The work of molecular biophysicist Enrique M. De La Cruz is known for ______ traditional boundaries between academic
disciplines. The university laboratory that De La Cruz runs includes engineers, biologists, chemists, and physicists, and the
research the lab produces makes use of insights and techniques from all those ﬁelds.
epitomizing
transcending
anticipating
reinforcing
Choice B is the best answer. Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something similar to "mak[ing] use of
insights and techniques from all those ﬁelds." "Transcending" means "going beyond," so "transcending traditional boundaries"
would mean crossing into all those various ﬁelds of research, which is exactly the meaning we want.
Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t a logical word choice. Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something
similar to "mak[ing] use of insights and techniques from all those ﬁelds." To "epitomize" means to "be a perfect example of,"
so "epitomizing traditional boundaries" would mean the opposite of what we want: keeping the ﬁelds of research separate.
Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t a logical word choice. Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something
similar to "mak[ing] use of insights and techniques from all those ﬁelds." "Anticipating" means "expecting" or "waiting for,"
and would result in a confusing sentence with an unclear meaning. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t a logical word choice.
Based on the text, we’re looking for a word that means something similar to "mak[ing] use of insights and techniques from
all those ﬁelds." "Reinforcing traditional boundaries" would mean the opposite: keeping the ﬁelds of research separate.