Complete the blanks problems?

The way of the desert and the way of the jungle represent the two 26
methods of reaching stability at two extremes o f density. In the jungle there is plenty of everything life needs27mere space, and it is not for the want of anything else that individuals die or that races have any limit 28 to their proliferation. Everything is on top of everything else; there is no cranny which is not both occupied and disputed. At every moment, war to the death rages fiercely. The place29vacant by any creature that dies is seized almost30by another, and life seems to suffer from nothing except too favorable an environment. In the desert, 31the other hand, it is the environment itself which serves 32 the limiting factor. To some extent the struggle of creature against creature is mitigated,33it is of course not abolished even in the vegetable kingdom. For the plant which in the one place would 34to death by its neighbor dies a thirsty seedling in the desert because that same neighbor has drawn the scant moisture from the spot of earth35it was attempting to spring.

  1. A. similar B. confining C. opposite D. alternative
  2. A. about B. except C. between D. among
  3. A. set B. be set C. setting D. been set
  4. A. leaving B. left C. that leaves D. which has left
  5. A. instantly B. constantly C. persistently D. insistently
  6. A. in B. at C. on D. by
  7. A. for B. as C. on D. of
  8. A. because B. when C. as D. though
  9. A. strangle B. be strangled C. strangling D. have strangled
  10. A. which B. of which C. in which D. out of which

1 Answer
Apr 15, 2018

I would choose C for 1, B for 2, A for 3, B for 4, A for 5, C for 6, B for 7, D for 8, B for 9, and D for 10. I'm not sure about the last one.

Explanation:

  1. The methods are not similar; they are two different methods at different extremes. They are not alternative because there is no other method mentioned. Confining does not make sense in this context.

  2. Except would be the best word here because the statement is saying that animals have everything they need except for space.

  3. The other three choices are grammatically incorrect. "Been set," for instance, is in the past tense. The sentence is in present tense.

  4. The other three choices are grammatically incorrect. The place is not leaving. The place is not leaving something vacant.

  5. The other three words do not make sense in this context; taking something's place is not a persistent or insistent act.

  6. On the other hand is a phrase that is used commonly. At/in/by the other hand are not said.

  7. "Serves on" and "serves for" do not make sense because there is nothing to serve on/for. "Serve" and "of" are not used together.

  8. "Because" is used to explain something. Plants turning on each other does not explain the creatures struggling against each other. "When" is used to indicate time. Here, plants turning on each other is not used for time. "As" compares things.

  9. "Strangling" and "have strangled" make it sound as though the first plant is strangling its neighbor, which it is not.

  10. The plant is springing out of the earth. It is not springing inside the earth.