Comprehension:

In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Nature has been suffering mutely for hundreds of years but the problem did not (1)______ serious proportions so long as the damage was (2)______ and not beyond self-repair. These limits were crossed with (3)______ technological breakthroughs accomplished during the recent years. The developed nations (4)______ benefitted most from these were the first to (5)______ the environmental diseases bred by advanced technology.