Question

Choose the pair of words that best completes the sentence:

Having no ______________________ of tolerance for the practice of suttee, the Hindu custom requiring a nobleman's widow to burn hersolf on her husband's ______________________, the British governors in India proscribed it.


flagrance . . . pyrotechnics


fervor . . . conflagration


inflammation . . . cautery


scintilla . . . pyre


effervescence . . . pyromania

Answer 1

The pair of words that best completes the sentence is:

**scintilla . . . pyre**

So the completed sentence reads:

"Having no scintilla of tolerance for the practice of suttee, the Hindu custom requiring a nobleman's widow to burn herself on her husband's pyre, the British governors in India proscribed it."

"Scintilla" means a tiny amount, which fits the context of having no tolerance, and "pyre" refers to the structure for burning the body, which is relevant to the custom of suttee.

Answer 2

Choose the pair of words that best completes the sentence:

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake had broken water, gas, and electric lines, the worst damage followed a ______________________, which both firefighters and citizens fought with ________________________.


pyre . . . incense


inflammation . . . pyrotechnics


conflagration . . . fervor


scintillation . . . flamboyance


incendiary . . . flagrance