Choose the most appropriate alternative from the options given below to complete the following sentence. The administrators went on to implement yet another unreasonable measure, arguing that the measures were already __________ and one more would hardly make a difference. A. reflective B. utopian C. luxuriant D. unpopular

GATE 2012 · General Aptitude · Most Appropriate Word · medium

Answer: D. unpopular — 'measures were already unpopular and one more would hardly make a difference' captures the administrators' (flawed) justification for adding yet another disliked policy.

1. Understand the argument structure: The administrators say: 'measures are already _____ so one more won't make a difference.' For this reasoning to hold, the blank must represent a negative characteristic at saturation — adding one more of the same type won't change much.
2. Evaluate the distractors: A. reflective — describes thoughtfulness; has no 'one more won't matter' implication. B. utopian — impractically idealistic; does not explain why adding more measures is fine. C. luxuriant — means lush and rich growth (usually of vegetation); clearly off-context. D. unpopular — the measures face opposition; one more unpopular measure adds marginally to existing unpopularity.