Directions: For the given question, select one entry for the blank to best complete the text.

A sudden chilling rain squall lashed the swells and ___________ us with stinging drops.

Option (1): 'Stroked' conveys the opposite of 'stinging'. Hence, the option is eliminated. Option (2): 'Squall' can shake us but not the 'stinging drops'. Option (3): 'Beat us with stinging drops' is ungrammatical. Option (4): 'Squall' is 'a sudden violent wind, often with snow on rain' and 'pelt' is 'to throw repeatedly as in an attack'. A violent snowstorm will pelt hard with stinging drops. So, the correct option is (4). Option (5); 'Lashed' is a whipping action, and even if the drops are 'stinging', they can't lash us.