Select the option which best fits the given blank/blanks. Jim was ______ in…
2025
Select the option which best fits the given blank/blanks.
Jim was ______ in choosing his friends, so his parties were attended by vastly different and sometimes bizarre personalities.
- A.
indispensable
- B.
indiscriminate
- C.
commensurate
- D.
propulsive
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In a single-blank vocabulary-in-context question, the blank must be filled with a word whose precise meaning matches the logical relationship the sentence sets up – often a cause linked to a stated result by a connector like ‘so’. The chosen word must directly explain the consequence described, not merely sound like a plausible descriptive word.
Application: The sentence states that Jim's parties were attended by vastly different and sometimes bizarre personalities as a result of how he chose his friends. Such an oddly varied guest list can only follow from a selection process that involved no careful sorting at all. 'Indiscriminate' means showing no careful distinction or selectivity in choosing among things; someone who is indiscriminate in choosing friends invites people without regard to how alike or compatible they are – precisely the cause needed to produce a wildly mixed set of personalities.
Cross-check: Plugging 'indiscriminate' back into the sentence confirms the logic: a haphazard, undiscriminating selection process explains a haphazard, wildly varied set of guests. Each remaining option breaks down on its own meaning:
'indispensable' – means absolutely necessary or essential, describing how vital someone or something is; that sense of importance has no bearing on why the resulting group of friends turned out to have such wildly different personalities.
'commensurate' – means proportionate or corresponding in degree to something else, and needs an explicit basis of comparison (as in 'commensurate with'); it says nothing about the manner of choosing friends, so it cannot account for their strikingly different personalities.
'propulsive' – means driving or pushing something forward, a term for forces, engines, or rhythms; it has no connection to how one chooses friends, so it cannot complete the cause-effect relationship the sentence sets up.