In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. As a result of Covid-19, the quick (1) ______ to digital training has exposed the hazards of student disengagement and the resulting consequences of lower student performance across (2) ______ courses. The latest (3) ______ has altered the education of millions of people around the world. New approaches and improvements in the school system are urgently required. Considering the increasing digital divide, the strategy may exacerbate existing inequality disparities. More than 500 million students, at various levels, around the world were forced to (4) _______ their studies. These changes have caused and will continue to cause some inconvenience, but they will also foster innovation and future reforms inside this education system. During a global Covid-19 pandemic, the 'pile-on effect' of the coronavirus can have long-term consequences for schooling, notably for the most vulnerable. Children, (5) ________ basic, core learning (reading, math, languages, etc.) was weak to begin with, face a significant risk of regression. During Covid-19, millions of children whose right to education has already been violated, particularly girls, are exposed to greater health and well-being hazards (both psychosocial and physical).
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 2.
- (a)numerous
- (b)fewer
- (c)particular
- (d)limit
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The phrase to read whole is across ______ courses, and 'across' introduces a range.
The paragraph is describing damage that is general rather than local — disengagement and weaker performance wherever teaching went online.
Numerous means many, so it widens that range, which is what the argument needs. Option (a) is the only choice that makes the spread of the problem large.
Why the others are wrong
- (b)fewer — fewer is a comparative and narrows the range instead of widening it. It also demands a comparison with some other number, which this sentence never sets up.
- (c)particular — particular points at specific named courses, and the passage names none. It shrinks a claim the writer is making about schooling in general.
- (d)limit — limit is a noun. The slot before a plural noun needs an adjective, and the adjective from this root is 'limited', which would narrow the range anyway.
Concept
This blank is a scope decision, not a vocabulary one.
'Across' plus a plural noun sets up a spread, and the paragraph is arguing that the harm reached everywhere at once. A word that shrinks the spread fights the sentence around it.
Check the word class too. Two options here are quantity adjectives, one is a limiting adjective and one is a noun, so part of the field falls away before meaning is even considered.
Numerous and many are interchangeable in this slot. SSC prefers the formal one in a written passage, which is why 'many' does not appear as a rival option.
Key facts
- Numerous is an adjective meaning many, used with plural countable nouns.
- Fewer is the comparative used with countable nouns, and less with uncountable ones.
- The adjective formed from the noun limit is limited.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing 'fewer' because 'lower student performance' nearby also sounds like a decrease.
- Treating 'limit' as an adjective and reading the phrase as 'limited courses'.
In a cloze SSC often plants one option that is the right idea in the wrong word class, as 'limit' is here.
The rest of this passage's blanks sit at 10 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.21, Q.23, Q.24 and Q.25.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.