In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Global warming is a major problem. The result will be the problems created by the rising temperatures of the Arctic region. As a result of global warming, (1)_________ in rainfall and plant distribution affect the migration patterns, feeding behaviour, and breeding preferences of numerous bird species. The increase in the temperature may also alter ocean currents, which may alter the (2)__________ ecology as a whole. Greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the ongoing melting of the Arctic. This will result in a (3)__________loop since greenhouse gases trap the heat in the atmosphere and the additional emissions may (4)__________ the global warming process. Now, the only way to reverse the harm is for every person to be environmentally sensitive. This may offer us hope that we will be able to leave a green planet to our future generations, who presently appear to face (5)__________.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 5.
- (a)extinction
- (b)renovation
- (c)salvation
- (d)redemption
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The sentence is built on a contrast: the hope of leaving 'a green planet to our future generations' set against what those generations 'presently appear to face'.
The verb face takes something unwelcome — you face danger, face ruin, face extinction — so the blank needs a negative noun.
Renovation, salvation and redemption are all good outcomes and would make the sentence contradict its own contrast. Extinction is the threat the hope is offered against → option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)renovation — Renovation is the repair or modernising of a building. It is a positive word, and it is not used of generations of people.
- (c)salvation — Salvation means being saved or rescued. Generations facing salvation would need no hope held out to them.
- (d)redemption — Redemption means deliverance or making amends — again a good outcome, where the sentence needs the danger that makes environmental sensitivity urgent.
Concept
This blank is decided by contrast. 'This may offer us hope' promises a good outcome, and 'who presently appear to face' introduces what that hope is set against, so the two halves must pull in opposite directions.
The verb face is the second signal: it collocates with unpleasant things — face a crisis, face charges, face extinction.
Extinction is the dying out of a species or a line, which is the negative outcome the contrast calls for.
Extinction is a strong word to use of human generations, and some candidates hesitate for that reason. The passage keeps that register throughout — 'a major problem', 'the ongoing melting of the Arctic', 'reverse the harm'.
Key facts
- Extinction is the complete dying out of a species or group.
- The verb face is normally followed by something unwelcome, such as a threat, a charge or a penalty.
- Salvation and redemption both denote rescue or deliverance, so neither can follow face in this contrast.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing salvation because the sentence mentions hope, when the hope belongs to the other half of the contrast.
- Reading renovation as renewal — renovation is confined to buildings and structures.
The last blank of a cloze often falls in the writer's concluding sentence, as on 25 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.25, where the keyed word is 'Jeopardise'.
Locate the contrast word before you weigh the four nouns against each other.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.