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

“Can I come along with you on your fishing trip, please?” asked Millie. Her two elder brothers (1)________ at her scornfully. “Fishing is a man's (2) ________,” said her older brother, Derek. “Girls are not (3) ________ at fishing.” (4) ________ a while, however, Millie managed to persuade her brothers to take her (5) ________. When they reached the fishing pond, the two brothers wandered off by themselves.

Select the correct option to fill blank 4.

The correct option to fill in blank 4 is After.

Step-by-step Explanation:
The sentence requires a word to complete the standard English idiomatic phrase "________ a while".

• The expression "After a while" means "after a short period of time" or "eventually". In the context of the passage, it describes how Millie managed to convince her brothers after some time had passed.

Let's look at why the other options are incorrect:
• Nearly: "Nearly a while" is grammatically incorrect.
• Then: "Then a while" is not a standard English phrase.
• Before: "Before a while" is not an idiomatic temporal phrase in English.

Therefore, After is the most appropriate option.