Choose the word that roughly means the same as the word highlighted in the…

CONCEPT: A contextual-synonym question asks for the option that matches the PRECISE SENSE the underlined word carries in that particular sentence, not just any word loosely listed as a synonym in a dictionary. English words frequently carry several distinct senses, so only the option matching the sentence's specific context is correct.

APPLICATION: In the sentence, the exam paper was first stolen, then the underlined action happened to it, and it was then sold for a high price. For a stolen paper to be sold profitably to multiple buyers, duplicate copies of its content must have been made before distribution — so the underlined word carries the sense "to make a copy/duplicate of something that already exists." Among the options, "reproduced" captures exactly this sense of duplicating an existing document.

CONTRAST — why each other option misses the mark:

• "repeated" means to say or do something again from the start — it describes recurrence of an action or statement, not the duplication of a physical document.

• "initiated" means to begin or start something newly — it conveys the start of a fresh process, the opposite sense of copying something that already exists.

• "imitated" means to mimic a person's behaviour, style, or mannerism — it applies to conduct or appearance, not to producing duplicate copies of a document.

CROSS-CHECK: Substituting "reproduced" back into the sentence — "the exam paper was stolen, reproduced and sold for a high price" — preserves the original meaning naturally: copies of the paper were made and then sold, confirming the match.