Each question below has blanks, each blank indicating that something has been…

Concept:

Article choice depends on whether a noun is being introduced for the first time (indefinite article 'a'/'an', chosen by the sound that follows the article, not the spelling) or refers to something specific that has already been identified in the context (definite article 'the').

Application:

1. The first blank modifies 'house', which is being introduced for the first time and is not yet specific to the reader; since 'rich' begins with a consonant sound (/r/), the indefinite article 'a' is required: 'a rich, happy house'.

2. The remaining three blanks modify 'master', 'servants', and 'friends of the family' — all of whom belong to that same house just introduced. Once the house is established, these people are specific and already identified, so each takes the definite article 'the': 'the master', 'the servants', 'the friends of the family'.

Cross-check:

Swapping the articles breaks the logic: using 'the' for the house on first mention would wrongly presuppose the reader already knows which house is meant, and using 'a'/'an' before master, servants, or friends would treat them as random unidentified people rather than the specific household already introduced. Only 'a, the, the, the' keeps both rules consistent across all four blanks.

Contrast:

• A set using 'an' before 'master' is invalid on sound alone — 'master' begins with a consonant sound, so 'an' can never precede it regardless of context.

• A set repeating the indefinite article for the house's own master, servants, and friends ignores that they are specific individuals tied to the house already established, not unspecified strangers.

• A set using the definite article for the house at its very first mention wrongly assumes the reader already knows which house is being described.

• Rejecting every offered combination overlooks that one combination consistent with the first-mention/specific-reference rule is present among the choices.