Question

Fill in blank [3] with a suitable preposition:

• A. at
• B. on
• C. in
• D. for

Answer 1

The correct option is C in

Options A and C: 'In' means 'within' or 'enclosed by'. It is relevant to the given sentence, as it means 'within the plains'.
A: 'At' refers to place or time. When referring to a place, 'at' refers to the exteriors of a place, or it speaks about being at a place in a very general sense. Consider 'at the mall' and 'in the mall'. 'At the mall' may mean that you're at the gate of the mall or even inside it. But, 'in the mall' specifies that you are inside the mall.
In the passage given, the 'holy places' can only be situated 'in the plains' and not 'at the plains', as the latter means that the 'holy places' are on the outskirts of the plains.
Hence, option C is correct and A is incorrect.
Option B: 'On' refers to 'the top or surface of something'. We use 'on' to refer to a position along a road or river. For example, 'Mumbai is on the west coast of India. But here, the sentence does not describe the position. Hence B is incorrect.
Option D: 'For' refers to a purpose or 'the sake of'. The sentence "the hills or ___ the plains..." does not indicate purpose.
Hence D is also incorrect.