In this passage about cultural identity, choose the adjective that best completes the phrase: “just like a tree, ______ to external influences … ”

Introduction / Context:
Continuing the tree metaphor, the passage says that the culture “has grown just like a tree, ______ to external influences but holding its roots hard.” The blank must be filled with an adjective that clearly describes a positive, receptive attitude to influences from outside while still preserving core identity.

Given Data / Assumptions:

1) The sentence fragment is “just like a tree, ______ to external influences but holding its roots hard.”
2) The options are: welcome, eager, open, agreeable.
3) The topic is a culture that accepts outside influences yet keeps its core intact.
4) The adjective should form a common collocation with “to external influences”.
5) The passage is written in a formal essay style.

Concept / Approach:
In English, we commonly say “open to external influences” to describe systems, cultures or people that are receptive and willing to learn from outside sources. The word “open” fits naturally with “to”. While “eager” and “agreeable” describe attitudes, they do not collocate as neatly with “to external influences” in this abstract, formal context. “welcome” is usually a verb or adjective applied to people or things, not directly to “influences”.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Attach each option to “to external influences”: welcome to external influences, eager to external influences, open to external influences, agreeable to external influences. Step 2: Notice that “open to” is a very common structure used with ideas, suggestions and influences. Step 3: “welcome to external influences” is not a standard phrase; we say “external influences are welcome” instead. Step 4: “eager to external influences” is incorrect; we say “eager for” or “eager to do something”, not “eager to influences”. Step 5: “agreeable to external influences” is grammatically possible but uncommon and somewhat awkward in this context. Step 6: “open to external influences” reads smoothly and expresses precisely the intended meaning of receptiveness.

Verification / Alternative check:
Read the whole segment: “It has grown just like a tree, open to external influences but holding its roots hard.” This neatly captures the idea of a culture that learns from others without losing its foundation. Inserting any of the other options makes the sentence sound forced or grammatically questionable.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
“welcome” would require a different structure (“external influences are welcome”) and does not sit naturally before “to external influences”. “eager” needs “for” or an infinitive, not “to” plus a noun phrase. “agreeable” is more often used with “to someone” or “to an idea”, and is not the standard way to talk about openness to influences.

Common Pitfalls:
A typical mistake is to choose a word that expresses a similar attitude (like “eager”) without checking if the exact grammatical pattern is correct. Another pitfall is ignoring collocations: “open to” is a very strong collocation that should immediately stand out if you have been reading English texts. Whenever you see a preposition like “to” or “for” after a blank, always test which adjectives you commonly see with that preposition.

Final Answer:
The adjective that best completes the sentence is open.