After this incident I went to Nainital, and returned after nearly a month. I had _____ (21) taken _____ (22) my clothes when I saw Gangu standing _____ (23) a new baby. He was _____ (24) with joy. Even Nanda _____ (25) not have _____ (26) such joy _____ (27) getting Krishna. His face had the same _____ (28) that _____ (29) on the face of a _____ (30) man after a full meal. His face had the same _____ that
- (a)light
- (b)glow
- (c)sense
- (d)hope
Correct — B, glow. A glow is the warm light that contentment puts on a face, and it is the one noun of the four that matches the picture the sentence draws of a man who has just eaten his fill.
- (a)light — A light on a face or in the eyes goes with something sudden — understanding, excitement, recognition — and not with the settled warmth of a man who has finished a good meal.
- (c)sense — A sense is felt inside and normally needs 'of' and a noun after it, so it is not something that can be seen appearing on a face.
- (d)hope — Hope looks forward to something still wanted, but the man in the comparison has just been fed, so what shows on his face is satisfaction rather than expectation.
The blank needs a noun for something visible on a face, and English pairs 'glow' with warmth, health and contentment.
The comparison works in both directions in the passage. Gangu has just been given a son, and the face of a starved man after a full meal is the writer's picture of that same quiet, filled-up happiness. Of the four nouns only 'glow' can be seen on a face and carries contentment rather than expectation.
- A glow of satisfaction, a glow of health and a glow of pride are all standard English pairings.
- 'A light came into his eyes' works because a light suggests something sudden.
- 'Sense' takes 'of' after it — a sense of relief, a sense of loss — and names an inner feeling.
- Choosing a word that is loosely possible instead of the one the picture in the sentence demands.
Asked as a cloze blank where the comparison at the end of the sentence decides which noun fits.
The soldiers waiting to go into battle for the first time were full of _____.
- (a) apprehension
- (b) consideration
- (c) anticipation
- (d) frivolity
Answer(a) apprehension
Same skill — four abstract nouns, and only one matches the situation the sentence sets up. There soldiers untested before their first battle are full of apprehension rather than anticipation; here the face of a man who has just eaten wears a glow rather than hope.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word that best fills the blank — There was a ____ of health on the child's cheeks after a month in the hills.
- (a)sense
- (b)glow
- (c)hope
- (d)light
Answer(b) glow — a glow of health is the standard pairing for warm colour on the face.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word that best fills the blank — Everyone in the hall felt a ____ of relief when the missing child was found.
- (a)glow
- (b)light
- (c)sense
- (d)hope
Answer(c) sense — a sense of relief is the fixed way of naming that inner feeling.