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The newly appointed professor found it hard to _________ the students who were _________ and _________ to the topics discussed during lectures.

Solution

Correct Option: 2

Test the preposition 'to': The students were ___ and ___ TO the topics. Both adjectives must work with 'to'.

Answer: Option 2 - encourage; withdrawn; indifferent.

  • 'Withdrawn to topics' = closed off from them. 'Indifferent to topics' = uninterested. BOTH work with 'to'.

Why the others fail:

  • Option 1: 'difficult to topics' - wrong; 'difficult' doesn't take 'to' this way
  • Option 3: 'belligerent to topics' - awkward; belligerent usually targets people, not topics
  • Option 4: 'deficient to topics' - wrong preposition (it should be 'deficient IN')

Tip: When a fill-in has multiple blanks, find the ONE that fails for each wrong option. Often it's a hidden grammar issue, like preposition use.

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