233. The critic noted that the ______ tone that characterizes much of the writer's work stands in stark contrast to his gentle disposition.
A. benign
B. somber
C. stoic
D. conciliatory
E. strident
234. Peter was ______ without being ______ : he held fast to his beliefs but avoided arguing about them with others.
A. decisive, philanthropic
B. haphazard, quarrelsome
C. sentimental, litigious
D. resolute, polemical
E. steadfast, acquiescent