Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word: "At present, on account of the Supreme Court's last advisory opinion, the _____ of the executive and its interference in the appointment of judges is limited."

Introduction / Context:
This question comes from a sentence about the judiciary and the executive in a democratic country. It tests your ability to choose a word that fits both grammatically and logically in a formal, constitutional context. The blank is followed by "of the executive and its interference in the appointment of judges", pointing clearly to a term that describes what the executive does in this process.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence fragment: "At present, on account of the Supreme Court's last advisory opinion, the _____ of the executive and its interference in the appointment of judges is limited."
• Options: career, future, role, plight, authority.
• The context is about the balance of power between the executive and the judiciary.
• We assume a neutral, descriptive tone, not emotional or dramatic.

Concept / Approach:
We must select a noun that fits naturally before "of the executive" and meaningfully combines with "its interference in the appointment of judges". Words like "career" and "plight" normally attach to individuals, not to institutions like the executive branch. "Future" is too vague and does not combine naturally with "interference". The most suitable word is "role": "the role of the executive" is a standard phrase in legal and political writing. It precisely expresses the idea of the executive's function or part in the process.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read the whole structure: "the _____ of the executive and its interference in the appointment of judges is limited."Step 2: Insert "career": "the career of the executive" does not make sense, because "executive" here refers to the branch of government, not a person with a career.Step 3: Insert "future": "the future of the executive" is grammatically possible but does not logically connect with "its interference in the appointment of judges".Step 4: Insert "role": "the role of the executive and its interference in the appointment of judges is limited" sounds natural and precisely describes the scope of its powers.Step 5: Insert "plight": "the plight of the executive" suggests suffering or difficulty, which is not the focus of this legal discussion.Step 6: Insert "authority": "the authority of the executive and its interference..." is possible, but the sentence already goes on to say "is limited", and "role" is the more commonly used term when describing constitutional functions.

Verification / Alternative check:
In articles on constitutional law, we often see sentences like "The role of the executive in judicial appointments has been curtailed" or "The role of Parliament is clearly defined." The phrase "role of the executive" is a very standard collocation. If we replace "role" with "career", "plight" or "future", the sentence becomes awkward or changes meaning. "Authority of the executive" can be used but usually refers more broadly to power, whereas here the emphasis is on the specific part played in the appointment process. Thus, "role" is the best and most precise choice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"Career" is inappropriate because the executive is an institution, not a person with a professional career. "Future" is too vague and does not form a natural phrase with "and its interference in the appointment of judges". "Plight" suggests a sad or difficult condition and introduces emotional tone where a neutral description is intended. "Authority" comes closer but is still less exact than "role" for this particular context, where the sentence is about the scope of participation rather than power in general.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes choose words based only on whether they sound "formal" without checking if the resulting phrase is idiomatic. Another pitfall is ignoring the words around the blank. Here, "of the executive" and "its interference in the appointment of judges" are strong clues that the missing word must describe a function or part, not a feeling or condition. Training yourself to read the entire clause and to test each option inside the sentence will significantly reduce errors in such questions.

Final Answer:
The word that best completes the sentence is "role".