Sentence Equivalence: Try This Problem Now!
The exhibit is not so much a retrospective as a __________ ; the artist’s weaker early work is glossed over and any evidence of his ultimate dissolution is absent entirely.
Select two correct answers.
paean
philippic
tirade
panacea
eulogy
crescendo
(Note: When you see six answer choices and square checkboxes, that’s a clue that this is a GRE Sentence Equivalence problem, to which there will always be two correct answers.)
Make your selections before reading any further!
Solution:
A retrospective would be an exhibit that shows the history and progression of the artist’s work, but this exhibit only shows the good parts (it glosses over the weaker work and omits the artist’s dissolution).
Thus, we need a word that has something to do with praising. Paean and eulogy are the only matches.
Note that a paean is generally a song or speech of praise and is being used a bit metaphorically here. Many people only know eulogy as a speech given at a funeral, but can actually refer to any speech (or in this case, art exhibit) of praise.