Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word:
Stone age research was always on a low _______ in India.
a) key
b) scale
c) profile
d) point
e) ebb

Answer 1

Hint: An adjective is a word that expresses an attribute of something. An adjective is the word class that qualifies nouns.

Complete answer:
Let us analyze the options given to us in this question-
Option (a.), 'key', refers to ‘low-key’ which means ‘restrained in style or quality.’ Therefore, option (a.) is correct as ‘key’ forms a compound word with ‘low’ and it describes how stone age research in India is restrained.
Option (b.), ‘scale', refers to ‘an ordered reference standard.’Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect as ‘low scale’ does not have a complete meaning.
Option (c.), ‘profile', refers to ‘low profile’ which means ‘a state of low visibility in which public notice is avoided.’Therefore, option (c.) is incorrect as it does not make sense in the sentence.
Option (d.), ‘point', refers to a ‘low point’ which means ‘the bad/worst part of something.’
Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as it does not make sense in this sentence.
Option (e.), ‘ebb', refers to ‘flow back or recede.’Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as it does not make sense in this sentence.

Note:
 In this question, it will be helpful for the student to recall the concept of compound words. A compound word is (linguistics) a word composed of two or more stems. Examples include pancake, two-tone, and school bus – it may or may not have space or hyphen.