Question

Select a suitable option to complete the sentence:
 They were reduced to skeletons for they had long been ________.
A. impinging
B. snarling
C. craving
D. longing
E. famished

Answer 1

Hint:A phrase is any collection of words in everyday speech, often with a special idiomatic significance; it is synonymous with language in this context. A phrase is a category of words in linguistic analysis that acts as a constituent in a sentence's syntax, a single unit within a grammatical hierarchy.

Complete answer:
'Famished' means 'to be highly hungry' in choice E.
It relates to the phrase given: because they were very hungry, they were reduced to skeletons. (The term 'reduced to skeletons' is an exaggeration since, since malnutrition, they were not actually skeletons.) Option E is therefore right.

Option A:'Impinging' means' making an impression," having an effect on'
Option B: "Snarling" means "threateningly or viciously growling."
Option C:'Craving' means' urge to be great or eager.'
Option D: 'Powerful, persistent desire' means 'longing.'
Such terms do not complete the sentence in terms of context. Therefore, options A, B , C and D are erroneous.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘E’.

Note:In common usage, a phrase is usually a group of words with some special idiomatic meaning or other significance, such as "all rights reserved", "economical with the truth", "kick the bucket", and the like. It may be a euphemism, a saying or proverb, a fixed expression, a figure of speech, etc. You need to have a strong vocabulary if you want to give the answer to this type of question.