SarkariPYQ

SSC MTS 2024 PYQ — Question 87

SSC MTS - 14/10/2024 - (4:00 PM - 5:30 PM) • English • Q87

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In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel (1)_____ fore-and-aft rigging on the mainmast and square rigging on the foremast. The pirates that (2)______ the Mediterranean in the sixteenth century loved it for its speed and ease of handling. The brigantine (3)_________ into a true sailing vessel in the waters of northern Europe. Although the words began to be used interchangeably, it was (4)_______ from the fully square-rigged brig by its gaff-rigged mainsail. True brigantines, for (5)_____, were defined as having square topsails above a gaffed mainsail.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 2.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B

Explanation

The correct answer is option 2 i.e. ravaged.

Context:
The sentence is about pirates in the sixteenth century and their activities in the Mediterranean Sea. Pirates are known for attacking, looting, and causing destruction.

Meaning of the words:

  • Ravaged = destroyed, attacked violently, looted

  • Fixed = attached or repaired

  • Integrated = combined or united

  • Transpired = happened or occurred

Correct word:
The correct word is ravaged, because pirates are described as attacking and looting the Mediterranean during that time.

Reason:
The sentence is highlighting why pirates loved the brigantine — for speed and ease of handling. This makes sense only if the pirates ravaged (attacked and plundered) the Mediterranean using these ships.

Final Sentence:
The pirates that ravaged the Mediterranean in the sixteenth century loved it for its speed and ease of handling.

Hence, the chosen option is correct.