Directions (): In the passage given below there are 10 blanks, each followed by a word given in bold. Each blank has four alternative words given in options (A),(B),(C) and (D). You have to tell which word will best suit the respective blank. Mark (E) as your answer if the word given in bold after the blank is your answer i.e “No change required”.
 
The increasing cost of higher education in the United States has been a --(1)---(contrast) topic for debate in recent decades. American society --(2)---(denigrate) the importance of education after high school, yet the cost of undergraduate and advanced degrees continually rises at a greater rate than ---(3)----(inflammation). According to the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, cost factors prevent 48% of college-qualified high school graduates from ---(4)----(pursuing) further education (McKeon, 2004, p. 45). The current system requires the majority of students to ---(5)----(dissipate) extensive debt with the expectation that they gain ----(6)---(unprofitable) post-graduate employment to repay their loans. The cost of higher education raises several --(7)----(ethical) issues. Among these are the perpetuation of the cycle of debt in American commercial society, the ---(8)---(hypothetical) of differing higher education institutions and cost, and the resulting socioeconomic and racial inequities in college demographics. Both an examination of the current trends and figures and a closer look at a real life example show the troublesome state of higher education and its ---(9)---(affect) on our commercial society.Research indicates a steep upward trend in the cost of higher education throughout the 20th century. In recent decades, America has witnessed a widening gap between inflation and tuition. An incoming freshman at a typical college ---(10)---(infer) charges for tuition, university fees, books, room and board, and other miscellaneous items.