Because the biographer's earlier works were richly detailed, reviewers expected her study of the composer to be similarly [Blank 1]; instead, its [Blank 2] treatment of the composer's final decade leaves even major events unexamined.
Select one answer for each blank.
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Blank 1: A (thorough)Blank 2: D (cursory)
The biographer's earlier works were richly detailed, so reviewers expected the new study to be similarly thorough. The word “instead” introduces a reversal: the new study leaves even major events unexamined, indicating that its treatment is cursory.