In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered.…
2025
In the following passage there are blanks, each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find out the appropriate word in each case.
As international oil prices head higher, India will have to ..(1).. itself for the economic risks of expensive energy. Brent crude oil futures were trading at about $70 a barrel on Friday, marking a four-year high and a price increase of close to 6% since the start of the year. The rise in international prices has been particularly sharp given that oil had been selling at below $45 in June. This is a rally of about 55% in a matter of just months. Oil price ..(2).. have often been explained by changes in the supply outlook ..(3).. by the decisions of major oil producers. Oil trading at $70 should offer some ..(4).. to traditional oil producers like the OPEC members, which have suffered the ..(5).. of U.S. shale producers.
Find the appropriate word in case 1
(question no 11 till 15 are linked together )
- A.
adynamic
- B.
aegis
- C.
backward
- D.
armor
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept: In a vocabulary-based cloze test, the word chosen for a blank must satisfy two independent tests at once: it must be the correct part of speech for the grammatical slot, and it must carry the sense the surrounding context calls for. After a construction like "will have to ___", the slot needs a base-form verb — an adjective, adverb, or noun cannot occupy it, however close its meaning may seem.
Application: Here the sentence is "India will have to ___ itself for the economic risks of expensive energy" — a country readying itself against an approaching threat. Testing each option against the verb requirement:
adynamic is an adjective meaning lacking energy or force; it cannot occupy a verb slot at all, regardless of its meaning.
aegis is a noun meaning protection or patronage, almost always locked inside the fixed phrase "under the aegis of"; a noun cannot serve as the sentence's main verb.
backward is an adjective/adverb describing direction or a lack of progress; it too cannot function as a verb, and it carries no sense of preparing against a risk.
armor is the one option that can function as a verb — meaning to provide or equip with protective covering — matching both the grammatical need for a verb and the sense of a country readying itself against a threat.
Cross-check: Substituting armor back into the sentence — "India will have to armor itself for the economic risks of expensive energy" — reads as a complete, sensible verb phrase, consistent with the passage's warning about a sharp rise in oil prices. None of the remaining three options survives both the grammar and the meaning test.
Result: armor is the word that correctly completes the blank among the options offered.