16Hit1600
Craft and StructureMediumWord for a slow gradual disappearance

Craft and Structure practice question

The dialect did not vanish overnight; it ____ over three generations, as each cohort of children used a few fewer of its words than their parents had.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

  1. A. dwindledCorrect
  2. B. flourished
  3. C. erupted
  4. D. stabilised

Answer: A. dwindled

Fewer words each generation: a gradual decline.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. flourished
The opposite.
C. erupted
Eruption is sudden and the sentence denies suddenness.
D. stabilised
It changed, so it did not stabilise.

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