In the following sentence, a blank has been given. Choose the most appropriate word to complete the sentence meaningfully. Neha told her an exciting ______.

Introduction / Context:
This is a vocabulary based fill in the blank question that checks understanding of natural collocations in English. The sentence describes Neha telling someone something exciting. The correct choice must fit both grammatically and contextually. Such questions test how familiar a learner is with everyday English usage and how different words are typically combined.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The sentence is: "Neha told her an exciting ______."
• The options are: essay, article, story, idiom.
• The verb "told" is commonly used with direct objects like story, secret, joke, or lie.
• The context suggests something that can naturally be described as exciting in a spoken conversation.

Concept / Approach:
The main concept here is collocation, which refers to words that frequently go together in natural language. "Tell a story" is a very common collocation, especially with adjectives like "exciting", "interesting", or "funny". While one can certainly write an exciting essay or article, the verbs used with those nouns are usually "write", "read", or "publish" rather than "tell". An idiom is a fixed expression, and although one can explain or teach an idiom, the phrase "told her an exciting idiom" sounds unnatural. Thus, we choose the option that best matches the verb and the context.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the verb "told". Ask what direct objects commonly follow "told" in everyday English. Step 2: Recall phrases like "told her a story", "told him a joke", "told them a secret". This suggests that "story" is a strong candidate. Step 3: Check Option A, "essay". Normally we say "wrote an essay" or "read an essay", not "told her an essay". So this does not fit naturally. Step 4: Check Option B, "article". Similarly, we usually "read an article" or "wrote an article". Saying "told her an article" is awkward and unidiomatic. Step 5: Check Option C, "story". The collocation "told her a story" is very common. Adding the adjective "exciting" fits perfectly: "told her an exciting story". Step 6: Check Option D, "idiom". Though one can explain or teach an idiom, the phrase "told her an exciting idiom" is not standard usage. Step 7: Therefore, Option C is the most appropriate answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Another way to verify is to substitute each option into the blank and read the full sentence aloud. "Neha told her an exciting essay" and "Neha told her an exciting article" sound wrong to most fluent speakers because essays and articles are written texts. "Neha told her an exciting idiom" is also strange, because idioms are expressions like "raining cats and dogs" and are not usually described as exciting in this way. However, "Neha told her an exciting story" is natural and clearly conveys that Neha narrated an interesting event or tale. This reading test confirms that "story" is correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A: "essay" does not collocate with the verb "told" in this context. Essays are typically written assignments or compositions. Option B: "article" is usually associated with newspapers, magazines, or websites, and we speak of reading or writing an article, not telling an article. Option D: "idiom" refers to a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be directly understood from the individual words, and it is more natural to say "explain an idiom" instead of "tell an idiom".

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes focus only on the adjective "exciting" and forget to consider the verb that comes before the blank. Because any written piece can be exciting, they may think "essay" or "article" is acceptable. However, exam questions like this are specifically designed to test awareness of patterns such as which verbs pair with which nouns. To avoid such pitfalls, students should always check the full phrase, not just the single word, and ask themselves if that combination is commonly used in natural English.

Final Answer:
The correct word to complete the sentence is story, giving the natural phrase "Neha told her an exciting story".