WAEC 2012 English Language · Question 16

Five years ago the economy of our country was buoyant but nowadays it has become …

Question

In each of the following sentences, there is one word underlined and one gap. From the list of words lettered A - D, choose the word that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word and that will, at the same time, correctly fill the gap in the sentences. Five years ago the economy of our country was buoyant but nowadays it has become...........

In the original paper part of this question is underlined. The underline isn't shown here: see the explanation below.

A.profitable
B.distressed
C.unbearable
D.low

Answer: B. distressed

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

This is an antonym question with a fitting-the-gap requirement. The underlined word is "buoyant". We need the option that:

Is most nearly opposite in meaning to "buoyant", and
Fits the sentence: "...nowadays it has become ........."

Explain the concept

"Buoyant" (describing an economy) means thriving, prosperous, and strong, with rising or stable activity. It can also mean cheerful and lively. The opposite is something like depressed, weak, or struggling.

Check each option

A. profitable: This is close in meaning to buoyant, so it is not an opposite.
B. distressed: This means suffering, troubled, or in a bad state. An economy that was thriving and is now distressed fits perfectly, and it is the opposite of buoyant. It also fits the gap grammatically ("it has become distressed").
C. unbearable: This means too painful or hard to endure. It describes a situation, not really an economy's condition, and it is not a true antonym of buoyant.
D. low: This is vague. An economy is not normally described as "low" (we would say "at a low ebb"), and it is not the standard opposite of buoyant.

Answer

"Distressed" best expresses the opposite of a buoyant (thriving) economy and fits the gap.

Tip

For these antonym-plus-gap questions, first define the underlined word, then test each option in the sentence. Eliminate synonyms first (like "profitable" here), and then choose the option that fits both meaning and grammar.

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