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Ans (2): Shortly

The word in the blank has to be an adverb, because it has to qualify the adjective ‘after’. However, ‘Immediate’ and ‘sharp’ are adjectives and therefore unsuitable in the blank. ‘Shortly’, which means ‘soon after’ is correct, both grammatically and contextually, from among the options. ‘sooner’ presents a degree of comparison, which is not the case here. ‘timely’ would be contextually inappropriate here.

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Ans (4): conspiring

Even though the word in bold ‘eating’ is making grammatical sense, it makes no meaning as per the context of the sentence. We need a word in the present participle form in the construction (has been + verb). Hence, the only word that can contextually and grammatically make the sentence correct is ‘conspiring’ (meaning ‘making secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful act’).

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Ans (1): divulge

The word in bold ‘disclosure’ is a noun that means ‘the action of making new or secret information known’. It is not a correct fit since the base form verb is required with the infinitive construction ‘to + verb’. The appropriate word from the options is ‘divulge’, which means ‘make known (a sensitive information)’. ‘revelation’ is a noun; ‘declares’ is not in the base form; ‘depart’ is non-contextual.

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Ans (5): No correction required

The word in bold ‘grandiloquently’ is an adverb that means ‘pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner’. Here, it is correctly qualifying the verb before it ‘expounded’ (meaning ‘explained in detail’). Option (1) is a noun; (2), (3) and (4) are adjectives, while we need an adverb. There is no need to correct the existing highlighted word.

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Ans (3): scornful

We need an adjective here to qualify the noun ‘accusations’. The highlighted word ‘dismiss’ is a verb meaning ‘order to leave’. It does not grammatically fit in the sentence. The correct word that will fit in the sentence is the adjective ‘scornful’, meaning ‘feeling or expressing contempt or derision’. Options (1) and (2) are verbs and can be eliminated. Option (4) does not fit the blank as we need a word that agrees with the negative tone of the sentence.