Unoka … the whole house to find his missing wristwatch.

Analyze the question: The sentence says Unoka searched the whole house thoroughly to find his missing wristwatch. We need the verb that means "to search thoroughly."

Explain the concept: This is a question on vocabulary and words that look or sound alike. Look at each option:

• Scourged: means to whip or punish severely, or to cause great suffering (e.g., "The country was scourged by famine"). It does not fit a search.
• Scoured: means to search a place thoroughly and carefully, or to scrub something hard. It fits perfectly: "scoured the whole house."
• Scored: means to gain a point or make a mark (e.g., "He scored a goal"). It does not fit.
• Scouted: means to go out and look for information or talent, often in an area. It is usually used for exploring or for finding people (e.g., "scouted for new players"). It is less suitable for hunting for a lost item inside a house.

Solution:

1. The context is a missing wristwatch, so the action must be searching.
2. The phrase "the whole house" suggests searching every corner, which is a thorough search.
3. "Scour" is the standard verb for a thorough search: "scoured the house/area/shops."
4. Putting it in: "Unoka scoured the whole house to find his missing wristwatch." This is correct and natural.

Correct answer: B. scoured

Tip: Link scour with "scrub": both involve going over every part of something carefully. Whenever you see "searched everywhere" or "searched thoroughly," think scour. Also remember that scourge (with a "g") relates to punishment or affliction, so don't be fooled by the similar spelling.