Choose the most appropriate word from the options given below to complete the following sentence. She could not understand the judges awarding her the first prize, because she thought that her performance was quite _________. A. superb B. medium C. mediocre D. exhilarating

GATE 2014 · General Aptitude · Most Appropriate Word · easy

Answer: B. medium — she thought her performance was merely average (medium), so she could not understand why the judges awarded her first prize.

1. Establish the logical structure of the sentence: She could NOT understand winning first prize. The reason is her own view of her performance. For the surprise to make sense, her self-assessment must be NEGATIVE or MODEST — she thought she did NOT perform well enough to win first prize.
2. Eliminate options that would not cause surprise at winning: A. superb — if she thought her performance was superb, winning would be expected, not surprising. ELIMINATED. D. exhilarating — means thrilling/exciting; again, a positive assessment would not cause surprise at winning. ELIMINATED. C. mediocre — means below average; this would cause surprise, but 'medium' is the more precise and commonly accepted answer for 'average/ordinary'. B. medium — means average/ordinary; explains why she was surprised to win first prize.