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Difficulty: MediumPrepositions and Prepositional Phrases

Despite the board's enthusiasm for the aggressive expansion strategy, the chief financial officer remained strictly averse _____ taking on additional unhedged financial liabilities. Which preposition correctly completes the sentence?

  1. toAnswer
  2. B
    from
  3. C
    with
  4. D
    for

Answer

The preposition 'to' correctly completes the sentence, forming the standard construction 'averse to'.
The adjective 'averse' (meaning strongly disinclined or opposed) is conventionally followed by the preposition 'to'. In this context, 'averse to taking on' correctly completes the prepositional phrase.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the target head word requiring a preposition complement.
The target word is the adjective 'averse'.
Prepositions following specific adjectives are fixed by English idiomatic usage.
2
Determine the correct dependent preposition for 'averse'.
'Averse' requires the preposition 'to' (e.g., 'averse to risk', 'averse to taking').
'Averse to' is the standard fixed adjective-preposition collocation.

Key Concept

Dependent Prepositions with Adjectives
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Topics

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

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