SAT OwlQuestion bank / Words in Context
Mount Everest's height is not fixed. The collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates continues to push the Himalayas upward, so the mountain ______ by a few millimeters each year, even as erosion wears away at its surface.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
shrinks
rises
wanders
freezes
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
The plates "push the Himalayas upward," so Everest is getting taller. "Rises" fits.
Choice A, "shrinks," matches the erosion mentioned at the end, but the sentence says the uplift continues "even as" erosion occurs, so the main change is upward.
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