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 106.
Answer: B. leading — ConceptIn a cloze passage, the best completion must satisfy syntax, meaning, register, and natural word partnership, or collocation. When several words can…
- A.
good
- B.
leading
- C.
weekly
- D.
More than one of the above
- E.
None of the above
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
In a cloze passage, the best completion must satisfy syntax, meaning, register, and natural word partnership, or collocation.
When several words can occupy the same grammatical slot, the surrounding sentence and the writer’s purpose determine which candidate is the most precise.
Application
The frame is “The Hindu, a ___ Indian newspaper”. The blank modifies the noun phrase “Indian newspaper”, so “good”, “leading”, and “weekly” can all function grammatically as attributive adjectives.
The appositive identifies The Hindu by its public standing. In this register, “a leading Indian newspaper” is the natural collocation: “leading” means prominent or among the foremost.
Cross-check and contrast
“Good” supplies a broad, subjective judgment of quality, not the precise description of public standing used by the passage.
“Weekly” supplies a publication-frequency meaning, but the sentence gives no weekly-frequency cue.
“More than one of the above” would require at least two candidates to share the same highest contextual and collocational fit.
“None of the above” would require every individual candidate to lack an adequate fit.
Result
The word that best completes blank 106 is “leading”.