In the passage on electoral malpractice, choose the most suitable word for the blank in the sentence "At times election officials have been _____ by unscrupulous politicians into turning a blind eye to unjust practices."

Introduction / Context:
The passage describes how dishonest politicians sometimes influence election officials so that they ignore malpractice. The blank in this sentence must express the way in which election officials are pressured. This pressure is clearly negative and harmful, not helpful or protective. The correct word must therefore convey fear or intimidation.

Given Data / Assumptions:

The sentence reads At times election officials have been _____ by unscrupulous politicians into turning a blind eye to unjust practices.

Unscrupulous politicians indicates people who have no moral principles.

Turning a blind eye to unjust practices means deliberately ignoring wrongdoing.

The method used by these politicians is implied to be coercive rather than supportive.

Options include decided, safeguarded, rejuvenated, threatened and rewarded.

Concept / Approach:
When people in power want officials to ignore wrongdoing, they often use threats or bribes. Given that the politicians are described as unscrupulous and that the result is officials pretending not to see malpractices, the more likely method is intimidation. In standard English, officials are threatened into doing something. Therefore, the word threatened is the most natural and accurate choice for the blank, as it conveys coercion and fear.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Insert threatened into the sentence: At times election officials have been threatened by unscrupulous politicians into turning a blind eye to unjust practices. Step 2: Check the logic. Threatened by unscrupulous politicians matches the idea of officials being forced to ignore malpractice against their better judgment. Step 3: Test decided. Officials have been decided by politicians is grammatically wrong because decided cannot take this structure. Step 4: Test safeguarded. Safeguarded by unscrupulous politicians implies the politicians are protecting the officials, which contradicts the criticism in the passage. Step 5: Test rejuvenated. Rejuvenated means made fresh or energetic and has no connection to pressure or coercion. Step 6: Test rewarded. Rewarded by unscrupulous politicians into turning a blind eye implies officials are paid or bribed to ignore malpractice. While bribery does happen, the common collocation rewarded into is awkward compared with threatened into, and the tone of the passage stresses fear.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider how similar sentences are phrased in news reports. It is common to read phrases like officials were threatened into silence, which describes coercion to stop people from speaking up. The word threatened fits smoothly with into turning a blind eye, forming a clear cause effect relationship. The other options either distort the meaning or produce ungrammatical structures, confirming that threatened is correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Decided cannot be used in this passive pattern; officials are not decided by politicians in this sense. Safeguarded contradicts the phrase unjust practices and the negative portrayal of unscrupulous politicians. Rejuvenated is a positive word related to energy and freshness, which is unsuitable in a context of fear and malpractice. Rewarded does not collocate naturally with into turning a blind eye and would suggest a different style of influence from the one suggested by the tone of the passage.

Common Pitfalls:
Students may be tempted by rewarded because bribery is common in corrupt systems. However, good comprehension requires attention to collocations and tone. Threatened into is a much more natural expression when talking about forcing someone to ignore wrongdoing, whereas rewarded into sounds strange and less idiomatic. Always check how the verb works with the following preposition and phrase.

Final Answer:
The word that best completes the fourth blank is threatened.