A musician and member of the Quechua of Peru, Renata Flores Rivera was eager to promote the Quechua language in...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
A musician and member of the Quechua of Peru, Renata Flores Rivera was eager to promote the Quechua language in her music, but she was ________ speaking it. She met this challenge by asking her grandmother, a native speaker of Quechua, to help her pronounce words in her song lyrics and also by taking classes in the language.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
prepared for
inexperienced with
skilled in
excited about
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "A musician and member of the Quechua of Peru, Renata Flores Rivera was eager to promote the Quechua language in her music," |
|
| "but she was _______ speaking it." |
|
| "She met this challenge by asking her grandmother, a native speaker of Quechua, to help her pronounce words in her song lyrics" |
|
| "and also by taking classes in the language." |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Despite wanting to promote the Quechua language, Rivera faced challenges with speaking it and sought help to overcome these difficulties.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes Rivera's enthusiasm for promoting Quechua, contrasts this with her speaking ability, then shows how she addressed this gap through seeking help and education.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The word "but" creates a contrast between Rivera's eagerness to promote the language and her ability to speak it
- The evidence that follows - needing help with pronunciation from her grandmother and taking classes - suggests she lacked proficiency or experience with speaking Quechua
- The blank should indicate some kind of limitation or difficulty with the language, not skill or preparedness
prepared for
- This would mean she was ready to speak Quechua
- Contradicts the evidence that she needed help with pronunciation and took classes
- Creates no logical contrast with the "but"
inexperienced with
- Creates perfect contrast: eager to promote BUT inexperienced with speaking
- Explains why she needed pronunciation help from her grandmother
- Justifies taking classes to improve her abilities
skilled in
- Would mean she was good at speaking Quechua
- Makes no sense with "but" - why would being skilled create contrast with wanting to promote?
- Contradicts evidence of needing help and classes
excited about
- Would parallel her eagerness rather than contrast it
- The "but" signals opposition, not similarity
- Doesn't explain why she needed help with pronunciation