Question

The current _______ in global negotiations over the ban on nuclear test does not augur well for the future. Choose the most appropriate word to fill the blank.
A. Moratorium
B. Controversy
C. Insight
D. Stalemate
E. Rapprochement

Answer 1

Hint: In order to place the correct word in the blank, we need to understand the context of the sentence. The context of this sentence is about some sort of negotiations. This is related with the ban on nuclear tests along with considerations to the future results.

Complete answer:
1. In order to find the correct answer, we need to go through all the options one by one and find their meaning in order to get the right word to fill the blank.
2. The first option 'moratorium' means a situation of temporary prohibition of an activity. For example, “The students were unhappy when they came to know about their Games moratorium”.
3. The second option 'controversy' means a prolonged public disagreement or a heated discussion. It can be used in a sentence such as, “The controversy of the actor’s mysterious death was a matter of controversy for several years”.
4. The third option 'insight' is basically the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of something or someone or simply an accurate and deep understanding. For instance, “This book gives an insight about biochemistry”.
5. The fourth option, 'stalemate' , refers to a situation in which counter action by the opponent or competing parties seems impossible. For example, “The chess match was in a Stalemate situation”.
6. The fifth option, 'Rapprochement' means approach someone again after being denied once. For example, “There were signs of growing rapprochement between the rival teams”.
Hence, we can say that the word 'stalemate' fits perfectly with the given context. Therefore, the fourth option is correct.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘D’

Note: While solving such questions, one needs to understand the context of the sentence at first. Another important criterion is to use the words which are grammatically correct. See the present context. We can see that the verb ‘augur’ depicts here that the situation as evolved will show the gloomy light of the future. So, it helped us to understand the fact that the present situation is not at all healthy. (It is noteworthy because the situation that prevails now is sort of ‘stagnant’.