Nick's claim to be "one of the few honest people" is MOST undermined by his?

• A. Refusal to break off his engagement
• B. Writing everything down
• C. Gossiping about others
• D. Lying about his past

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that a claim to honesty is tested by whether there’s verifiable evidence that contradicts it. Writing everything down creates a concrete, reviewable record of what he says and does. When you have a traceable account, any discrepancy between his statements and what is documented can be exposed, making his claim to be among the “honest” harder to believe. In other words, the act of keeping a complete written log invites scrutiny, and if the log reveals past misleading statements or misremembered details, it undermines the trust in his claim—because honesty would require that his words align with the documented record.

The other options don’t provide the same mechanism for verification. Refusing to break off an engagement is a personal decision and doesn’t directly test truthfulness. Gossiping about others shows a fault in judgment but isn’t a direct measure of whether he’s honest. Lying about his past would obviously conflict with honesty, but the written record creates a clearer path to exposing such lies, making it the most potent underminer in this context.