Choose the verb that completes the standard evaluative collocation:
The newly released meteorological measurements cast serious ________ on the accuracy of previous oceanic warming projections.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. doubt
Answer: doubt. Why not the others: 'cast suspicion on' implies moral guilt or criminality rather than scientific inaccuracy; 'cast disbelief' and 'cast uncertainty' are unidiomatic collocations.
- Step 1: Identify the fixed verb-noun collocation with 'cast': the phrase 'cast doubt on' (or 'cast doubt upon') is the standard formal idiom meaning to make something seem uncertain or questionable.
- Step 2: The required noun is 'doubt'.
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