Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined words in…

One-word substitution questions test the ability to replace a descriptive phrase with a single precise word carrying the same meaning. Words built on the "-phobia" suffix name a specific fear, and the root before it identifies exactly what triggers that fear, so matching the correct term requires identifying the specific object or situation the phrase describes, not just recognising the general idea of fear.

The underlined phrase describes an intense, irrational fear of being shut inside small or enclosed spaces, illustrated in the sentence by Sarita's reluctance to step into a lift. The single word for this specific fear is claustrophobia, formed from the Latin root claustrum ("a bolted or enclosed place") and the Greek phobos ("fear").

• Agoraphobia describes a fear centred on open, crowded, or inescapable public spaces, the opposite setting from a small enclosed lift.

• Acrophobia describes a fear of heights, which is a different trigger from the confinement described in the sentence.

• Xenophobia describes a fear or dislike of strangers or foreign people, unrelated to physical spaces altogether.

Since the sentence's trigger is confinement rather than height, openness, or unfamiliarity, claustrophobia is the only term that substitutes the underlined phrase without changing the sentence's meaning.