Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: significance
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question is part of a passage about the rising sun and its spiritual or inner meaning. The writer explains that sunrise does not only mark the beginning of a new morning in the outer world but also awakens new rhythms and vibrations within our inner being. The blank appears in the line "The rising sun has great inner ______." The task is to choose the word that best reflects this deep, positive meaning of sunrise in both outer and inner life.
Given Data / Assumptions:
The passage says that the rising sun wakes up trees, birds and flowers and that sunrise is not just an external event but something that can happen deep within us if we remain alert and aware.
The author speaks about opening the inner door and the window of our inner world to let the new dawn enter and allow the beautiful experience of sunrise within ourselves.
The tone is clearly positive, spiritual and appreciative, not negative or dismissive.
The given options are significance, meaninglessness, triviality, denotation and a fifth added option importance that is also positive but less precise.
Concept / Approach:
The key concept here is vocabulary in context. We need a noun that fits both grammatically and semantically with great inner and that matches the emotional tone and theme of the entire passage. Words such as meaninglessness and triviality carry negative meanings that would contradict the reverent tone. Denotation is a technical term that refers to basic dictionary meaning and does not suit the spiritual context. We therefore look for a word that captures deep meaning and value, which is significance.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read the whole passage to understand that the author is celebrating sunrise as a profound event that awakens outer nature and inner consciousness.
Step 2: Focus on the phrase has great inner ______. The adjective great already signals something positive and important, not something empty or useless.
Step 3: Test significance in the blank: the rising sun has great inner significance. This expresses that sunrise has deep inner meaning, which fits the spiritual theme.
Step 4: Test the other options mentally to check for clashes in meaning or tone.
Step 5: Conclude that significance is the most appropriate and nuanced word for this context.
Verification / Alternative check:
If we replace the blank with significance and read the full sentence and surrounding lines, the paragraph flows naturally. Sunrise is first presented as an outer event, then as something with inner significance. The writer then explains exactly what that significance is: the awakening of inner rhythms and vibrations and the possibility of a beautiful inner experience beyond anything earthly. No awkwardness or contradiction appears, which confirms that significance fits perfectly.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Meaninglessness would result in the phrase has great inner meaninglessness, which is a contradiction because great and meaninglessness push in opposite directions. Triviality suggests that sunrise is insignificant, whereas the passage tries to show the opposite. Denotation refers to the literal meaning of a word and belongs more to the language of dictionaries than to spiritual writing about inner experience. Importance is close in meaning but less precise; the phrase inner significance is a more natural collocation in philosophical and spiritual English than inner importance, which sounds slightly clumsy.
Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to choose importance simply because it is a familiar word that seems to fit after inner. However, careful readers notice that the style of the passage is somewhat elevated, and significance is stylistically stronger and more idiomatic. Another pitfall is not reading the entire passage and trying to fill the blank based only on the short phrase, which increases the chance of picking a word that does not fully match the author’s tone and intention.
Final Answer:
The word that best completes the phrase is significance, so option significance is correct.
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