_______, the committee is of the opinion that all academic matters will be discussed in the Executive Body Meeting.

Correct — A, Hence. 'Hence' is a conclusive connector meaning 'therefore', and the sentence draws a resulting decision — the committee's opinion — so a therefore-type link is what the slot needs. There is no contrast or time shift in the clause, which is why an adversative or temporal marker cannot open it.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  But — 'But' signals a contrast, but the sentence contains no opposing idea for it to answer to.
• (d)
  Although — 'Although' is a concessive conjunction that must be followed by a second, contrasting clause; only one clause is present.
• (c)
  Later — 'Later' is a time adverb, but nothing in the sentence sets up a sequence of events for it to mark.

A discourse-marker completion: the connector must match the logical relation in the clause — here a conclusion, which calls for a 'therefore' word rather than a contrast or time marker.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Fill in the blank: The road was flooded; _______, the match was called off.

  • (a)although
  • (b)hence
  • (c)meanwhile
  • (d)but
  Answer(b) hence — the second clause is the result of the first, so a 'therefore' connector fits.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the correct connector: She studied hard; _______, she failed the interview.

  • (a)therefore
  • (b)so
  • (c)however
  • (d)hence
  Answer(c) however — the result is unexpected, so a contrast marker is needed, not a 'therefore' word.