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 ___(v)___ 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)___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
(viii)=?
(question no 1 till 10 are linked together )
- A.
possibility
- B.
talent
- C.
master
- D.
ability
Attempted by 3 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
In vocabulary-based cloze blanks, the choice depends on the word's core meaning AND its typical collocation (which preposition or structure it pairs with) — near-synonyms often differ in exactly this way.
Here the blank needs a noun that pairs naturally with “to deal with new technology” and names a general, learnable capacity that can grow over time (the sentence goes on to say it will probably improve/increase). “Ability” is exactly this noun: “ability to do something” is the standard collocation, and ability is a capacity that develops with practice. “Talent” instead names an inborn gift for a specific activity and collocates with “for”, not “to deal with”. “Master” is a person-noun (an expert) or a verb (to master something) — it cannot function as “your master to deal with”. “Possibility” names the chance or likelihood of an event, not a personal capacity.
Re-reading the full sentence with “ability” confirms the sense: as the writer’s own capacity to handle new technology grows, their children will in turn feel even more comfortable with it — the intended generational contrast holds together only with “ability”.