Our mechanised services contrast sharply with the … operative we had before

Analyze the question The sentence is: "Our mechanised services contrast sharply with the ___ operative we had before." The task is to find the word that is opposite in meaning to "mechanised" and also fits the gap.

Explain the concept This is an antonym question. "Mechanised" means done or operated by machines. Its opposite is something done by hand or human effort. The word must also make sense in the sentence, so it should be able to describe the earlier system of operation.

Solution: test each option

• A. electrical: Electrical systems are powered by electricity and are often machine-based, so this is not an opposite.
• B. controlled: This does not oppose "mechanised." Machines can be controlled too.
• C. original: This only describes the earlier system as the first one. It does not mean the opposite of "mechanised."
• D. manual: This means done by hand or human labour, which is the direct opposite of machine-operated. It also fits the sentence: "...contrast sharply with the manual operative we had before."

Answer The correct option is D. manual.

Tip For antonym questions that also require the word to fill a gap, first find the opposite of the key word, then read the full sentence with your choice to check that it makes sense. Useful pairs to remember are mechanised vs manual, automatic vs manual, and synthetic vs natural.