Directions: A passage is given below with five blanks labelled (A)-(E). Below the passage, five options are given for each blank. Choose the word that fits each blank most appropriately in the context of the passage, and mark the corresponding answer.

Adam Smith was well ___(A)___ with the work of most physicists concerning the earth and the heavens, from Antiquity to the eighteenth century. Between 1748 and 1758, he was drawn to write a History of Astronomy, in which he clearly expressed his admiration for the great physicists along with his ___(B)___ to the theses defended by Newton.

This History of Astronomy is noteworthy in two respects. First, it allows him to trace the history of ___(C)___ physics over a long period, from Greek Antiquity to the eighteenth century, and second, it provides him with a ___(D)___ for explaining the advances made by science in general(and not just physics). Smith shows how and why we move from one explanatory system (which played a role for a period of time but which no longer satisfies expectations) to another, more effective system (which will itself be ultimately replaced).

Smith also capitalizes on the opportunity to explain what he calls a “system of interpretation,” that is, an intellectual construct intended to provide a representation of the real but that should not be confused with the real. In addition, he lays out for us the characteristics of a good system or at least a system that is better than the ___(E)___. As we shall see, all of these elements concerning the most advanced state of physics will have their more or less explicit reflection in Smith’s philosophical and economic work.