Question

Fill in the blank in the given sentence to complete it logically and correctly:

Indeed, the hold of competition on man exists not alone in his feeling of rivalry toward others; it is evidenced also in the excitement he immediately feels in the presence of ________ struggle, even though he himself has little or no personal stake.

• A. unpredictable
• B. epic
• C. competitive
• D. rash

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

competitive

The given passage focuses on man and "the hold of competition on man". He feels an excitement in the presence of struggle, we need to choose an adjective that modifies the noun "struggle". 'Competitive' is an adjective that means 'the nature of competition, a rivalry between two or more persons or groups of people', it modifies the noun 'struggle' in terms of logic as well as grammatically, 'competitive struggle' means the struggle of rivalry for the purpose of survival, and is relevant to the passage as it's given "the hold of competition on man exists not alone in his feeling of rivalry... in the excitement he immediately feels". Hence option C is correct. 'Unpredictable' means 'something that cannot be predicted or foreseen', it does not modify 'struggle', as it's not relevant to the passage which focuses on competition and rivalry, hence option A is incorrect. 'Epic' in this context means 'impressively great', when it modifies 'struggle' it refers to a specific struggle that took place whereas the sentence here speaks about struggle in general, hence option B is incorrect. 'Rash' means 'acting hastily, without considering the consequences', it does not modify the noun 'struggle' as it's not relevant to the passage which focuses on competition, hence option D is incorrect.