In this vocabulary based sentence completion question, choose the word that best completes the sentence: "The Board members could not arrive at a _______ regarding the employee."

Introduction / Context:
This is a vocabulary and collocation question in which you must pick the most suitable noun to complete a formal sentence about Board members discussing an employee. In English, certain nouns naturally pair with verbs and prepositional phrases, such as "arrive at a decision" or "arrive at a judgement". Recognising these common pairs is essential for success in competitive English exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence: "The Board members could not arrive at a _______ regarding the employee."
• The context is a formal discussion in a Board meeting.
• Options: Judgement, Progress, Policy, Dissent.
• The blank follows "arrive at a", a very common collocation in formal English.

Concept / Approach:
The phrase "arrive at" is typically used with nouns that represent conclusions or decisions, such as "conclusion", "verdict", and "judgement". The sentence suggests that Board members were discussing an employee and could not agree on an outcome. Therefore, the missing word should express a formal conclusion about the employee rather than a process, movement, or opposing view. Among the options, "judgement" best fits as a formal conclusion drawn after consideration.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the verb phrase "could not arrive at", which indicates failing to reach some kind of conclusion. Step 2: Look at each option and ask which one is something you can "arrive at". You can arrive at a judgement or a decision, but not usually at "progress" or "dissent". Step 3: Consider the context: the Board is discussing "regarding the employee", so they are likely evaluating performance or suitability. Step 4: "Judgement" is a technical word that describes an evaluation or verdict, which fits this context perfectly. Step 5: Insert "judgement" into the sentence to confirm: "The Board members could not arrive at a judgement regarding the employee." The sentence is now natural and meaningful.

Verification / Alternative check:
Test the other words one by one. "Arrive at a progress" is grammatically wrong, as "progress" refers to movement forward and is not normally an object of "arrive at". "Arrive at a policy" is possible in some contexts, but in that case the sentence would usually mention policy directly, not "regarding the employee". The phrase "arrive at a dissent" is also unnatural; people "dissent" or express disagreement, but they do not arrive at a dissent as a formal conclusion about an individual. Only "judgement" captures the idea of evaluating an employee and deciding on a formal view.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"Progress" describes advancement or improvement, not a formal conclusion. One may "make progress" but not "arrive at a progress".

"Policy" refers to a general course of action or rule, not necessarily the specific evaluation of one employee. Also, the usual phrase is "formulate a policy" or "adopt a policy".

"Dissent" means disagreement, usually within a group, and is not used as the result of a Board evaluation about one employee in this collocation.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is choosing a word that seems generally formal without checking whether it collocates correctly with the verb phrase. To avoid this, build your mental list of common combinations such as "arrive at a conclusion", "reach a verdict", "make progress", and "adopt a policy". Checking for these fixed patterns quickly guides you to the most natural option in exam questions.

Final Answer:
The best word is "Judgement", so the completed sentence is: "The Board members could not arrive at a judgement regarding the employee."