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We might just have a problem that you'll understand... <<sing a la Lean on Me>>

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Which words could fill in the blanks so that the sentence below makes sense?

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Though he was often criticized for being resistant to other points of view, the blank appealed

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to the fanatical audience with his blank refusal to compromise his ideals.

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And here are the potential answers...

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The sentence tells us that the guy it's talking about is resistant to other points

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of view and refuses to compromise his ideals.

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All of that is a fancy way of saying that this dude is gung-ho for one thing and one

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thing only.

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So whatever word fits in the first blank has got to describe this kind of totally obsessive

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focused person. Let's start by seeing what words just don't

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fit in the first blank at all.

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A doesn't work because ingrate means someone who's ungrateful.

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D doesn't really work either, because a heretic describes someone whose beliefs go

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against the powers that be.

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We can't eliminate (B), (C), or (E) yet, because the first words could all fit in the

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first blank.

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A zealot is a person who's a total fanatic about a religion or a cause.

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A crusader can be used to describe someone who's super dedicated to a cause.

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And a demagogue is a leader who gains power through appeals to the public's emotions.

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All of these could work, so it looks like we'll have to move on to the second blank

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and see what it can help us eliminate.

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Obscure is used to describe something that's barely known or understood.

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It wouldn't make sense to describe someone's refusal to compromise his ideals that way,

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so we can get rid of (C).

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"Obliterated refusal" doesn't make any sense, either, so we can obliterate E right now.

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Alright in fact, we can go ahead and obliterate everything

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but choice (B).

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"Obdurate" means to be stubborn, and "zealot" means fanatic, so our answer is B.

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As in, "Banana Republic?"

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