Question

求教一道GRE填空题，主要是翻译句意

The texts as we have them were written down and edited carefully by Christians proud of their ancestors but unable to bear the thought of their indulging in heathen practices;thus all references to the ancient religion of the Cells were______, if not_______.
A.deleted....expunged
B.muddied...suppressed
C.labored....denigrated
D.aggrieved....overawed
E.obscure....ironic
答案选的B，求解释

Answer 1

首先要看到的是题目说的大概是圣经或者类似的基督教文本,然后最基本的理解点在于proud of their ancestors but unable to bear the thought of their indulging in heathen practices. 基督徒为他们的祖先感到骄傲,但是难以忍受他们的异教徒行为(我翻的只是大概...),那么可以推断后文说的关于这些古代宗教的描述应该是被修饰过的,或者委婉一点说,模糊的.

其实这题我觉得不必太懂题意,..., if not ...,那么后边的必然是前者的加强状态,其余选项都不怎么符合.