Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: morality
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This cloze test question comes from a passage discussing truth, moral principles, and the right to know. The first sentence states that truth is a controversial aspect of something, and we must decide which abstract noun makes the best sense. The topic clearly belongs to the field of ethics and moral philosophy.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The word “morality” refers to principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Discussions about whether one should always speak the truth, or whether truth should be withheld to avoid hurt, belong to moral philosophy. Therefore, it is natural to say that truth is a controversial aspect of morality. The other options relate to skill, politeness, or weakness, which do not fit the ethical focus of the passage.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the central topic of the passage. It talks about speaking the truth, the moral basis for truth telling, and the right to know.
Step 2: Connect this to a general area of study. These issues fall under moral philosophy or ethics, which are part of “morality”.
Step 3: Insert Option A into the sentence: “Truth is indeed a controversial aspect of morality.” This sounds natural and meaningful.
Step 4: Test Option B, “ability”. The sentence becomes “a controversial aspect of ability”, which does not convey a clear or relevant idea.
Step 5: Test Options C and D, “civility” and “debility”. Neither word relates directly to moral questions about truth telling in the way the rest of the passage does.
Verification / Alternative check:
Read further sentences of the passage in your mind: it speaks about truth as a moral principle, about feeling for others, and about denying someone the knowledge they ought to have. All these are clearly moral issues, not issues of skill or physical weakness. That consistency across the passage supports “morality” as the correct choice.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B: “ability” refers to competence or skill, and truth is not normally called an aspect of ability.
Option C: “civility” means politeness and social courtesy, which is related to behaviour but is not the central focus of the passage.
Option D: “debility” means physical or mental weakness, which does not fit the idea of discussing truth as a moral question.
Common Pitfalls:
Sometimes students may focus only on the idea of “controversial” and choose words randomly, without reading the rest of the passage carefully. Cloze test blanks should always be answered by considering the entire paragraph, not just a single sentence. Identifying the general theme, such as morality, education, or economics, often makes the correct choice obvious.
Final Answer:
The word that best completes the sentence in the context of the passage is morality.
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