Gap Filling Exercise for competitive exams

In the following passage, there are blanks each of which has been numbered. These numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fills in the blank appropriately without changing its meaning. Find out the appropriate word in each case.

Many kinds of insects are .............1.............. and larger animals learn to ............2............ eating them. It is in the .............3.............. of these insects to show a ..............4.............. of some kind. The typical wasp, for example, .............5.............. a conspicuous colour pattern of black and yellow ...........6................ on its body. This is ............7............. distinctive that it is easy for a ...........8........... animal to remember it. After a few unfortunate experiences it quickly learns to ...........9............ insects bearing this pattern. Other, unrelated, poisonous insects may also carry a similar pattern. They become members of what has been called a 'warning club'.

The important point for us, in the present ............10............... is that some harmless species of insects have taken ...........11............. of this system by developing colour patterns similar to those of the poisonous members of the 'warning club'. In a bid to mimic the colour patterns of the wasps, certain ...........12............... flies also sport black and yellow bands of their body. By becoming ............13.............. members of the 'warning club' they reap the benefits without having to .............14.............. any real poison. The killers dare not attack them even though they would, in reality, make a ...............15............. meal.

Question 1

a) flying; b) conspicuous; c) vulnerable; d) big; e) poisonous

Question 2

a) desist; b) adjust; c) prefer; d) avoid; e) nurture

Question 3

a) habit; b) interest; c) goodwill; d) welfare; e) help

Question 4

a) dangerous; b) ambiguous; c) warning; d) coloured; e) safety

Question 5

a) reveal; b) paints; c) flashes; d) carried; e) loaded

Question 6

a) bands; b) pieces; c) paint; d) colours;e) clothes

Question 7

a) so; b) extremely ;c) normally; d) too; e) very

Question 8

a) bold; b) prey; c) chased; d) predatory ;e) hunted

Question 9

a) hate ; b) love ; c) approach; d) abstain; e) avoid

Question 10

a) text; b) premise ;c) context; d) day ; e) view

Question 11

a) profit; b) yield; c) disadvantage; d) ride ; e) advantage

Question

a) innocuous; b) detective; c) poisonous; d) clever ; e) cunning

Question 13

a) unregistered ;b) fake; c) honorary ;d) sycophant;e) original

Question 14

a) transport;b) inject ;c) possess; d) earn ; e) load

Question 15

a) troublesome; b) delicious; c) indigestible; d) hazardous ;e) cheap

Answers

1. poisonous; 2. avoid; 3. habit; 4. warning; 5. flashes; 6. bands; 7. so; 8. predatory; 9. avoid; 10. context; 11. advantage; 12. innocuous; 13. fake; 14. possess; 15. delicious

Sections in this article

Sentence agreement
Sentence agreement: plural subjects
Sentence agreement: collective nouns
Sentence agreement: indefinite pronouns

See also

Common mistakes in the use of nouns
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 1
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 2
Common mistakes in the use of nouns | Exercise 3

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