In the following sentence, an underlined phrase needs to be checked: "It is hard these days to cope with the rising prices." Choose the option that best improves the underlined part, or select No improvement if the sentence is already correct.

Introduction / Context:
This sentence improvement question tests your knowledge of the correct prepositional verb combination with cope. Many learners of English are tempted to add extra particles such as up to verbs where they are not needed. The sentence describes how difficult it is to manage or handle rising prices, and you must decide whether the phrase cope with the rising prices is correct or needs to be changed.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Sentence: It is hard these days to cope with the rising prices.
• The underlined part is cope with the rising prices.
• Options offer various combinations: cope by, cope up with, to be coped with, and No improvement.
• The intended meaning is that it is difficult to manage or deal with the increasing cost of living.

Concept / Approach:
In standard English, the correct phrasal verb is cope with, which means deal successfully with a difficult situation or problem. Cope by is not idiomatic, and cope up with is a common but incorrect form influenced by some regional usages. The passive phrase to be coped with the rising prices is awkward and does not fit the sentence structure. Therefore, the original phrase cope with the rising prices is already correct and requires no improvement.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the phrasal verb in the sentence, which is cope with. Step 2: Recall that cope with means handle or deal with. It is a fixed combination where with introduces the object, such as cope with stress or cope with pressure. Step 3: Examine option A, cope by the rising prices. Cope by does not form a recognised phrasal verb and changes the meaning. Step 4: Examine option B, cope up with the rising prices. Although cope up with is sometimes heard in informal speech, it is not accepted as correct in formal English or in competitive examinations. Step 5: Examine option C, to be coped with the rising prices. This passive structure is ungrammatical in this context and makes the sentence unclear. Step 6: Recognise that the original cope with the rising prices is a correct and natural expression, so the best choice is No improvement.

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare the sentence to other standard examples: It is hard to cope with stress, She can cope with any challenge, They struggled to cope with the workload. In each case, cope with introduces the problem or difficulty. Using cope by or cope up with in those examples would sound incorrect to a native speaker and would be marked wrong in formal tests. Thus, the pattern in the question aligns with accepted usage.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Cope by suggests using something as a means rather than naming the problem being handled, which does not match the usual pattern of cope with plus difficulty. Cope up with is a common error that examiners often include as a distractor. To be coped with suggests that the subject is handled by something else, which is not what the sentence intends to say.

Common Pitfalls:
One common confusion arises from similar looking phrasal verbs like put up with or keep up with, which may lead learners to add up after cope. However, cope does not take up in standard usage. To avoid such errors, it is useful to learn common verbs together with their fixed prepositions or particles as complete units and to read widely in order to see them in real contexts. This helps you confidently recognise when no improvement is required.

Final Answer:
The sentence is already correct, so the right choice is No improvement.