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Question
Despite his ambitious plans and high-flown rhetoric, the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will proceed in a relatively _____________ fashion.

1. objectionable
2. saturnine
3. pragmatic
4. pleonastic
5. aggressive

The correct Answer is pragmatic and the correct Choice is (C).

Explanatory Answer

The key word here is ‘Despite’. Both ‘ambitious’ and ‘high flown rhetoric’ suggest that in the planning stage the ideas are quite big. With the use of the word ‘Despite’ we are informed that the execution of the plans will be in a down to earth manner.

The word objectionable will not be relevant in this context. Saturnine means melancholy or sullen. Pleonastic means redundant use of words. Aggressive fashion will mean that the execution will also be in line with the planning which will oppose the tone of the sentence. Pragmatic is the word that will be apt here since it means that the execution of plans will be in a practical manner.

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