Question

Not wanting to present an unwanted optimistic picture in the board meeting, the CEO estimated the sales growth ____________________. The option that will best fill the blank in the above sentence would be:

• A. strictly
• B. liberally
• C. fancifully
• D. pessimistically
• E. conservatively

Hint:

- Prefer \textbf{standard collocations}: “conservative estimate,” “optimistic forecast,” “pessimistic scenario.”
- “Conservative” in estimation means \textbf{cautious, lower-end}, not political ideology.

Answer 1

Answer: (E)

Step 1: The clause “Not wanting to present an unwanted optimistic picture” signals the CEO wishes to {avoid overstatement}. The collocation for giving a cautious, lower-bound estimate is “estimate conservatively.”
Step 2: Why the others don’t fit: “strictly” relates to rules; “liberally” suggests generosity/overstatement (opposite); “fancifully” implies imagination, not businesslike caution; “pessimistically” is too negative and implies an unduly bleak outlook, whereas “conservatively” means {cautiously realistic}. Hence (E) is best.