NDA (II) 2023 General Ability Test · Question 9 of 146

Correct — B, 'extinction'. Extinction is the dying out of a species, so a stated probability of extinction within a set number of years or generations is exactly how endangerment is defined. The subject of the sentence is 'endangered species', and the risk a species runs is the risk of ceasing to exist.

• (a)distinction — It means a difference between things, or an honour awarded for excellence. It is in the list only because it looks and sounds like the right answer.
• (c)complication — A complication is a difficulty that makes a situation harder to handle, not the disappearance of a species.
• (d)completion — Completion is the finishing of a task, which cannot be said of a species.

'Extinction' is the permanent dying out of a species; its near twin 'distinction' means a difference or an honour.

Extinction and distinction are paired in this format again and again because so little separates them on the page. Anchor on the subject of the sentence — species face extinction, people earn distinction.

• 'With distinction' means with marked excellence, as in passing an examination with distinction.

• Reading past the first three letters and picking 'distinction'.
• Choosing a word that fits the grammar but cannot be predicated of a species.

Asked as a fill-in-the-blank item — choose the word that completes the sentence.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word that best completes the sentence. Relentless hunting and habitat loss drove the passenger pigeon to __________.

  • (a)distinction
  • (b)completion
  • (c)extinction
  • (d)complication

  Answer(c) extinction — extinction is the dying out of a species.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word that best completes the sentence. She passed the final examination with __________.

  • (a)extinction
  • (b)distinction
  • (c)completion
  • (d)complication

  Answer(b) distinction — 'with distinction' means with marked excellence.