In the following question on English idioms, choose the alternative which best expresses the meaning of the expression Cut short, commonly used when something is interrupted unexpectedly.

Introduction / Context:
This idiom question examines the expression Cut short, which occurs frequently in news reports, conversations, and narratives. The phrase is used when an activity, speech, journey, or plan is stopped earlier than expected, often due to some external reason. The question asks you to identify the option that best captures this sense of unexpected interruption.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Expression: Cut short.
• Options cover deleting, praising, interrupting, and slicing.
• Only one option represents the figurative meaning of stopping something before its natural or planned end.
• The focus is on time and continuation, not on physical cutting of objects.

Concept / Approach:
To cut something short, in idiomatic usage, means to bring it to an end earlier than planned. For example, a speech might be cut short by a technical problem or a holiday might be cut short due to an emergency. The correct answer must therefore involve interruption or premature stopping. Options referring to deleting text, offering praise, or literally slicing things do not capture this temporal and procedural aspect.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that cut short is typically used with activities like journeys, meetings, or conversations. Step 2: Examine option a, delete, which relates to removing text or data, not to ending an ongoing activity prematurely. Step 3: Examine option b, praise, which means to express approval and has no connection to stopping something early. Step 4: Examine option c, interrupt, which accurately describes stopping or breaking the continuity of an activity before it finishes. Step 5: Examine option d, slice into small pieces, which refers to physical cutting, not to the timing of an action. Step 6: Conclude that interrupt is the best paraphrase of the idiom Cut short.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider the sentence The meeting was cut short by a power failure. If we replace was cut short by with was interrupted by, the sentence keeps the same meaning and tone. Replacing it with was deleted by or was praised by would either be meaningless or completely wrong. Similarly, you might read that a players career was cut short by injury, meaning it ended earlier than it normally should have. In all such cases, the sense of interruption is central, confirming option c as correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Delete: Refers to removing something that exists, usually text or files, not to ending an ongoing process early.
Praise: Describes positive evaluation and has nothing to do with shortening or stopping an activity.
Slice into small pieces: Literal cutting of material objects, which is not the figurative idea behind the idiom.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners focus on the word cut and think only of physical cutting, such as cutting vegetables. Others confuse cut short with cut out or cut off. The key is to associate cut short with time and length of an event. Whenever you see cut short with a journey, holiday, speech, or career, think of it as interrupted or ended early. This simple association will help you quickly choose the right alternative in exam settings.

Final Answer:
The idiom Cut short means to interrupt, so option c is correct.