In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives. Focus on the phrase "to make it permanently and increasingly _____________, illogical, and inaccurate in its thinking" and choose the adjective that best completes this descriptive series.

Introduction / Context:
This cloze passage uses strong language to warn about how careless linguistic habits can damage mental habits. The particular blank tested here appears in the expression "to make it permanently and increasingly _____________, illogical, and inaccurate in its thinking." The question checks whether you can select the correct grammatical form of the word related to care so that it fits smoothly with the other adjectives and preserves the author's meaning.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Relevant fragment: "to make it permanently and increasingly _____________, illogical, and inaccurate in its thinking."
• Options: carelessness, carelessly, careless, care less.
• The pronoun "it" clearly refers to "the mind" mentioned earlier in the passage.
• The three words in the list after "increasingly" must be parallel in grammatical form.

Concept / Approach:
The passage lists three qualities of the mind: "careless, illogical, and inaccurate in its thinking." Since illogical and inaccurate are adjectives modifying "it" (the mind), the first word in the list must also be an adjective. Among the options, careless is the adjective; carelessness is a noun, carelessly is an adverb, and care less is an informal verb phrase. Therefore careless is the only choice that both fits grammatically and matches the writer's negative description of mental habits.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the structure of the phrase: increasingly X, illogical, and inaccurate. Step 2: Recognise that illogical and inaccurate are adjectives describing "it" (the mind) and therefore X must also be an adjective for parallelism. Step 3: Examine "carelessness": this is a noun that refers to the quality itself, not an adjective, so it cannot directly modify a pronoun in this position. Step 4: Examine "carelessly": this is an adverb that describes how an action is performed, not what the mind is like, so it does not fit. Step 5: Examine "careless": this is the adjective form meaning not careful, fitting the list structure "careless, illogical, and inaccurate." Step 6: Examine "care less": this is a phrasal verb phrase, as in "I could not care less," and is completely ungrammatical in the slot of a single descriptive word. Step 7: Conclude that "careless" is the only option that maintains correct grammar and meaning.

Verification / Alternative check:
Reconstruct the full sentence: "so careless use of language if indulged reacts on the mind to make it permanently and increasingly careless, illogical, and inaccurate in its thinking." This reads smoothly, maintains parallelism, and clearly describes three negative qualities of thought. If you try "carelessness", the phrase becomes "increasingly carelessness, illogical, and inaccurate", which is obviously incorrect. Similarly, "carelessly" and "care less" do not match the grammar or tone of the passage.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"Carelessness" is wrong because it is a noun; the sentence requires an adjective. "Carelessly" is wrong because it is an adverb and cannot stand alongside adjectives illogical and inaccurate in this structure. "Care less" is wrong because it is a colloquial verb phrase and completely disrupts the formal tone and grammar of the passage.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake in cloze tests is to focus only on meaning and ignore word class. While "carelessness" and "careless" are related in meaning, only "careless" fits the required grammatical slot. Another pitfall is being misled by spoken phrases like "could not care less", which might make "care less" look familiar, even though it is ungrammatical here. Always check the form (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) demanded by the sentence structure.

Final Answer:
The correct word to complete the blank is careless, giving "permanently and increasingly careless, illogical, and inaccurate in its thinking."