing word describes. As such, it seems the missing word must mean something similar to "inauthentic" or "false." Choice E is correct, then, as "spurious" means "false or fake."

None of the other choices work, either:

ingenuous: innocent or naive
validated: supported and confirmed by fact
expurgated: edited and cleared of objectionable content
corroborated: confirmed by other evidence