In the following passage, some of the words / sentences have been left out,…
2024
In the following passage, some of the words / sentences have been left out, each of which is indicated by a letter. Find the suitable word / sentence from the options given against each letter and fill up the blanks with appropriate words / sentences to make the paragraph meaningful.
The layer of ozone helps _____ 1 _____ the harmful ultraviolet rays away from entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Ozone layer depletion over the years has _____ 2 _____ in ozone hole formation through which harmful radiations can now enter the atmosphere. Ozone layer depletion has many _____ 3 _____ effects including cancer risks. These wavelengths can harm plants and animals and also cause skin cancer, sunburn, and cataracts in humans. The problem is very _____ 4 _____ indeed and has rightly generated global concern. These concerns led to the _____ 5 _____ of the Montreal Protocol in the year 1987. This protocol bans the production of ozone-depleting chemicals like CFCs and halons. Ozone depletion refers to a steady _____ 6 _____ in the total amount of ozone present in the Earth’s atmosphere or the ozone layer. It can also be described as a much larger decrease in stratospheric ozone around the polar regions of the Earth. The second phenomenon is termed as the ozone hole. In addition to these stratospheric events, there are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone depletion events. _____ 7 _____ . These compounds enter the stratosphere after being emitted at the surface where these compounds release halogen atoms by a process called photo dissociation. _____ 8 _____ . The main cause of ozone layer depletion is the indiscriminate use of CFCs, which are chlorine-based substances. These are widely used in several manufacturing plants, refrigerants and aerosols. _____ 9 _____ . Just one atom of chlorine can destroy around 100, 000 molecules of ozone. Wind blows the CFCs up into the stratosphere. Ozone molecules are already unstable. The chlorine atoms in the CFCs react with the ozone molecules, which break down resulting in the formation of an oxygen molecule and a single free-floating oxygen atom. _____ 10 _____ . However, chlorine in other places such as swimming pools does not pose any danger.
Find the appropriate word in case 4
(question no 6 ill 15 are linked together )
- A.
Grateful
- B.
Grave
- C.
Gracious
- D.
Dreaded
Attempted by 3 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In a vocabulary-based cloze test, the missing word must match not just the general topic but the exact shade of meaning and tone carried by the surrounding sentence — words that seem similar in a dictionary (for example, a word describing a person’s feelings versus a word describing the seriousness of a situation) are not interchangeable.
Application: The passage describes ozone layer depletion as a cause of skin cancer, sunburn, and cataracts, and states that it ‘has rightly generated global concern.’ The blank needs a word that means serious or critical, describing the objective severity of the problem itself — not a word describing a person’s emotion. ‘Grave’ means serious or critical, and it fits naturally in the phrase ‘the problem is very grave indeed,’ matching the passage’s emphasis on the seriousness of the health risks.
Cross-check: Each of the other choices describes a quality of a person rather than the seriousness of an issue, so none of them can correctly complete this blank:
‘Grateful’ means thankful or appreciative — an emotion a person feels, not a description of how serious a problem is.
‘Gracious’ means polite, kind, or courteous in manner — again a quality of behaviour, not of severity.
‘Dreaded’ means causing fear in people — it centers on an emotional reaction to something rather than describing the objective seriousness of the problem, so it does not fit as naturally as the word that directly names how serious the issue is.
Result: ‘Grave’ is therefore the word that correctly completes the blank, conveying that the ozone depletion problem is serious enough to have rightly generated global concern.