In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. The third National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017- 2031, underlying India’s plan for wildlife conservation, was unveiled (1)______ the Global Wildlife Programme conference. The plan recognises (2)________ addresses concerns pertaining to climate changes and its impact on wildlife . The plan details the importance of ecosystems for food production, health and other aspects of (3)______ survival and sustainable development. It also emphasises preservation of genetic (4)_______ and sustainable utilisation of species and ecosystems which has direct bearing on our scientific advancements and support to millions of rural communities. The plan underscores rehabilitation of threatened wildlife species (5)_______ inland aquatic, coastal and marine ecosystems while conserving their habitats.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 1.
- (a)for
- (b)at
- (c)to
- (d)in
Answer
Why
Correct — B. The blank sits between a verb and an event: was unveiled ______ the Global Wildlife Programme conference.
English marks the occasion at which something happens with at — launched at a summit, announced at a press conference, unveiled at a conference.
at is the preposition of the point or occasion, and a conference is an occasion, so the plan was unveiled at it. Option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)for — for states purpose or beneficiary. Unveiled for the conference would say the plan was made to serve the event, not that it was launched during it.
- (c)to — to needs a recipient — you unveil a plan to an audience. What follows the blank is the event itself, not the people at it.
- (d)in — in suits enclosed spaces and texts, as in in Delhi or in the report. An occasion takes at, not in.
Concept
Prepositions of place and time work on a scale of size. at marks a point — a spot, a moment, an occasion. in marks something you are inside, a space or a stretch of time. on marks a surface or a day.
An event such as a conference, a ceremony, a wedding or a summit counts as a point on the calendar, so what happens there happens at it.
The verb helps too: unveil, launch, announce and release all take at with an event.
You will hear in the conference in speech, but the standard written collocation with an event is at the conference, and that is the reading the key takes.
Key facts
- An event or occasion takes at: at the conference, at the ceremony, at the summit.
- in marks an enclosed space or a period of time: in Delhi, in 2017, in the report.
- to marks a recipient, so a plan is unveiled to delegates but at a conference.
- Unveil, launch and announce pair with at when the following noun names the event.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing in because a conference physically happens inside a building.
- Choosing to by analogy with unveiled to the public, where a person or group follows.
- Reading the blank as a purpose slot and choosing for.
SSC builds these cloze sets so that some blanks test structure words rather than vocabulary. Here the three wrong options are prepositions that each fit a different structure.
Preposition blanks are also keyed at 24 Sep 2024, 12:30 PM, English Q.21 (according ______ the tenets of the Natya Shastra keys to) and at 23 Sep 2024, 9:00 AM, English Q.23 (understanding its acquaintance ______ literature and art keys with).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.