SarkariPYQ

SSC MTS 2024 PYQ — Question 87

SSC MTS - 13/11/2024 - (4:00 PM - 5:30 PM) • English • Q87

Back to paper

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

Until that moment, every director in Hollywood had accepted as gospel (1)_______ that the audience should not be taxed too much. Welles struck a (2)_______ at these beliefs, without displaying the slightest of qualms. Visually, 'Citizen Kane' was shot with a harsh sharpness which (3)_____ every scene. Traditionally, every make-up man and cameraman in Hollywood had to keep a careful (4)_______ on the appearance of the heroine. Welles refused to follow this (5)_____ in the case of his own heroine. For the first time, dialogue was presented in its realistic form.

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

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A

Explanation

The correct answer is option 1 i.e. blow.

Context:
The sentence says, “Welles struck a _______ at these beliefs, without displaying the slightest of qualms.”
The expression “strike a blow at something” means to challenge or attack an idea, belief, or system.

Meaning of the words:

  • Bellow: to shout loudly in anger or pain.

  • Blue: a color; irrelevant here.

  • Blow: a hit or strike; used metaphorically to mean an attack on an idea.

  • Blew: past tense of “blow,” but grammatically incorrect in this phrase.

Correct word:
Blow — because the idiom “to strike a blow at” means to challenge or oppose strongly.

Reason:
Here, Welles challenged the traditional Hollywood beliefs, so “blow” fits both grammatically and contextually.

Final Sentence:
Welles struck a blow at these beliefs, without displaying the slightest of qualms.

Hence, the chosen option will be correct.