Step 1: Meaning of "spineless" and "cowardly"
- Spineless = lacking courage, weak-willed.
- Cowardly = showing lack of bravery.
Step 2: Check each option
(A) Pusillanimous — literally means "lacking courage," "cowardly," "timid." This directly matches the given clue.
(B) Unctuous — overly flattering, insincere (nothing to do with cowardice).
(C) Obsequious — excessively submissive, sycophantic (close in tone but not exactly cowardly).
(D) Reticent — reserved, silent, not willing to speak (again not cowardly).
Thus, the only correct match is Pusillanimous.
\[
\boxed{\text{Pusillanimous = Spineless + Cowardly}}
\]
In the given text, the blanks are numbered (i)--(iv). Select the best match for all the blanks.
From the ancient Athenian arena to the modern Olympic stadiums, athletics (i) _____the potential for a spectacle. The crowd (ii) ______ with bated breath as the Olympian artist twists his body, stretching the javelin behind him. Twelve strides in, he begins to cross-step. Six cross-steps (iii) _________ in an abrupt stop on his left foot. As his body (iv) ________ like a door turning on a hinge, the javelin is launched skyward at a precise angle.
Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct sequence for the following passage:
I am wearing for the first time some (i)______ that I have never been able to wear for long at a time, as they are horribly tight. I usually put them on just before giving a lecture. The painful pressure they exert on my feet goads my oratorical capacities to their utmost. This sharp and overwhelming pain makes me sing like a nightingale or like one of those Neapolitan singers who also wear (ii) _______ that are too tight. The visceral physical longing, the overwhelming torture provoked by my (iii)_______, forces me to extract from words distilled and sublime truths, generalized by the supreme inquisition of the pain my (iv) _______suffer.