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Question

Difficulty: MediumPhrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

Which phrasal verb correctly completes the sentence below?

Answer:The auditing committee cautioned the bursar not to 【gloss over】 the financial irregularities discovered during the annual inspection.

Answer

gloss over
The phrasal verb 'gloss over' means to deliberately avoid dealing with or explaining something bad, wrong, or embarrassing by treating it as unimportant. In this context, it accurately expresses the warning given to the bursar not to cover up or minimize the financial irregularities.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context and meaning of the sentence
The context involves an auditor warning an official against ignoring, minimizing, or treating serious financial irregularities superficially.
Establishing the precise semantic context is required to select the appropriate verb-particle combination.
2
Identify the phrasal verb that conveys superficial treatment or concealment of errors
The phrasal verb 'gloss over' specifically means to treat a mistake, serious matter, or defect as unimportant or to cover it up superficially.
'Gloss over' correctly fills the blank both syntactically and semantically.

Key Concept

Phrasal Verbs - Contextual Meaning and Particle Selection
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Topics

Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

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