Despite predictions that urban development would harm local ecosystems, the planned community of Seaside, Florida ______ sustainable design principles...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Despite predictions that urban development would harm local ecosystems, the planned community of Seaside, Florida ______ sustainable design principles that have become models for environmentally conscious development: for example, the town's walkable layout and native plant landscaping now influence city planning worldwide.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
overlooked
rejected
exemplified
inherited
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Despite predictions that urban development would harm local ecosystems, |
|
| [MISSING WORD/PHRASE] |
|
| the planned community of Seaside, Florida _______ sustainable design principles |
|
| that have become models for environmentally conscious development: |
|
| for example, the town's walkable layout and native plant landscaping now influence city planning worldwide. |
|
Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Despite predictions that development would harm ecosystems, Seaside, Florida became a successful model of sustainable development that influences cities worldwide.
Argument Flow: The passage sets up a contrast between negative predictions and positive reality. It shows how Seaside's approach to sustainable design not only avoided predicted harm but created principles that became influential models globally.
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 sentence structure creates a contrast: Despite predictions that development would harm ecosystems, Seaside [did something with] sustainable design principles.
- The word we need should show that Seaside actually demonstrated or embodied these principles in a positive way.
- The logical relationship needed is one that shows Seaside actively demonstrated these principles in practice, turning them into successful real-world applications that proved the negative predictions wrong.
overlooked
overlooked
✗ Incorrect
- Means ignored or failed to notice the principles
- Creates the wrong logical relationship - if Seaside overlooked sustainable principles, they couldn't have created models for environmental development
rejected
rejected
✗ Incorrect
- Means refused or dismissed the principles
- Like overlooked, this creates an illogical flow - rejecting sustainable principles wouldn't lead to becoming models for environmental development
exemplified
exemplified
✓ Correct
- Means demonstrated or embodied the principles in practice
- Creates perfect logical flow: despite negative predictions, Seaside actually demonstrated sustainable principles so well they became models
- Matches the evidence about walkable layout and native landscaping
inherited
inherited
✗ Incorrect
- Means received these principles from predecessors
- While not illogical, it's less precise than exemplified and doesn't capture the active demonstration that made Seaside a model for others