Question

read the paragraph, then choose the word that best completes the sentence.
a japanese space probe was supposed to begin orbiting venus in december 2010. the probe is named akatsuki. it journeyed for nearly eight months to reach venus. it was supposed to orbit the planet. to do this, the probe needed to fire its engines as it neared venus. this would have pushed it into the proper orbit. however, mission officials could not communicate with the probe. later, they discovered its engines failed to fire.
the probe was ________.
a broken
b captured
c destroyed
d connecting

Explanation:

The text says the probe's engines failed to fire. "Broken" means not working properly, which fits as the engines not firing implies a malfunction. "Captured" (taken by force), "destroyed" (completely ruined), and "connecting" (linking) don't match the context of engine failure.

Answer:

A. broken