Question

the following text is from edward gibbons 1796 memoirs of my life and writings. gibbon reflects on publishing a volume of his series the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire. i am at a loss how to describe the success of the work, without betraying the vanity of the writer. the first impression was exhausted in a few days, a second and third edition were scarcely adequate to the demand. as used in the text, what does the word \betraying\ most nearly mean? a) exploiting b) exposing c) forsaking d) distorting

Explanation:

In the context, Gibbon doesn't want to reveal his vanity while describing the work's success. "Betraying" here means exposing. "Exploiting" is about using for gain, "forsaking" is about abandoning, and "distorting" is about misrepresenting. None of these fit as well as "exposing".

Answer:

B. Exposing