What should come in blank (5) ?

Passage

PASSAGE (Q101–Q105): In the following question, some of the words in the passage have been left out. Read the passage carefully and choose the correct word for each blank, out of the four alternatives and fill in the blanks.

After falling consistently (1) the U.S. dollar for a major part of the year, the rupee has (2) somewhat over the last few weeks. It has risen by almost 5% from its lowest levels (3) in October. Even with this recent improvement, the rupee is still down about 11% since the start of the year. The rupee’s performance has been closely (4) to global crude oil prices. This makes sense, as imported oil accounts for about 80% of India’s total demand. The value of the rupee dropped when oil prices climbed earlier this year, a trend that lasted until early October. Since then, as global crude prices have fallen, the rupee has (5) against the dollar.

Question

What should come in blank (5) ?

1. A. strengthened (Correct answer)
2. B. relating
3. C. tandem
4. D. culture

Correct Answer

Option A — strengthened

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is strengthened.

Key Points

• The clause runs "as global crude prices have fallen, the rupee has ________ against the dollar", so the blank needs a verb describing the currency gaining value.
• Falling oil prices reduce India's import bill and dollar demand, so the rupee strengthened — the sense the causal clause requires.
• The alternatives are not verbs fitting this frame: *relating* is a participle with the wrong sense, while *tandem* and *culture* are nouns.

Additional Information

• Strengthen and weaken are the standard neutral verbs for currency movement, alongside appreciate and depreciate in more technical writing.
• The collocation is completed by against, matching blank (1) — the passage opens and closes with the same construction, which is a useful check.
• The causal connective as here means "because" rather than "while", signalling the falling oil price as the reason.
• In cloze passages the final blank often mirrors the first; comparing them is a quick way to confirm both.