In the following question, select the one word that best substitutes the given phrase: “Any new participant in some activity.”

Introduction / Context:
This one word substitution question asks you to identify the correct word for “any new participant in some activity.” The focus is on a person who is new to a field, activity or subject. Such words are commonly tested because they are useful in academic and professional writing to describe beginners, novices or learners. Recognising the correct option also involves knowing that several distractor choices are scientific terms ending with the same suffix but belonging to botany rather than general English vocabulary for people.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The phrase describes someone who is new to a particular activity, field or skill.
• Neophyte is a word that means a beginner or someone who is new to a subject or activity.
• Holophyte, Mesophyte and Epiphyte are technical terms used mainly in botany to describe types of plants based on environmental conditions or growth patterns.
• The task is to choose the word that refers specifically to a new human participant, not to a plant type.

Concept / Approach:
The key concept in the phrase is newness in participation. In English, several words denote beginners, such as novice, rookie, and neophyte. The suffix phyte literally refers to plant in Greek, which offers a hint that words like Holophyte and Epiphyte are likely botanical. Therefore, by combining knowledge of meaning and etymology, we can quickly eliminate the distractors and select the word that is regularly used to describe a person who has recently started doing something.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Interpret the phrase. It clearly refers to a new participant in an activity, such as a new student, new member of a club or someone just starting a hobby. Step 2: Consider Neophyte. This word is commonly defined as a beginner or novice, especially someone who has recently joined a religion, organisation or field of activity. It precisely matches the idea of a new participant. Step 3: Check Holophyte. This is a botanical term for an organism that obtains its food by photosynthesis, essentially an autotrophic plant. It has nothing to do with human beginners. Step 4: Check Mesophyte. This refers to a plant that grows in environments with moderate water supply, again unrelated to a person or participation. Step 5: Check Epiphyte. This means a plant that grows on another plant for support without taking nutrients from it, such as some orchids and ferns. It also does not describe human participants. Step 6: Since only Neophyte describes a new participant in an activity, it is the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, imagine using each option in a sentence. “She is a neophyte in the stock market” correctly communicates that she is a newcomer. Substituting any of the botanical terms would make the sentence nonsensical. Dictionaries and academic texts also explicitly define neophyte as a beginner or novice, which confirms the match with the phrase. The others appear almost exclusively in scientific discussions of plant life.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Holophyte, Mesophyte and Epiphyte all contain the root phyte related to plants. They label categories of plants rather than human roles. Since the phrase refers to “any new participant in some activity,” it clearly describes a person, not a plant or organism type. Choosing any of these botanical terms would fail to capture the intended meaning and would misrepresent the subject of the sentence.

Common Pitfalls:
A common trap in such questions is that all options share a similar sound or suffix, so students may guess randomly without checking meaning. Another pitfall is assuming that rare sounding words must all be equally unfamiliar, leading to confusion. To avoid these problems, build a basic vocabulary of terms for people, such as neophyte, recluse, connoisseur and fugitive, and also learn a few Greek and Latin roots. Recognising that phyte refers to plants can quickly eliminate three of the four options here.

Final Answer:
The correct one word substitute for “any new participant in some activity” is Neophyte, so the correct answer is option Neophyte.