GRE Verbal: How would you approach this question?

[PhdApplicant311]

It is classified as 'Devilish' by Manhattan Prep! 

Many in the government disagree with a plan to debunk the low budget grassroots effort to expose the frivolity of Project X; the government employee’s union, with a newly elected leadership that more closely reflects the opinions of its members,__________ Project X.

champions

venerates

fights against

is partial to

abhors

repugnates

[StrongTackleBacarySagna]

I think it's champions/venerates. The government employee's union is trying to represent the opinion of the majority, who oppose an anti-X plan. Meaning the endorse Project X (HELL YEAH PARTY ALL NIGHT). Venerates and champions mean the same thing while "partial to" isn't semantically equivalent. So I think that's the answer. Someone correct me if I missed something.

[mockturtle]

I was thinking 'repugnates' or 'abhors'... Because if the opinion of the majority is to disagree with the debunking of the effort to expose Project X, shouldn't that mean they do want Project X to be exposed as frivolous? 

What a wild sentence...

[StrongTackleBacarySagna]

I was thinking 'repugnates' or 'abhors'... Because if the opinion of the majority is to disagree with the debunking of the effort to expose Project X, shouldn't that mean they do want Project X to be exposed as frivolous? 

What a wild sentence...

You're right. I missed the "disagree." 

I think the best way to answer these questions is first identify the pairs of words that have very similar meaning, then choose one word from each pair and plug it into the sentence. You can solve most of these questions in 30 seconds with this method. For this particular problem, you'd probably just count the positives and negatives that separate the subject (government people) from the predicate (proejct x)

[PhdApplicant311]

Dear Mockturtle and StrongTackle, 

Thank you for your response. 

Mockturtle is right!

StrongTackle, I chose the exact same answers and I had also missed the 'disagree' which was so cunningly put there. 
The other thing I realisd after reading your answer was that if you think about it deeply, champions and venerates doesn't exactly mean the same thing.
That's something both of us missed! 

Venerates means to respect deeply and  champions means to support.... isn't it?

But then again, abhors means to hate and repugnates means "to stand firmly against"...  

Oh well! One question at a time to conquering the GRE! 

Thanks guys.