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

Once upon a time, there was a man (1)____ used to tell the fortunes of people. One day, he was telling the fortune as usual when a man came to him and said, "Somebody (2)____ broken the door of your house and has stolen many valuables. Go home at once!" The fortune teller was (3)______ shocked to hear the news. He could not utter a word out of shock. He just ran to his house as fast as he could. He was in such a hurry that he left all his things behind. Now, one of his customers saw him rushing and (4)_____, "Every day he (5)______ the fortunes of so many people but today he could not see his own future!" The fortune teller felt very embarrassed.

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 3.

The correct answer is quite.

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. The sentence reads: "The fortune teller was (3)______ shocked to hear the news."

2. We need an adverb to modify the adjective "shocked" to indicate the degree of shock experienced by the fortune teller upon hearing about the burglary at his house.

3. Let's evaluate the given options:

• quite: This is an adverb meaning "to a utmost or high degree; completely or very." It fits grammatically and meaningfully to describe someone being "quite shocked".
• many: This is a determiner/adjective used with plural countable nouns (e.g., "many books"). It cannot be used directly to modify an adjective like "shocked".
• so less: This phrase is grammatically incorrect in this context.
• so more: This phrase is also grammatically incorrect in this context.

4. Therefore, the word quite is the most appropriate option to complete blank number 3, forming the natural sentence: "The fortune teller was quite shocked to hear the news."