In the following passage some words have been deleted. Fill in the blanks with the help of the alternatives given. Select the most appropriate option for each blank.

Ram Singh whistled cheerfully as he pushed his bicycle up the hill towards old Mrs. Gupta’s house. His work for the (1)______was almost finished (2)______his bag, which was usually (3)______ when he started from the post office (4)______now become empty (5)______for the letter that he had to (6)______to Mrs.Gupta. She lived a kilometer (7)______from the village, so when (8)______had a letter for her, he (9)______ his day’s work late. However, he did not mind that (10)______Mrs Gupta always called him in for a cup of tea.

Q:

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank No.5.

• 1
  excluding
• 2
  without
• 3
  except
• 4
  accept