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 limbs of the flying squirrel are interlinked with a membrane. When the creature (1)________ into the air, the membrane opens and the squirrel seems to (2)_______ swiftly downwards. This movement gives the (3)_______ of flight. However, it is not flying really. It is a (4)_______ in the air from a higher level. It is also noteworthy that a squirrel cannot (5)_____ its direction while it is in flying mode.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 4.
- (a)motion
- (b)wave
- (c)sign
- (d)progress
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The article a in front of the blank admits only a countable singular noun, and the sentence needs one that names what the squirrel is doing.
Motion is that noun: a motion is an act of moving. The sentence is restating the descent in plain terms — not flight, simply movement through the air that begins higher up.
Progress cannot follow a at all, and wave and sign name a shape and a signal rather than travel → option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)wave — Wave in the air is an undulation or a movement of the hand. Neither describes a body travelling downward from a height.
- (c)sign — Sign means an indication or a signal. The sentence before has already dealt with how the movement looks, and this one names what the movement actually is.
- (d)progress — Progress is uncountable in this sense, so a progress is not English, and progress means advance toward a goal rather than travel through the air.
Concept
Two filters settle most noun blanks, and they are quicker in this order.
The grammar filter first: a admits only a countable singular noun, which removes progress before its meaning is considered at all.
Then the discourse filter: ask what this sentence is doing in the paragraph. It follows "However, it is not flying really", so it must replace the rejected word with a plainer one. The paragraph needs a neutral word for movement, and motion is that word.
The printed sentence, "It is a motion in the air from a higher level", is not elegant English.
The item does not ask you to improve it. It asks which of the four given words fits it, and among these four only motion names a movement.
Key facts
- Motion, in its countable sense, means an act or instance of moving.
- Progress is uncountable, so English does not say a progress.
- The indefinite article a can precede only a countable singular noun.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing progress because the squirrel is going forward.
- Choosing sign after impression in the sentence before, since both suggest appearance.
- Filling the blank before reading the sentence that denies flight.
Blank (4) leans on the sentence before it, so this paragraph rewards reading English Q.21 to Q.25 of the 18 Sep 2024, 09:00 sitting together rather than one blank at a time.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.