Choose the correct word to fill in the blank.

John did his best to act the scholar; but whenever he got his book open and his pipe lit he fell asleep before he had spent even half an hour _____ over his work.

Question

Choose the correct word to fill in the blank.

John did his best to act the scholar; but whenever he got his book open and his pipe lit he fell asleep before he had spent even half an hour _____ over his work.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The sentence asks for a word that completes the phrase 'spent even half an hour _____ over his work,' describing diligent, careful examination of his work.
Option 1: 'excepting' would mean excluding something, which does not semantically fit a phrase about looking over work with focus. The collocation is awkward here.
Option 2: 'accepting' implies agreeing to something or receiving, which again fails to convey the act of examining text or studying.
Option 3: 'pouring' could be used in expressions like 'pouring over,' but the correct form is 'pouring over' as two words; however, in this item the context requires a present participle form that precisely matches the idiom, and 'pouring' without the 'over' would be redundant. The given sentence already includes 'over his work,' so 'pouring over' could be plausible, yet the standard, most natural verb used with 'over' in this context is 'poring,' not 'pouring' here.
Option 4: 'adapting' means changing to suit something, which is not about examining or reading closely.
Option 5: 'adopting' means taking up or accepting something, which also doesn't fit the act of careful study.
Option 6: 'poring' is the correct pairing with 'over his work' to form the idiom 'poring over' meaning to study something closely or to read with concentrated attention. This aligns with the contrast in the sentence between scholarly effort and falling asleep.
In summary, the sentence requires a verb that captures close, attentive study of text, and the conventional phrase is 'poring over,' whereas the other options do not convey that precise meaning or produce a natural, grammatical fit with 'over his work.'

CLA 030 001 WQ 2025 Homework 32: Easily Confused Words, p. 230

Choose the correct word to fill in the blank. John did his best to act the scholar; but whenever he got his book open and his pipe lit he fell asleep before he had spent even half an hour _____ over his work.

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