Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
He got low marks, but he _________________ to have answered most of the questions correctly.
(a) contracts
(b) claims
(c) blames
(d) conceives

Answer 1

Hint: To answer this question we must the meaning of the given options and then we have to check whether the given words is the correct answer or not.

Complete answer:
The given sentence means that a person answered most of the questions correctly but he only got low marks. He is complaining about the result of the work he did best.

Let us analyze the given options:
Consider option (A) contracts: This is incorrect, as the meaning of contracts is “decrease in size, number, or range”. In other words, we can say that “becoming short and tight”. It does not suit the context.
Consider option (B) claims: This is correct since the meaning of claims is “formally request or demand; say that one owns or has earned (something)”. It suits the context because in the given question, the person answering is mostly correct but still he has earned a low mark.
 Consider option (C) blames: this is incorrect, blames meaning is “assign the responsibility for a bad or unfortunate situation or phenomenon to (someone or something)”. Blame is put on other people whereas in our question we are looking for the credit he got for his own work. So it also does not suit the context.
Consider option (D) conceives: This also incorrect, conceives meaning is “become affected by (a feeling)”. In this context, the person doesn’t feel, rather than that he is communicating with others. Therefore, it is also not suitable for the context.

Therefore, the correct answer is option ‘B’ i.e, claims. He got low marks, but he claims to have answered most of the questions correctly.

Note:
- To claim something means to take or assert ownership of it, or to state something as true. A claim example would be to recover a lost jacket from the lost and found.
- A claim would be announcing that a specific person was to blame for a specific error. A claim is something that persuades, argues, convinces, proves, or provocatively suggests to a reader who may or may not agree with you at first.