Direction: Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer to each…
2024
Direction: Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer to each question out of the four alternatives and fill in the blanks
Every month, scientists ___(i)___ new gadgets and new ways to make technology faster and better. Our homes are full of hardware (such as DVD players and computers) and ___(ii)___ (such as computer games and MP3s). ___(iii)___ suggests, however, that it is the young people who are best able to deal with this change. Whereas teenagers have no problem ___(iv)___ a DVD player, their parents and grandparents often find using new technology strange and different. But if you’re a teenager who criticizes your parents for their ___(vi)___ of technological awareness, don’t be too hard on them! Sometime ___(vii)___ in the future, when you’ve got children of your own, your ___(viii)___ to deal with new technology will probably ___(ix)___ and your children will feel more ___(x)___ with new technology than you do.
Find the appropriate word in case
(iv)=?
(question no 1 till 10 are linked together )
- A.
operating
- B.
discovering
- C.
inventing
- D.
explaining
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Concept
A vocabulary-based cloze blank must be filled with the word that best matches both the meaning of the surrounding sentence and its standard grammatical collocation — for example, a verb placed after ‘have no problem’ takes the -ing (gerund) form and must name the exact action being performed.
Application
The blank sits in the clause ‘teenagers have no problem ___(iv)___ a DVD player.’ The passage contrasts teenagers’ ease with technology against their parents’ and grandparents’ unfamiliarity with it (the passage goes on to say the older generation finds using new technology strange and different). The verb needed must describe the everyday act of using or running a device — that is exactly the sense carried by ‘operating’. Reading the completed clause, ‘teenagers have no problem operating a DVD player’ is natural, idiomatic, and consistent with the passage’s theme of generational comfort with existing gadgets.
Contrast
Discovering — means finding something previously unknown; a DVD player is a familiar household item, not something being encountered for the first time, so this verb does not match the sense of routine device-use.
Inventing — means creating something new; the sentence is about using an existing appliance, not designing or building one.
Explaining — means describing or clarifying something to someone else; the sentence describes personal, hands-on ability with a device, not a teaching or communication act.
Hence, the word that correctly completes blank (iv) is ‘operating’.