English Questions: Fill in the Blanks 142

Directions(1-5): Two sentences with one blank in each, followed by five alternatives, are given. Choose that option as the answer which can fill both the blanks of both the sentences.

1. A) His white cravat was a perfect _____________ for his bronzed features.
   B) They learned about the role of a dramatic ________________ in English class.
   Companion
   Complement
   Contrast
   Foil
   Character
   Option D
   ‘Foil’ is the only word that fits in both the blanks of statements A and B. In the first sentence it means something or someone that makes another’s good or bad qualities more noticeable. Whereas ‘dramatic foil’ is a secondary character whose own character traits are completely opposite of another character’s.
   Therefore, option D is the correct answer.

    

2. A) She had to ________________ her neck to see the movie.
   B) Installation involved hoisting the reactor by _______________ and gently lowering it into a prefabricated steel structure.
   Bend
   Cable
   Crane
   Chains
   Draw
   Option C
   Statement A, the sentence states about her stretching the neck. Statement B, tells about raising the reactor
   by a machine. Thus, ‘crane’ is the only word that fits in both the blanks.

    

3. A) He’s starting to wonder whether he did the ________________ thing in accepting this job.
   B) We have no more ________________ to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.
   Best
   Right
   Righteous
   Authority
   Worst
   Option B
   

    

4. A) She grew increasingly nervous as the ______________ of the audition drew closer.
   B) When archaeologists _______________ objects that are thousands of years old, they allow a margin of error of several hundred years.
   See
   Time
   Day
   Origin
   Date
   Option E
   Statement A, according to the sentence ‘time’, ‘day’ and ‘date’ all are appropriate for the blank. Statement B means by examining the object’s relation to layers of deposits in the area, and by comparing the object to others found at the site, archaeologists can estimate when the object arrived at the site. Thus, ‘date’ is the only word that fits in both the blanks.

    

5. A) The _______________ funded work with other international donors on one of the largest infrastructure improvement projects in Lesotho’s history
   B) The grey clouds had become more _______________ and the sky suddenly grew dark.
   Treaty
   Grey
   Compact
   Dense
   Deal
   Option C
   Statement A, according to the sentence ‘treaty’, ‘deal’ and ‘compact’ all fit the blank. Statement B, according to the sentence ‘dense’ and ‘compact’ fit in the blank.

    

Directions(6-10): In the given question, one statement with a blank along with four words is given. Two of the given words can fit into the given blank. Five options with various combinations of these words are given. Choose the combination of the words that best fits into the blank.

6. After being subjected to hours of questioning by the police, Sakshi felt mentally _________.
   a) Distraught
   b) Drought
   c) Tormented
   d) Affliction
   a-b
   c-d
   b-c
   a-c
   b-d
   Option D
   ‘Distraught’ means distressed.
   ‘Drought’ means a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water.
   ‘Tormented’ means tortured or victimized.
   ‘Affliction’ means the state of being in pain.
   In this sentence, we need an adjective that could be appropriately qualified by the adverb “mentally”. The sentence states that Sakshi was questioned for hours. In this situation, one would suffer mentally. Thus, “tormented” and “distraught” fit appropriately.

    

7. Meeting her favourite author in person and getting a customised autograph from her was a _________ experience, she could barely believe her luck!
   a) Surreal
   b) Contentious
   c) Surreptitious
   d) Dream – like
   a-b
   c-b
   a-d
   d-c
   b-d
   Option C
   ‘Surreal’ means having the qualities of surrealism and fantastical or dream – like; bizarre, ‘contentious’ means causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial, ‘surreptitious’ means kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of, ‘dream – like’ means having the qualities of a dream; unreal.
   In this sentence, we need an adjective to describe the nature of her experience when she met her favourite author in person. While all four words are adjectives, ‘contentious’ and ‘surreptitious’ do not ft the meaning of the sense. Both a and d are grammatically and contextually correct.

    

8. She walked about the room, _________ her medals with pride.
   a) Crusading
   b) Cruising
   c) Parading
   d) Exhibiting
   d-b
   c-d
   a-c
   b-c
   c-a
   Option B
   ‘Crusading’ means lead or take part in a vigorous campaign for social, political, or religious change, ‘cruising’ means sail about in an area without a precise destination, especially for pleasure, ‘parading’ means display (someone or something) while marching or moving around a place, ‘exhibiting’ means publicly display (a
   work of art or item of interest) in an art gallery or museum or at a trade fair.
   In this sentence we need a verb that is consistent with the behaviour described – walking about the room with her medals, full of pride. Neither ‘crusading’ nor ‘cruising’ are contextually correct, although they are verbs. Both (c) and (d) express the sense of showing off the medals and thus are grammatically and contextually correct.

    

9. No longer able to veil her turbulent emotions behind a __________ of smiles, she burst into tears.
   a) Grimace
   b) Facade
   c) Concealment
   d) Veneer
   a-d
   a-b
   d-c
   b-c
   b-d
   Option E
   ‘Grimace’ means an ugly, twisted expression on a person’s face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement, ‘facade’ means the principal front of a building, that faces on to a street or open space or a deceptive outward appearance, ‘concealment’ means the action of hiding something or preventing it from being known, ‘veneer’ means an attractive outer appearance that disguises someone’s or something’s true feelings or true nature.

    

10. A 22-year-old youth was disqualified from the final round of selection after he was __________ wearing a wig to raise his height.
    a) found
    b) caught
    c) acquired
    d) procure
    a-b
    b-c
    b-d
    c-d
    a-d
    Option A
    The candidate was cheating and the authorities discovered this fact and disqualified him. ‘Acquire’ means to achieve and ‘procure’ means to obtain. Neither of these words makes any sense in the given context. ‘Found’ & ‘caught’ both can fill the blank.