Question

Those who fear the influence of television deliberately ---- its persuasive power, hoping that they might keep knowledge of its potential to effect social change from being widely disseminated.

• A. promote
• B. underplay
• C. excuse
• D. laud
• E. suspect

Hint:

Look for the underlying motive in the sentence. The phrase "hoping that..." directly tells you the goal of the subject. The correct verb in the blank must be an action that helps achieve that goal.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This sentence describes the actions of people who are afraid of television's power. Their goal is to prevent others from knowing about this power. The blank must describe an action that serves this goal.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The "hoping" clause explains the motivation: they want to "keep knowledge of its potential... from being widely disseminated." If you want to hide something's power or potential, you would not praise or promote it. Instead, you would try to diminish its importance or make it seem less significant than it is.
Let's evaluate the options based on this logic:
\begin{itemize} \item (A) promote: To encourage or publicize. This is the opposite of what they would do.
\item (B) underplay: To represent something as less important than it really is. This perfectly matches the goal of hiding its power.
\item (C) excuse: To justify or pardon. This doesn't fit the context.
\item (D) laud: To praise. This is the opposite of their goal.
\item (E) suspect: To have doubts about. They don't just suspect its power; they "fear" it, which implies they believe in it.
\end{itemize} Step 3: Final Answer:
The word "underplay" correctly describes the action of deliberately downplaying television's power to prevent others from recognizing its influence.