246. Instead of taking exaggerated precautions against touching or tipping or jarring the bottle of wine, the waitress handled it quite ________ , being careful only to use a napkin to keep her hands from the cool bottle itself.

    (A) fastidiously

    (B) reverently

    (C) nonchalantly

    (D) tentatively

    (E) ambivalently

 247. Irony can, after a fashion, become a mode of escape: to laugh at the terrors of life is in some sense to ________ them.

    (A) overstate

    (B) revitalize

    (C) corroborate

    (D) evade

    (E) license

 248. Isozaki’s love for detail is apparent everywhere in the new museum, but fortunately the details are ________ to the building’s larger formal composition, which is ________ by the busyness of much recent architecture.

    (A) important ... harmed

    (B) irrelevant ... fragmented

    (C) subordinated ... unencumbered

    (D) appropriate ... echoed

    (E) incidental ... nullified

 249. It is ________ to try to destroy pests completely with chemical poisons, for as each new chemical pesticide is introduced, the insects gradually become ________ to it.

    (A) useless ... drawn

    (B) pointless ... vulnerable

    (C) futile ... resistant

    (D) wicked ... indifferent

    (E) worthwhile ... immune

 250. It is a relief to see people who can be interested in the arts without being "arty" collectors who collect for their own ________ rather than for ________ .

    (A) enjoyment ... satisfaction

    (B) interest ... pleasure

    (C) reputation ... amusement

    (D) delight ... show

    (E) education ... fulfillment

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