"He often _____ the numbers. False claims are not going to help. Honesty _____
trust", said the manager.
Choose the option with the correct order of words to fill the blanks.
Options:
(A) exaggerates; engenders
(B) excels; encourages
(C) aggravates; alleviates
(D) diminishes; eliminates
Official Answer Key:
A
Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation
### **Detailed Step-by-Step Solution (GATE AE 2026 Q.1)**
**1. Intuitive Physical Setup & Given Parameters**:
The problem asks for the most appropriate pair of words to complete the sentence:
> *"He often _____ the numbers. False claims are not going to help. Honesty _____ trust", said the manager.*
Context clues:
- "False claims are not going to help" implies that he distorts or inflates the numbers. The first blank requires a verb meaning to overstate or misrepresent (e.g., *exaggerates*).
- "Honesty _____ trust" is a universally recognized virtue stating that truthfulness generates, breeds, or gives rise to trust. The second blank requires a verb meaning to produce, cause, or give rise to (e.g., *engenders*).
**2. Step-by-Step Mathematical & Linguistic Derivation**:
1. **First Blank**:
- *Exaggerates*: to represent something as being larger, greater, better, or worse than it really is. Fits the context of "false claims" perfectly.
- *Excels*: intransitive verb meaning to be exceptionally good; grammatically incorrect with a direct object ("excels the numbers").
- *Aggravates*: to make a problem or injury worse, not applied to fabricating numbers.
- *Diminishes*: to make or become less; does not align with "false claims" as naturally as inflating/overstating numbers.
2. **Second Blank**:
- *Engenders*: from Latin *ingenerare*, meaning to cause or give rise to a feeling, situation, or condition ("Honesty engenders trust").
- *Encourages*: acceptable, but pair B fails on the first blank.
- *Alleviates*: to make suffering or a deficiency less severe; trust is not a deficiency.
- *Eliminates*: to completely remove or get rid of; opposite of what honesty does to trust.
3. Combining both blanks gives: **exaggerates; engenders**.
**3. Comprehensive Options & Distractor Analysis**:
- **(A) exaggerates; engenders**: ✅ **CORRECT**. Both words fit grammatically and semantically with the logical contrast of the passage.
- **(B) excels; encourages**: ❌ **INCORRECT**. "Excels the numbers" is ungrammatical; "excels" does not take "numbers" as a direct object in this sense.
- **(C) aggravates; alleviates**: ❌ **INCORRECT**. "Honesty alleviates trust" means honesty reduces trust, which contradicts the manager's praise of honesty.
- **(D) diminishes; eliminates**: ❌ **INCORRECT**. "Honesty eliminates trust" has the exact opposite of the intended meaning.
**4. Official Master Key & Exam Takeaway**:
- **Official Answer Key**: **A**
- **Exam Takeaway**: Pay close attention to parallel contrast clues ("false claims" vs "honesty") and the precise transitive/intransitive grammar of vocabulary options.
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