Read the passage given below and complete it by selecting the right words from…
2023
Read the passage given below and complete it by selecting the right words from the choices given to match them to the numbered blanks.
While a certain 101 attitude can be detected in the 102 of fast food in the narratives of the established 103 , the popular writings which appear in cookbooks and dailies 104 the virtues of fast food. A quick 105 through some of the recipes published in ‘Metro Plus’ in The Hindu, a 106 Indian newspaper, will show the importance given to the time 107 to cook as well as the appliances which are 108 in cooking. On the cover of a popular ‘Readymade Paneer’, I have come across the 109 ‘no cooking required’. All that is required is heating the food in a microwave oven. This is probably the other end of the 110 of food writing in India where minimalism has become the buzzword. More importantly, their entry into the group of Indian English writers also signals a significant shift in the way we look at Indian writing in English.
Choose the word that best completes blank 103.
Answer: D. More than one of the above — ConceptIn a cloze test, a completion must satisfy grammar, meaning, and natural word combination within the full passage. When two listed words independently…
- A.
cooks
- B.
authors
- C.
writers
- D.
More than one of the above
- E.
None of the above
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
In a cloze test, a completion must satisfy grammar, meaning, and natural word combination within the full passage.
When two listed words independently fit the same blank in the intended sense, a set-level choice such as ‘More than one of the above’ is used instead of selecting only one word.
Application
The phrase is ‘the narratives of the established ___’. Both ‘authors’ and ‘writers’ are plural nouns for people who create written works, and each produces a grammatical, meaningful literary phrase. The source passage uses ‘writers’, but ‘authors’ also fits the supplied cloze sentence; the BPSC final answer key therefore treats the set-level choice as the answer.
Contrast
‘Cooks’ identifies people who prepare food; in this clause, the people are identified through their narratives rather than through preparing food.
‘Authors’ identifies creators of written works and forms the natural phrase ‘narratives of the established authors’.
‘Writers’ identifies people who produce written or literary texts and forms the natural phrase ‘narratives of the established writers’.
‘None of the above’ would require every listed word to fail, whereas two listed literary nouns fit the blank.
Cross-check
Substitute the two literary nouns separately: ‘the narratives of the established authors’ and ‘the narratives of the established writers’ are both grammatical and contextually coherent. Thus the condition ‘more than one’ is met.
Result
The required choice is ‘More than one of the above’.