Direction : In the following passage, some of the words have been left out.…
2025
Direction : In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. First read the passage over and try to understand what it is about. Then fill in the blanks with the help of the alternatives given.
More than 8 lakh people have been displaced in Kerala, as the death toll from the worst flooding to hit the southern Indian state jumped to at least 370, with losses to infrastructure _________ at almost $3bn. As the rains subsided on Sunday, relief efforts focused on rescuing those ________in isolated places for days and airdropping _________ to others, police and officials said. Kerala has been lashed by torrential monsoon rains _________ the end of May, triggering landslides and flash floods that have swept away entire villages ___________downpours since August 8 have killed more than 190 people and left thousands more stranded.
Torrential monsoon rains __________ the end of May.
- A.
in
- B.
at
- C.
from
- D.
since
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation:
To describe an action or state that began at a definite point in the past and is still continuing, English pairs the present-perfect tense with 'since' followed by that point in time (a date, moment, or event) -- not with 'in' (used with a month/year as a set phrase), 'at' (a precise clock time), or 'from' (the start of a bounded range usually paired with 'to').
The passage uses the present-perfect construction 'has been lashed by torrential monsoon rains ___ the end of May' -- 'the end of May' is the specific point when the rains began, and they have continued since. That calls for the word that marks a starting point together with the present perfect: 'since'.
'in' pairs with a month or year as a set phrase (e.g., in May, in 2018), not with a present-perfect action continuing since a specific moment.
'at' marks one precise moment or clock time (e.g., at 5 p.m.), not the starting point of an ongoing action continuing to the present.
'from' normally introduces the start of a bounded range paired with 'to' (from X to Y), not a lone starting point with a present-perfect verb.
This matches the same pattern used later in the passage -- 'downpours since August 8' -- where 'since' again marks a specific starting date paired with an ongoing/perfect-tense description, confirming the choice.