WAEC 2012 English Language · Question 93

The company had to … the restaurant in order to construct a hotel

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. The company had to.......the restaurant in order to construct a hotel

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

A.demolish
B.abandon
C.damage
D.relocate

Answer: A. demolish

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Analyze the question

This is a WASSCE "opposite in meaning" question with a gap. The underlined word isn't visible in the text you sent, so we must work out the most likely one from the sentence. The word we choose must also fit the gap logically: "The company had to __ the restaurant in order to construct a hotel."

Concept

To build a hotel on a site that already holds a restaurant, the company would have to remove the restaurant. The usual word for this is demolish (pull down or destroy a building). The underlined word was most likely something like erect, build or construct. Its opposite is demolish.

Test each option in the gap

A. demolish: The company had to demolish the restaurant to construct a hotel. This makes perfect sense. It is also the direct opposite of build/erect.
B. abandon: Abandoning a restaurant does not clear the ground for a hotel, and "abandon" is not the opposite of "build".
C. damage: Damaging is partial and does not fit the purpose of constructing a hotel. Its opposite would be "repair".
D. relocate: Relocating means moving it elsewhere. The opposite of "build" is not "relocate".

Answer

The word that fits the gap and is opposite in meaning to a word like erect/build is demolish.

Exam tip

In "opposite and fill the gap" questions, first read the sentence for context, then check each option against both the gap and the opposite requirement. Linking words such as "in order to construct" signal that the missing action is the reverse of building, which points to demolish, pull down or raze.

One caution: because the underlined word was missing from the question, my reasoning relies on the context of the sentence. Please check the original paper to confirm the underlined word.

AI can make mistakes. Report anything that looks wrong.