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Difficulty: MediumPhrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

During the forensic audit of the state treasury, the investigative panel managed to ________ hidden financial discrepancies that had evaded previous reviews. Which of the following options best completes the sentence?

  1. ferret outAnswer
  2. B
    ferret away
  3. C
    ferret through
  4. D
    ferret off

Answer

The phrasal verb 'ferret out' is the correct choice because it idiomatically means to uncover or uncover after intensive searching.
The phrasal verb 'ferret out' means to uncover, search out, or discover hidden information through diligent investigation, which accurately completes the contextual meaning of discovering financial discrepancies during an audit.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context of the sentence
The subject involves an investigative panel performing a forensic audit to locate concealed financial errors or irregularities.
Understanding context establishes the precise meaning required for the missing verb particle combination.
2
Evaluate the idiomatic meaning of 'ferret out'
'Ferret out' explicitly means to search out, uncover, or bring to light information that is hidden or obscure.
This directly matches the sentence's contextual demand of exposing concealed discrepancies.
3
Eliminate incorrect particle options
Options with 'away', 'through', and 'off' either form non-standard collocations or convey unrelated meanings such as hoarding.
Phrasal verbs require exact particle pairing to preserve standard grammatical sense.

Key Concept

Idiomatic Phrasal Verbs
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

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