Question

Read the passage and accordingly, fill in the blank:

Here are a couple of generalizations about England that would be accepted by almost all observers. One is that the English are not gifted artistically. They are not as musical as the Germans or Italians. Painting and sculpture have never flourished in England as they have in France. Another is that as Europeans go, the English are not intellectual. They have a horror of abstract thought, they feel no need for any philosophy or systematic 'world-view'. Nor is this because they are 'practical', as they are so fond of claiming for themselves. One has only to look at their methods of town planning and water supply. Their obstinate clinging to everything that is out of date and a nuisance, a spelling system that defies analysis and a system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compiler of arithmetic books, to see how little they care about mere efficiency. But they have a certain power of acting without taking thought. Their word-famed hypocrisy - their double-faced attitude towards the Empire, for instance - is bound up with this. Also, in moments of supreme crisis, the whole nation can suddenly draw together and act upon a species of instinct, really a code of conduct which is understood almost by everyone, though never formulated.

Their spelling system _______________.

• A. cannot be analysed
• B. cannot be understood
• C. cannot be found
• D. none of the above

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

cannot be analysed

Option A: It's mentioned in this line: "a spelling system that defies analysis."
By the phrase 'defies analysis', we mean that 'it is difficult or challenging to analyze'. ('defy' means 'challenging')
It simply means that the spelling system cannot be analyzed.
Hence option A is correct.
Option B: 'Cannot be understood' is not a suitable option, as these words have not been written in relation to the 'spelling system'.
According to these lines, 'system of weights and measures that is intelligible only to the compiler of arithmetic books', 'intelligible' means 'comprehensible, understandable', and relates to the system of weights and measures.
Hence option B is incorrect.
Option C: This line does not convey what the line in the passage means.
'Cannot be found' refers to something that is lost, and the spelling system isn't lost. So, option C is incorrect.
Option D is incorrect because the answer lies in A.