In the following passage, some words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives. Organisations are institutions in which members compete for status and power. They _____ for the resources of the organisation, for example, resources to expand their own departments, for career advancement and for power to control the activities of others. Choose the most appropriate verb to complete the blank: They _____ for the resources of the organisation.

Introduction / Context:
This cloze passage focuses on how people behave within organisations. After stating that members compete for status and power, the text describes how they act with respect to organisational resources. The blank requires a verb that matches both the meaning and the grammatical structure of the sentence. Mastering such questions requires a sense of natural collocations and logical continuity of ideas.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Complete first sentence: Organisations are institutions in which members compete for status and power.
• Second sentence with blank: They _____ for the resources of the organisation, for example, resources to expand their own departments, for career advancement and for power to control the activities of others.
• Options: compete, expand, rely, run.
• The subject of the verb is they, referring to the members of the organisation.

Concept / Approach:
When solving a cloze passage, we try to maintain thematic consistency. The passage already introduced the idea of competition. The next sentence elaborates on what people struggle over: resources, chances to expand departments, career advancement, and power. Therefore the verb should match the earlier concept of competing. Grammatically, we need a finite verb that takes the preposition for, as in compete for something. This strong collocation helps us identify the correct answer easily.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note that the first sentence uses the verb compete for status and power.Step 2: Read the second sentence and see that it also describes a struggle over limited resources.Step 3: Check which option fits the pattern verb + for + the resources and makes sense semantically.Step 4: The phrase compete for the resources is a common expression meaning to fight or struggle to obtain resources.Step 5: The other options do not pair naturally with the preposition for in this context.Step 6: Therefore, choose compete as the correct verb.

Verification / Alternative check:
Read the sentence with the chosen verb: They compete for the resources of the organisation, for example, resources to expand their own departments, for career advancement and for power to control the activities of others. This sentence is grammatically correct and logically continues the theme of competition introduced earlier. No other option provides such smooth continuity.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Expand: They expand for the resources is not an acceptable expression. Expand usually takes an object or appears intransitively, but not with for in this way.
Rely: While rely for something might appear occasionally, the standard pattern is rely on something. More importantly, relying for the resources does not match the competitive tone of the passage.
Run: The phrase run for the resources is unnatural here. Run for is used in expressions like run for office, meaning to stand as a candidate, not to compete for resources in a general organisational sense.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent error is to focus only on the local grammar while ignoring the larger theme of the passage. Some test takers might try to fit a verb mechanically without considering that the earlier sentence already established a keyword, compete. Another mistake is to ignore preposition patterns such as compete for, rely on, or run for, which are central in English usage. Remember to use both semantic meaning and collocation patterns when solving cloze test questions.

Final Answer:
The correct verb to complete the sentence is compete, forming the phrase They compete for the resources of the organisation.