My mother was … annoyed with me for coming late.

Analyze the question: We need a word that correctly fills the gap before "annoyed" in the sentence: "My mother was _ annoyed with me for coming late."

Concept: "Annoyed" is a past participle used as an adjective (a participial adjective). Adverbs of degree such as very, quite, rather, extremely can modify participial adjectives that describe feelings or states (e.g. very tired, very worried, very annoyed).

Check each option:

• A. Just: "just annoyed" is not idiomatic here. "Just" would suggest "only" or "exactly," which doesn't fit the meaning.
• B. Very: "very annoyed" is a natural and correct degree adverb + adjective combination. It shows how strongly she felt.
• C. Neither: This is a correlative that needs "nor" (neither... nor...). It doesn't work here.
• D. Hotly: "Hotly" is an adverb used with words like debated, contested, or disputed. "Hotly annoyed" is not a standard collocation.

Answer: The best option is B. Very.

Tip: In gap-filling questions, look for collocations, meaning words that naturally go together. Very annoyed, very tired, and very happy are common pairings, while hotly belongs with debated or contested. Also, "neither" always signals that "nor" should appear.