In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Culture is (1)_______, understanding, and protecting, like the cultivation of a garden, not the destruction or eradication of its roots. Understanding the roots and seeds, taking much care and providing instructed nourishment (2)_______ important for good gardening. Culture also is similar; understanding its acquaintance (3)______ literature and art and careful protection are required. Culture is the way of life of a particular society in which a group of people live together in one place. The society’s culture is visible in its literature, arts, social system, language and religion. It is a combination of traditions, customs, institutions, food habits, manners, morals, thoughts, tastes, views and beliefs. Usually, families (4)______ culture to the younger generations. As family system is becoming weak, schools, colleges and universities should take up this responsibility as education should promote potential values of its culture. The role of universities (5)_______ only to issue course completed certificates.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 1.
- (a)to create
- (b)create
- (c)creating
- (d)creation
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The blank is the first item of a three-part list: (1)______, understanding, and protecting. The two items beside it are -ing forms, and coordinated items must share one grammatical shape.
Option (c), creating, is the -ing form on offer, and it reads cleanly: Culture is creating, understanding, and protecting.
The simile that follows supports the same reading — the cultivation of a garden is an ongoing activity, which is what the three -ing forms describe.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)to create — to create would force the whole list into infinitives — to create, to understand, and to protect. Mixed with understanding and protecting, it breaks the parallel.
- (b)create — create is a bare verb, and Culture is create is not English. The finite verb is already there, so a second bare verb cannot follow it.
- (d)creation — creation is a noun, and the third item protecting is not. A noun list would have to read creation, understanding and protection all the way through.
Concept
This is a parallel structure blank, decided by the words on either side of the gap rather than by the sense of the paragraph.
When items are joined by and, they must be the same kind of thing grammatically — all gerunds, all infinitives, or all nouns. Here two of the three slots are already filled with -ing forms, so the third is settled before you weigh the meanings.
An -ing form after be is perfectly normal as a complement: the aim is protecting the roots.
The sentence is the passage's opening line, so there is no earlier context to lean on. Everything you need sits inside the list itself.
Key facts
- Items joined by and in a list must share one grammatical form — all gerunds, all infinitives or all nouns.
- An -ing form can serve as a subject complement after be: her job is teaching.
- A bare infinitive cannot follow a finite form of be, which is why is create is ungrammatical.
Study next
Common traps
- Filling the blank by ear before reading to the end of the list, where the parallel is set
- Taking to create as safe because infinitives often follow be, without checking the other items
In a cloze passage a verb-form blank is decided by the words touching the gap, not by the general drift of the paragraph.
Verb-form blanks of the same kind are keyed at 12 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.24 (proven) and 13 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.22 (having).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.