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treacherous; spreading in a harmful and stealthy way.
In paragraph 3, the author writes, “we face a bigger,
more insidious threat from passive forms of euthanasia.
Every year, in hospitals and nursing homes around the country,
there are growing numbers of documented deaths caused by
caregivers withholding lifesustaining care, including
food and water, from vulnerable patients who cannot
speak for themselves.” Since the numbers of these cases
is getting larger, we can infer that the practice is spreading.
Since the author considers euthanasia through withholding
care a ‘threat,’ we can infer that the author thinks that it is bad.
Since the victims cannot speak for themselves, this practice
can spread quietly, without notice. This means that the word
insidious means something bad that spreads quietly.
Something that is treacherous is dangerous because
it has unforeseen hazards. Something with unforeseen
dangers is similar to something dangerous that spreads
stealthily, so treacherous is a good synonym for insidious.
(B) is the best answer. Something mischievous might
cause damage, but it does so in a playful way. This is
different from spreading harm in a stealthy way, so
mischievous is not a synonym for insidious. (A) is incorrect.
Something seductive is alluring. This is different than
spreading harm, so (C) is not the best answer. Something
apparent is visible. This is different from being stealthy,
so (D) is incorrect. Something cumulative is the
accumulation of many things. Although something cumulative
grows, it doesn’t necessarily grow stealthily. This rules out (E).
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