People by and large are concerned with and pursue self-interest. They are unlikely to be motivated to use renewable resources in a prudent and sustainable fashion. They are unlikely to be motivated under the following conditions : if their resource catchments are vast, so that degradation of any particular portion affects them very little; or if they have open before them possibilities of substitution as any one resource element is depleted; or if their control over the resource base is tenuous, so that others may, at any time, deplete a resource they value, even if they use it in a restrained fashion. Indeed, exhaustive use is highly likely when any one of these three conditions obtains. It is only when people perceive their resource catchments as limited, possibilities of substitution of exhausted resource elements as not readily feasible, and their own control over the resource base as secure, will they be motivated to use the resources in a prudent fashion. People, rooted in a locality, and retaining control over their resource base are most likely to fulfil all three prerequisites for sustainable resource use; and therefore to behave in ways conducive to the conservation of biodiversity within their localities. Which among the following is closest in meaning with the word ‘deplete’ ?
- (a)exhaust
- (b)complete
- (c)replete
- (d)desperate
Correct — A, ‘exhaust’. To deplete a resource is to draw it down until little is left, and to exhaust it means the same. The passage supplies its own confirmation: it speaks of ‘exhaustive use’ and of ‘exhausted resource elements’ in the very sentences that use deplete, so the writer plainly treats the two as interchangeable.
- (b)complete — To complete is to finish a task, not to use up a stock — the shared ending is the whole of the resemblance.
- (c)replete — Replete means filled to abundance, which is the reverse of depleted.
- (d)desperate — Desperate describes a state of mind and has nothing to do with the consumption of a resource.
Deplete comes from Latin deplere, to empty out, built on plere, to fill. Replete comes from the same root with the prefix re-, and means filled up, so the two words face in opposite directions.
Three options rhyme with the target word and only one means it, which is the whole design of the item. Complete, replete and deplete all end alike because they share the root plere; the prefix decides the direction each takes. The passage settles the matter on its own, since exhaustive use is the writer's description of what happens once a resource is depleted.
- Complete, replete and deplete all descend from Latin plere, to fill, with com-, re- and de- steering the sense.
- Replete means well supplied or filled, the reverse of depleted.
- Desperate is unrelated to the group and comes from Latin desperare, to lose hope.
- Picking a word that rhymes with the target instead of one that matches its meaning.
- Reading replete as a form of depleted.
Asked as a vocabulary item inside a comprehension set — choose the word closest in meaning.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which word is closest in meaning to ‘prudent’ as it is used in the passage?
- (a)reckless
- (b)careful
- (c)rapid
- (d)generous
Answer(b) careful — prudent use is restrained, sparing use.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which word is closest in meaning to ‘tenuous’ as it is used in the passage?
- (a)strong
- (b)weak
- (c)lawful
- (d)shared
Answer(b) weak — tenuous control is insecure, which is why others can deplete the resource.