Finding the Right Words: Dedication and Tactics

Let's break down the sentence to find the words that fit best in the two blanks. The sentence describes actions taken by subordinates to influence their managers. It mentions "______ dedication or loyalty and excessive adoration or appreciation" which are described as some of the "______ used by the subordinates to get into the good books of their managers."

We need to choose a pair of words from the options where the first word describes the type of dedication/loyalty/adoration/appreciation, and the second word describes what these actions are.

Let's look at the context clues:

• "excessive adoration or appreciation": This suggests the actions might not be entirely genuine or proportionate.
• "to get into the good books of their managers": This implies the actions are strategic, aimed at gaining favour, rather than purely genuine.

Based on these clues, the first word should describe something that might appear as dedication or loyalty but is perhaps exaggerated or showy, and the second word should describe these actions as methods or strategies.

Analyzing the Options

Let's examine each option pair:

1. Aggressive, behaviour

'Aggressive dedication' or 'aggressive loyalty' don't typically fit the context of trying to please someone. While these actions are a type of 'behaviour', 'aggressive' doesn't describe the nature of the dedication/loyalty implied by the sentence's context.

2. Sincere, quality

'Sincere dedication' and 'sincere loyalty' sound positive, but the sentence mentions "excessive" adoration and the goal of "getting into good books," which often suggests a lack of sincerity or an ulterior motive. While dedication can be a 'quality', the first word doesn't fit the context of excessive and strategic actions.

3. Ostentatious, tactics

'Ostentatious' means characterized by pretentious or showy display, designed to impress. 'Ostentatious dedication' or 'ostentatious loyalty' perfectly fits the idea of showing excessive or exaggerated dedication/loyalty to impress managers. 'Tactics' means actions or strategies carefully planned to achieve a specific end. Using ostentatious displays of dedication and loyalty as 'tactics' to "get into the good books of their managers" fits the second blank perfectly.

4. Controversial, deterrence

'Controversial dedication' or 'controversial loyalty' doesn't make sense in this context. 'Deterrence' means the action of discouraging an action or event through instilling doubt or fear. This doesn't fit the context of subordinates trying to gain favour.

5. Comprehensive, innovation

'Comprehensive dedication' doesn't typically fit. 'Innovation' refers to the introduction of new things, ideas, or methods, which doesn't describe dedication or loyalty itself as a method to impress managers.

Conclusion

Comparing all the options, the pair 'Ostentatious, tactics' best fits the meaning and context of the sentence. 'Ostentatious' describes the excessive and showy nature of the dedication/loyalty/adoration/appreciation, and 'tactics' describes these actions as methods used by subordinates to achieve their goal.