Analyzing the Passage for Blank 1: Calcium Supplements and Health

The passage discusses the health benefits and potential risks of certain supplements, specifically calcium and niacin. We need to fill in five blanks to complete the text meaningfully and grammatically.

Understanding the Sentence with Blank 1

The first sentence is: "Calcium supplements, commonly (1) ______ women are helpful (2) ______ warding off osteoporosis."

We are focusing on blank (1) and the phrase "commonly (1) ______ women". This phrase describes the calcium supplements. It tells us how women relate to these supplements.

Evaluating Options for Blank 1

Let's look at the provided options for filling in blank (1):

• Option 1: are taken by
• Option 2: will be taken by
• Option 3: have been taken by
• Option 4: taken by

We need to choose the option that makes the phrase "commonly ______ women" grammatically correct and fits the context of describing calcium supplements.

Step-by-Step Analysis of Each Option

Let's insert each option into the blank and see how the sentence reads:

1. "Calcium supplements, commonly are taken by women are helpful..." - This structure is incorrect. "are taken by" suggests a main verb phrase, but it is placed within a descriptive phrase separated by a comma. For this to be correct, it might need a structure like "...supplements, which are commonly taken by women, are helpful...", but the comma after "women" is missing in the original sentence structure provided.
2. "Calcium supplements, commonly will be taken by women are helpful..." - This uses the future passive tense ("will be taken by"). The sentence is talking about the general helpfulness of supplements now, not a future action. So, this option does not fit the meaning or grammar.
3. "Calcium supplements, commonly have been taken by women are helpful..." - This uses the present perfect passive tense ("have been taken by"). While grammatically a valid tense, the structure here ("commonly have been taken by women") doesn't fit seamlessly as a simple descriptive phrase modifying "Calcium supplements" in this context without additional punctuation or restructuring.
4. "Calcium supplements, commonly taken by women are helpful..." - This uses the past participle "taken" in a reduced relative clause. The full phrase would be "...supplements, which are commonly taken by women, are helpful...". By removing "which are", we get "commonly taken by women", which functions as an adjective phrase modifying "Calcium supplements". This is a standard grammatical construction for describing something by indicating who performs an action on it. It means women commonly take these supplements. This fits both the grammar and the meaning perfectly.

Conclusion for Blank 1

Based on the grammatical structure and the intended meaning, "taken by" is the most appropriate word to fill in blank (1). It forms a correct and common participle phrase describing the calcium supplements.

Revision Table: Blank 1 Options

Additional Information: Understanding Reduced Relative Clauses

The structure used in the correct option for blank 1 ("Calcium supplements, commonly taken by women...") is an example of a reduced relative clause. A full relative clause might be "Calcium supplements, which are commonly taken by women...". When the relative pronoun (like 'which') and the form of 'be' (like 'are') are removed, the participle phrase ("taken by women") remains and functions to describe the noun ("Calcium supplements"). This makes sentences more concise.

For example:

• Full clause: The book which was written by Jane Austen is famous.
• Reduced clause: The book written by Jane Austen is famous.

In our case, "commonly taken by women" is a reduced form of "which are commonly taken by women".