Choose the option which can be substituted for the given word/phrase. A person…

Concept: One-word substitution items test precise vocabulary — many English words share a root or prefix (here "neo-", meaning "new") but each has a distinct, fixed dictionary meaning. The task is to match the DEFINITION given in the phrase to the ONE word whose meaning it is, not just to a word that merely sounds related.

Application: The phrase "a person who is new to a subject" describes someone who has just begun learning or practising something — i.e., a beginner or novice. Among the neo- words offered, "neophyte" is defined precisely as a beginner or novice in a subject, activity, or belief, which matches the phrase exactly.

Cross-check — why the other neo- words do not fit:

• neophiliac names someone who loves or is drawn to novelty and new things in general, not a person who is new to a particular subject.

• neonate is a medical term for a newborn infant — an age-based word, not a learner in a field.

• neoteric is an adjective meaning new, recent, or modern (as in "neoteric ideas"); it describes a thing or style, not a person.