Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
He can climb trees __________ a monkey.
a) as though
b) like
c) as
d) as if

Answer 1

Hint: A literary device is (literature) an identifiable rule of thumb, convention, or structure that is employed in literature and storytelling.

Complete answer:
In the given question, we have to find out which of the options given to us includes a word or phrase that compares the resemblance between the two subjects.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question:
Option (a.), 'as though', is defined as ‘as to suggest the idea that; as if, as would be true if.’
Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect as no suggestion is being made.
Option (b.), ‘like’ is defined as ‘resembling or similar; having the same or some of the same characteristics; often used in combination’.
Therefore, option (b.) is correct as ‘like’ is used as a literary device to compare the resemblance of two different things.
Option (c.), ‘as', is defined as ‘to the same degree (often followed by `as').’
Therefore, option (c.) is incorrect as there is no degree being discussed.
Option (d.), ‘if', is defined as ‘supposing that, assuming that, in the circumstances, that; used to introduce a condition or choice.’ Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as no condition or choice is introduced.

Note:
In this question, it will be helpful for the student to recall the concept of similes. A simile is a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as').