Fill in the blank with a suitable preposition.
The speaker entered the podium _______ a mic. [Intermediate]
The preposition ‘by’ is generally used to refer to the agent who performs an action. Since the mic is not a person option A is incorrect. Similarly ‘through’ is unsuitable here because ‘through’ is used to refer to a means via which something is done. The sentence is not focusing on the means, thus option B is incorrect. Whereas ‘without’ is used to denote the absence of something. When we use the preposition in the given context it means that the person didn’t carry a mic with him while entering the podium which is apt. Hence option C is correct. On the other hand ‘within’ is a preposition of place that denotes being inside a place which is irrelevant here. Thus option D is incorrect.