ShmoopTube

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To Shmoop or not to Shmoop, that is... not this question.

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Which word could fill in the blank so that the sentence below makes sense?

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The destruction of trees can make the air more blank, since they produce breathable

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oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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And here are the potential answers...

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Since the sentence tells us that trees make oxygen, which is breathable...

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...and absorb carbon dioxide, which is presumably not...

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...we know that we're looking for a word that describes the air as being less breathable

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or contaminated in some way. And yes we all "heart" trees. Go hug one.

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Knowing this, we can filter out (A), (C), and (E) right away.

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"Sterile" means something that's super clean. "Beneficial" means something that's

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good for you. And "invigorating" means something that gives you energy.

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None of these words describe the horrors of contaminated air at all.

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"Auspicious" means things are looking good and the future seems bright. Not exactly

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the right word for a world with no trees and full of toxic air.

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The Lorax is turning over in his grave.

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Looks like our answer is "noxious," which works because it means poisonous, toxic, and

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deadly.

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Our answer is (D). D for "Dig a hole and plant a seed, so we can all breathe easy."

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