In the following sentence about an idiomatic expression, choose the alternative that best improves the underlined part. The artist claims to have royal blood in his veins.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: No improvement

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question checks understanding of fixed idiomatic expressions in English. The sentence describes an artist who claims noble or royal ancestry using a common idiom. The task is to decide whether the phrase royal blood in his veins is correct or if it should be replaced with another body part such as hand, head, or forehead. The correct recognition of idioms is an important aspect of vocabulary and language usage in competitive exams.


Given Data / Assumptions:
• The sentence is: The artist claims to have royal blood in his veins.• The artist is emphasising descent or lineage, not physical location of blood.• The options suggest replacing veins with hand, head, or forehead, or leaving the expression unchanged.


Concept / Approach:
In English, there is a well established idiom royal blood in his veins that means a person is descended from a royal family, or at least claims such descent. The expression focuses on blood as a symbol of ancestry and veins as the natural channels inside the body where blood flows. As an idiom, it is not meant to be taken literally but culturally understood as a metaphor for heritage and lineage. Changing veins to any other body part would destroy the idiomatic character of the phrase.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the idiom in the sentence: royal blood in his veins.Step 2: Recall whether this form is standard in English. The commonly used expression is indeed to have royal blood in one's veins or noble blood in one's veins.Step 3: Evaluate each suggested replacement. Hand, head, and forehead do not combine naturally with royal blood in an idiomatic way.Step 4: Recognise that the original phrase is already correct, natural, and meaningful.Step 5: Conclude that no change is needed and choose No improvement.


Verification / Alternative check:
Search your memory for other similar idioms. Phrases like cold blood in his veins and blue blood in his veins also use veins to symbolise inherited qualities or noble birth. None of them uses hand, head, or forehead. If you rephrase the sentence as The artist claims to be of royal descent, the meaning stays the same, which confirms that the original idiom is functioning correctly. This cross check supports the decision to keep the expression unchanged.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option a: hand breaks the idiom because royal blood in his hand has no accepted figurative meaning in English.Option b: head also fails, since royal blood in his head sounds odd and does not reflect any established metaphor about ancestry.Option c: forehead is not used in this context either, and royal blood in his forehead is not an idiom in standard English.


Common Pitfalls:
A typical mistake in idiom questions is to focus only on individual words and ignore the set phrase as a whole. Learners sometimes feel that a body part like head or hand sounds more poetic and therefore choose it, but idioms must be remembered exactly. Another difficulty is assuming that every underlined part must be changed. In many questions, exam setters deliberately underline a correct idiom so that candidates have to select No improvement. It is important to resist the urge to alter something simply because it is highlighted.


Final Answer:
The expression royal blood in his veins is the correct and standard idiom, so the sentence requires no change. Correct answer: No improvement.

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