Understanding the Passage and the Cloze Test

The passage discusses the significant role of childhood in shaping a person's future character and instincts. It emphasizes that the foundational aspects of an individual are laid down during their early years, influencing what they become as adults. This type of question is a cloze test, which evaluates your vocabulary and understanding of context to fill in missing words in a passage.

Let's focus on finding the most appropriate word for blank number 3.

Analyzing Blank No. 3

The sentence containing blank 3 is: "The natural instincts of a man are (3)______ in his childhood."

This sentence talks about what happens to a person's natural instincts during childhood. We need a word that describes the relationship between childhood and the state of natural instincts.

Evaluating the Options for Blank No. 3

Let's look at the meaning of each provided option and see how well it fits the context:

• contributed: This means to give something or play a part in causing something. While childhood experiences might contribute to instinct development, saying instincts are "contributed" in childhood doesn't sound grammatically natural or contextually precise.
• disposed: This word can mean arranged, or inclined/likely to do something. Natural instincts aren't typically "disposed" in the sense of being arranged, and while childhood might show how someone is disposed, the instincts themselves aren't "disposed" in childhood.
• determined: This means to establish or settle something conclusively; to decide the nature or outcome of something. This fits the context well. The sentence suggests that the fundamental nature or foundation of a person's natural instincts is established or set during childhood.
• distributed: This means shared or divided among a group. Natural instincts are inherent to an individual, not distributed like resources. This word does not fit the context at all.

Selecting the Best Fit for Blank No. 3

Based on the analysis, the word that best describes what happens to natural instincts in childhood, according to the passage's theme, is "determined". Childhood is presented as the period where these fundamental instincts are shaped or established.

Let's read the sentence with "determined": "The natural instincts of a man are determined in his childhood." This sentence makes logical sense within the flow and theme of the passage.

Therefore, the most appropriate option for blank number 3 is "determined".

Revision Table: Blank 3 Analysis

Additional Information: Understanding Context Clues

Cloze tests require using context clues to determine the meaning of missing words. Context clues are hints found within the sentence or surrounding text that help you understand the meaning of a word or phrase. In this case, understanding the overall theme of the passage – that childhood shapes adulthood – helps you choose words that reflect this relationship.

Types of context clues include:

• Definition/Explanation Clues: The word's meaning is directly explained in the sentence.
• Synonym Clues: Another word with a similar meaning is used nearby.
• Antonym Clues: A word with the opposite meaning is used, often with contrasting words like "but," "however," or "unlike."
• Example Clues: Examples are provided to help understand the word.
• Inference Clues: You need to use background knowledge and reasoning to figure out the word's meaning based on the context.

For blank 3, the context is the idea that childhood is formative. The surrounding sentences about childhood being a "prototype" and the mind being "mouldable" provide strong inference clues that suggest a word like "determined" is needed to show how fundamental aspects like instincts are established early on.