GRE Sample Test 4 Verbal Reasoning 2

“Instead” is a detour road sign that tells you that the second half of the sentence will say the opposite of the first half. That means diversification shouldn’t “divert” the organization, so you’re looking for a word that means the opposite of “divert”. The answer is (B) furthering, which means “advancing or promoting.” (A) undermining, (C) retracting, and (E) deterring are all the opposite of what you need—they say that diversification will negatively affect the historical purpose. Choice (D) classifying doesn’t make sense in context.