Thousands of workers have been victims of retrenchment since the military came back to power?

Analyze the question: The underlined word is retrenchment. We need the option closest in meaning to it in this sentence.

Explain the concept: Retrenchment comes from "retrench", meaning to cut down or reduce. In employment, it means a company or government laying off workers to cut costs. So workers who are "victims of retrenchment" have lost their jobs.

Go through the options:

• A. unemployment: Being laid off leads to being without a job. This matches the meaning of retrenchment in this context.
• B. trench mentality: This is meaningless here. It only plays on the sound of "trench" in the word.
• C. suffering: Retrenched workers may suffer, but suffering is a consequence, not the meaning of the word.
• D. increase in penury: Penury means extreme poverty. Again this is a possible result, not the definition.

Answer: Option A, unemployment, is the closest in meaning.

Tip: For "nearest in meaning" questions, look for the word's root meaning and the context. Here "retrench" means "cut", and in a workplace that means cutting jobs. Avoid options that describe effects (suffering, poverty) rather than the meaning itself.