D ? ?? CD M + 1:07 3. The car company’s losses continued to as the product recalls drove customers away, rarely a of future growth. climb.. president mount. . precursor decrease .. credential augment.. byproduct X oscillate .. prophecy ???? 0/1 rarely a of future growth. climb.. president mount. . precursor decrease .. credential augment.. byproduct X oscillate .. prophecy ???? 0/1
The correct answer and explanation is:
Correct Answer:
mount, precursor
Explanation
To solve this fill‐in‐the-blank puzzle, we first analyze the sentence and the word choices provided. The sentence reads: “The car company’s losses continued to ____ as the product recalls drove customers away, rarely a ____ of future growth.” The task is to select an appropriate verb for the first blank and a fitting noun for the second blank from the options available.
In business writing, describing losses with verbs such as “climb” or “mount” is common. However, the idiomatic expression “losses continued to mount” is more frequently used to denote a steady, accumulating increase in financial setbacks. Although “climb” might suggest a similar upward trend, “mount” is traditionally associated with worsening financial conditions—conveying a sense of relentless buildup that is hard to arrest.
For the noun in the second blank, several choices are given (president, precursor, credential, augment, byproduct, prophecy). A “precursor” is something that comes before and often signals the onset of another event. In this context, the sentence implies that rising losses do not herald future growth. Thus, mounting losses are “rarely a precursor of future growth.” This pairing underscores that, although certain trends might predict positive developments, a steady increase in losses typically does not indicate a forthcoming rebound; rather, it signals ongoing distress.
Overall, the completed sentence—“The car company’s losses continued to mount as the product recalls drove customers away, rarely a precursor of future growth”—is both grammatically correct and contextually sound. The chosen words capture the unfortunate scenario where product recalls not only erode customer confidence but also lead to escalating losses that do not foretell any potential for recovery. This exercise highlights the importance of selecting words that align with common collocations and the underlying business context.
Image Generated:
An illustration depicting a somber corporate scene with a rising loss graph in the background, distressed executives, scattered product recall notices, and a fading car factory in the foreground—symbolizing mounting losses and a bleak future for growth.