Question

2
select the correct answer from each drop-down menu.
read this excerpt from a commentary on the venerable bede, which appears in an introductory chapter of a translation of bedes an ecclesiastical history of the english people.

a characteristic akin to bedes fairness to opponents is his love of truth. ... it shows itself in his scrupulous care as a historian in investigating evidence and in acknowledging the sources from which he draws. nowhere is his intellectual honesty more apparent than in dealing with what he believes to be the miraculous element in his history. in whatever way we may regard these anecdotes, there can be no doubt that bede took the utmost pains to assure himself of their evidence; where this cannot be obtained, he scrupulously mentions
he is careful to acquire, if possible, first-hand
admits only the testimony of ______ of high
character and generally quotes them by name

utility
importance
significance
authenticity

Explanation:

The passage discusses Bede's intellectual honesty and careful handling of sources/evidence for miraculous anecdotes in his historical work. The context requires a term that relates to the validity of the evidence he verifies, and a type of witness he trusts.

1. For the first blank: The sentence focuses on Bede ensuring the validity of the anecdotes' evidence; "authenticity" (meaning the quality of being genuine/true) fits this context perfectly, as he is checking if the stories are legitimate.
2. For the second blank: The text notes he uses testimony from "of high character" people, and standard historical rigor from the period would prioritize eyewitnesses (people who directly saw the events) as first-hand sources, which aligns with his focus on first-hand evidence where possible.

Answer:

First blank: authenticity
Second blank: eyewitnesses