Fill in the Blanks Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The blank takes "could": he was so tired that he could scarcely stand. The sentence is in the past, and "so tired that" begins a clause of result, so the modal must be the past form could. "Scarcely" already makes the meaning nearly negative, so no "not" is needed.

"Can" is a present form and does not agree with "was" in the first clause. "Should" would suggest advice or duty, and "may" would suggest permission or possibility in the present, so neither suits a past result.

Answer: B

The pair is pace, being. A person walks at a brisk pace, a standard collocation, whereas speed, rhythm and step do not go with ‘brisk’ in the same way. The second blank needs a participle to introduce the reason: they were stronger, being carnivores.

The other options supply finite verbs (are, be, is) that make the clause ungrammatical after the comma.

Note that ‘brisk pace’ is a fixed phrase for a quick walking speed: one says walk at a brisk pace, not at a brisk rhythm or step. The word ‘being’ in the second blank turns the clause into a reason, because they were stronger, being carnivores.

Answer: A

The pair is spotted, are. Researchers have spotted a clouded leopard means they have seen it, and the second blank needs a plural verb for ‘Clouded leopards’: they are known for their spotted coat.

‘Were’ changes the tense wrongly in a statement of general fact, ‘be’ cannot follow a plural subject here, and ‘is’ does not agree with the plural subject.

The verb ‘spotted’ is the right sense of the first blank: in wildlife reports researchers spot, record or sight an animal. ‘Discovered’ and ‘found’ need a different second verb, and ‘seen’ with ‘were’ makes the second sentence a past statement about leopards in general.

Answer: C

The pair is goals, previously. The Paris agreement sets out goals, meaning targets, and the scale of glacial loss is greater than previously thought, meaning thought earlier. Both words fit their blanks in sense and grammar.

‘Afore’ and ‘early’ are not natural before ‘thought’ in this sentence, ‘milestones’ are stages along the way rather than the aims an agreement sets out, and ‘formerly’ refers to a past state and not to an earlier belief, so option C is the best fit.

Answer: A

The pair is even, by. ‘Still lying ... even after a major refit’ shows the unexpected persistence of the situation, and the second blank takes ‘by’: ferry it by ship.

‘Such’, ‘so’ and ‘as’ do not fit before ‘after’, and ‘in ship’, ‘on ship’ and ‘with ship’ are not idiomatic for the means of transport in this sentence.

The word ‘even’ stresses the surprise that the submarines are still there after the refit. The sentence also needs a preposition of means in the second blank, so ‘by ship’ completes the phrase, as in by road or by air.

Answer: C

The set is spotted; said; to protect. The wolf and the bat have been spotted (seen) in the forests. The official further said, in the past tense to agree with the report. The plan is being created to protect and promote them, an infinitive of purpose.

‘Dotted’, ‘blotted’ and ‘specked’ are not used for sighting animals, and ‘say’ or ‘says’ and ‘protected’ or ‘protecting’ break the tense and the infinitive.

Answer: B

'Could' and 'seem' complete the sentence correctly. 'As stylish as he could afford' means as stylish as his means allowed, and 'men who habitually seem busy and efficient when they are not' contrasts how they look with how they are.

'Would afford' and 'should afford' do not fit the idea of ability or means, and 'appear', 'look' and 'show' read less naturally than 'seem' with the phrase 'busy and efficient when they are not'. Option 4, 'might afford, show', also loses the sense of ability to pay.

Answer: D

'Named' and 'vital' fit best. 'Named for its resemblance to a turkey's tail' explains where the fungus gets its name, and decomposers that break down dead wood are vital for life on earth because they recycle nutrients.

'Blamed for' does not suit a harmless resemblance, and 'meant for its resemblance' is not idiomatic. 'Known for its resemblance' reads acceptably, but 'mandatory for life on earth' is wrong because mandatory means required by a rule, not essential in nature, and 'pivotal' goes with 'meant', which already fails.

Answer: B

'Galloped' and 'against' complete the passage. A frightened horse bolts and gallops away, and a battle that is going against someone is going badly for him, which fits soldiers who are beaten.

A lame horse that is frightened would not simply walk or run around, and 'stumbled away' plus 'going across him' makes no sense. 'Going from him' and 'going around him' do not express that the battle was being lost.

The sentence structure helps: 'had galloped away' pairs with a horse that is frightened, and 'going against him' pairs with a lost battle.

Answer: B

'Into', 'ahead' and 'initiated' fit. One orders a probe into an incident, and a flight that left hours ahead of its schedule departed early. The probe was initiated after the early take-off, which is the natural collocation.

'Probe of' and 'probe over' are not the usual forms, 'hours behind' or 'hours advance of schedule' do not make the sense of departing early, and 'hours before of schedule' is ungrammatical.

'Initiated' collocates with 'probe', and 'ahead of schedule' is the usual phrase for something that happens earlier than planned.