In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Recently, the (1)________ of heart-attacks in young Indians (2)________ increased tremendously. Doctors are surprised to note that young men and women with seemingly healthy lifestyle are suffering deadly heart attacks. (3)________ diet and exercise play a (4)________ role in a person’s overall wellbeing, mental health is also a valuable factor. The (5)________ urban lifestyle is causing anxiety and depression in young Indians which may be a major factor behind the increased numbers.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 4.
- (a)increased
- (b)epic
- (c)historic
- (d)monumental
Answer
Why
Correct — D. The frame around the blank is play a ___ role, which takes an adjective of importance, and monumental means very great in importance.
The sentence grants that diet and exercise matter a great deal before adding mental health to them, so the adjective has to be a strong one.
The printed article is a, which independently rules out 'increased' and 'epic' — both begin with a vowel sound and would need 'an'.
play a monumental role → option (d).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)increased — increased claims a rise from some earlier level that the passage never mentions, and it would need 'an increased role' against the printed 'a'.
- (b)epic — epic belongs to stories and journeys on a heroic scale, not to what diet contributes to wellbeing, and 'a epic' fails the printed article as well.
- (c)historic — historic means important in history, remembered as an event. A daily habit's contribution to wellbeing is not a historical landmark, however large it is.
Concept
This blank is a collocation test. 'Play a ... role' is a fixed frame, and the adjectives that live inside it grade importance: vital, crucial, key, significant, monumental.
Monumental comes from 'monument' — great enough to be worth building a monument to — so it works as a strong marker of importance.
The other three grade something else: one marks a change in quantity, and two mark scale in history or in legend. None of them measures importance in the way the frame needs.
Keep the article in view while you read the options.
English picks a or an by the sound that follows, so the printed 'a' quietly disqualifies any vowel-initial adjective before meaning is even considered.
Key facts
- Monumental means very great in importance or in size.
- 'An' is used before a vowel sound, as in 'an increased role' and 'an epic journey'.
- Historic means important in history, while historical means relating to history.
- 'Play a role' collocates with adjectives of importance such as vital, crucial and significant.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing 'historic' because it feels weighty
- Ignoring the printed article, which removes two options on its own
- Judging the adjective alone instead of reading it inside the whole frame 'play a ___ role'
Cloze passages are built on fixed frames, and the deleted word is often the one the frame constrains most tightly.
The same collocation is printed intact in the passage used at 12 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.21 to Q.25, which contains 'played an influential role in enabling the creation of an independent India in 1947'.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.