Ironically, the proper use of figurative language must be based on the denotative meaning of the words, because it is the failure to recognize this ______ meaning that leads to mixed metaphors and their attendant incongruity.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】- 方程等号：because表示因果，前后句意同义重复。
- 强词和对应：because前面说比喻性语言的恰当使用必须基于词的本义，所以because后面也应该是本义决定了比喻义。所以没有(failure to)意识到空格就会导致比喻的混乱，因此空格和denotative取同。esoteric难以理解的，literal字面的，latent潜在的，allusive暗指的，symbolic象征的。答案选B。