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 5.
- (a)including
- (b)mixing
- (c)gathering
- (d)counting
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The blank has to link a noun phrase to a list of examples: rehabilitation of threatened wildlife species ______ inland aquatic, coastal and marine ecosystems.
including is a preposition here, not a verb, and its whole job is to introduce members of the set just named. It rewrites as such as.
The other three are ordinary -ing verb forms, and each would need somebody doing the mixing, gathering or counting. Option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)mixing — mixing demands an agent, and nobody in the sentence mixes anything. It would also claim the ecosystems are being blended together, which the passage never says.
- (c)gathering — gathering names an act of collecting. Ecosystems are not gathered, and this slot has to introduce examples rather than describe an action.
- (d)counting — counting means tallying. Even in the informal use where counting means including, it is about enumeration, and the sentence is not adding anything up.
Concept
Some -ing words have hardened into prepositions and no longer need a subject: including, regarding, concerning, considering, following, during.
Test one with a paraphrase. including rewrites as such as, and the sentence still stands. Mixing, gathering and counting will not take that paraphrase, because each names an action somebody performs.
If the -ing word demands an agent, it is a participle — and this slot has no agent to give it.
The examples listed after the blank are ecosystems while the noun before it is species, so including reads a little loosely in this sentence. The item is testing the word class, not the logic of the list.
Key facts
- Including, regarding, concerning, considering and during are -ing forms that function as prepositions.
- A present participle needs an agent, while a participial preposition does not.
- Including introduces part of a set and can usually be replaced by such as.
Study next
Common traps
- Treating including as a verb and hunting for its subject.
- Choosing counting because it can loosely mean including in speech.
- Picking a word for its meaning without asking whether the slot needs a preposition.
This cloze set closes on a structure blank, and the three wrong options are -ing forms that look like the key but need an agent.
Comparable closing blanks are keyed at 13 Sep 2024, 4:00 PM, English Q.25 (that distasteful sprawl ______ them keys across) and at 18 Sep 2024, 4:00 PM, English Q.24 (the rise was influenced ______ part by an increase keys in).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.