Comprehension: In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in ea...

Comprehension:

In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in
each blank.
Americans have been arguing about pandemic (1) ________________ for two years, and the debate is particularly fraught among
parents of small children, for good reasons. While (2) ____________ such as masking and isolation mean temporary discomfort or
inconvenience for most people, their (3) _______________ for still-developing young children are more mysterious, and possibly
more significant and lasting.
Children with speech or language disorders offer perhaps the (4) _____________ example of these murky trade-offs. Pandemic
restrictions vary by state, county and school district, but I spoke with parents in California, New York, Massachusetts, Washington,
New Jersey, Iowa and Maryland, who said their children’s speech therapy has been (5) ______________: first by the loss of in-person
therapy and then by masking requirements, in places that have them.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank no. 2 in the given passage.