Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Hung
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This one word substitution problem is based on political terminology. The phrase describes an assembly or parliament where no single party has a clear majority of seats. In many parliamentary systems this situation has a specific name, and that is the word you need to select from the options.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The correct term is a hung parliament. This refers to a situation where no party or pre election coalition reaches the majority threshold required to form a government on its own. The word hung in this context suggests that the outcome is suspended or undecided because no side clearly wins. Clung is the past tense of cling, dung refers to animal waste, and pung is not a standard English word here. Therefore, hung is the only option that fits the description.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that the situation described is common in multi party democracies and is often reported in news as a hung assembly or hung parliament.Step 2: Recall that the phrase hung parliament is used when no party gains an absolute majority of seats.Step 3: Match this directly with option B, hung, which completes the well known political term.Step 4: Examine clung, which is a verb form meaning held tightly and has no link to parliaments or elections.Step 5: Reject pung and dung, since they either are not meaningful in this context or refer to something completely different, such as animal droppings. Thus, hung is the correct choice.
Verification / Alternative check:
Think of example headlines: The election resulted in a hung parliament, forcing parties to negotiate a coalition. Substituting clung or dung would make no sense: clung parliament is not an accepted term and dung parliament is clearly wrong. The phrase hung parliament is standard in political discussion, which confirms that hung is the right one word substitute for the stem.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Clung is the past tense of cling and is used in sentences like The child clung to her mother. It does not function as a noun to describe a type of parliament. Pung is not a standard English noun in this context and appears only as a distractor. Dung is the solid waste of animals and is obviously unrelated to voting, seats or majorities. None of these words can correctly name a legislative body without a clear majority party.
Common Pitfalls:
Because the options all rhyme, some candidates may treat this as a spelling puzzle and overthink it. The safest strategy is to recall real life usage from newspapers and news channels, where terms like hung assembly and hung parliament are commonly used. When vocabulary questions echo phrases used in current affairs, connecting them to such remembered lines is often the fastest and most reliable way to answer.
Final Answer:
The correct one word substitute is Hung, as in hung parliament, so option B is correct.
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