Select the option that best expresses the meaning of the underlined…

2017

Select the option that best expresses the meaning of the underlined phrase/group of words. Several houses had to be demolished to decongest the road.

Answer: C. Pulled downConceptA vocabulary-match question asks for the phrasal verb whose dictionary meaning is closest to the underlined word in the same context. To demolish means…

  1. A.

    Put down

  2. B.

    Turned down

  3. C.

    Pulled down

  4. D.

    Broken down

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Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C

Concept

A vocabulary-match question asks for the phrasal verb whose dictionary meaning is closest to the underlined word in the same context. To demolish means to deliberately knock down or tear apart a structure, especially a building, until it is destroyed.

Application

In the sentence, houses are being destroyed so the road can be cleared. The standard phrasal verb for deliberately destroying a building is pull down — dictionaries list “pull down” directly as a synonym of “demolish” (for example, “the old houses were pulled down”). So Pulled down is the exact contextual match.

Contrast

  • Put down — to suppress, to write or note something, or to kill an injured animal; it is not used for destroying a building.

  • Turned down — to reject an offer or request, or to reduce volume, heat, or intensity; it does not describe destroying a structure.

  • Broken down — to stop working (a machine), or to split something into parts or decompose; it does not mean to demolish a structure.

Therefore the option that best expresses the meaning of demolished is Pulled down.

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