Question

Instructions: Select the most appropriate set of words from the given choices to fill in the blanks.

The flood of brilliant ideas has not only ___ us, but has also encouraged us to ___ the last date for submission of entries.

• A. overwhelmed, extend
• B. enjoyed, stretch
• C. dismayed, decide
• D. scared, scrap

Hint:

The tone word "encouraged" tells you the first blank should be positive or neutral, not negative.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

A reliable technique for double blank questions is to test each option pair against the two halves of the sentence separately, first for individual grammatical fit and then for the logical link the word "but" creates between them.

The word "not only... but also" structure signals that both halves describe positive or connected consequences of the same event, the flood of brilliant ideas, so both blanks should flow from that same cause without contradiction.

Testing enjoyed: "the flood of brilliant ideas has not only enjoyed us" is not standard English usage, since a flood cannot enjoy people, this pair fails on grammar alone.

Testing dismayed: brilliant ideas causing dismay does not fit the positive word "brilliant" describing the ideas, this is a mismatch in tone right at the first blank.

Testing scared: similarly, being scared by brilliant ideas contradicts the positive description "brilliant," and scrapping a deadline entirely is a disproportionate reaction to receiving many good ideas.

Testing overwhelmed and extend: an overwhelming flood of good entries logically leads organizers to extend the deadline so they can properly consider everything, or let more people submit, this pair alone tells a complete, sensible story matching real world behavior in such situations.

This confirms overwhelmed, extend as the correct pair, option A.