In the following question, you are given a sentence with a blank that must be filled with an appropriate word or phrase. Select the correct alternative out of the four options and mark your answer carefully. Moving to the city was eye-__________ for the straitlaced, highly traditional country girl.

Introduction / Context:
In this English vocabulary question, the candidate must choose the correct word to complete an idiomatic expression. The focus is on understanding the common phrase eye opening, which is often used to describe an experience that reveals new facts or realities and changes the way a person thinks. The sentence describes a very traditional, straitlaced country girl who moves to the city, so the blank must be filled with a word that completes a familiar English expression and fits the context of sudden awareness.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The sentence is: Moving to the city was eye-__________ for the straitlaced country girl.
• The girl is straitlaced, which means very strict, conservative, and traditional in morals and behaviour.
• Options given: clearing, freeing, saving, opening.
• The required answer must form a standard English expression and suit the context.

Concept / Approach:
The phrase eye opening is a well known English collocation. It refers to an experience that reveals surprising facts, widens someone's perspective, or makes a person aware of realities that they did not understand earlier. When a person from a strict rural background moves to a big city, the new lifestyle, culture, and pace of life can reveal many unexpected things, so the experience can be described as eye opening. The approach is to recall common idioms and check which option correctly completes the phrase eye opening while remaining grammatically and semantically appropriate.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the pattern in the sentence is eye-__________, which suggests a familiar idiom or fixed expression.Step 2: Recall the common English expression eye opening, which means surprising, revealing, or enlightening.Step 3: Test the options: eye clearing, eye freeing, eye saving, and eye opening. Only eye opening is a standard phrase.Step 4: Check the context. For a straitlaced country girl, city life is likely to be surprising and revealing, which fits the meaning of eye opening.Step 5: Conclude that opening is the only option that forms a natural expression and matches the context.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify the answer by replacing the blank with each option. Eye clearing is not a recognized idiom and sounds unnatural in this context. Eye freeing and eye saving also do not appear in standard English usage as established expressions. Eye opening, however, is frequently used in spoken and written English to describe an enlightening or surprising experience. Therefore, opening passes both the idiom test and the context test, confirming that it is the correct answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Clearing: Eye clearing is not a standard collocation, and clearing does not naturally describe a revealing experience for a straitlaced girl. Freeing: Eye freeing does not exist as an idiom and sounds awkward, even though freedom could be related to city life. Saving: Eye saving suggests protection from harm or damage to the eyes, which does not match the idea of a surprising city experience. These options fail to form a known idiom and do not convey the intended meaning.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates may overthink the sentence and try to connect freeing or saving with emotional liberation or rescue. However, competitive exam questions on idioms usually test fixed expressions rather than creative interpretations. Another common mistake is to focus only on the adjective that seems positive without checking whether the full phrase is natural English. The safest strategy is to rely on known idioms and collocations such as eye opening rather than inventing new combinations of words in the exam hall.

Final Answer:
The correct word that completes the idiomatic expression is opening, forming the phrase eye opening.