Q2
It _____________ not look like a great deal today, but back then it was a coup: no man before ___________ to import tea directly into Ireland.
The option that will best fill the blanks in the above sentences would be:
Answer: B
Options 1, 3 and 4 use the present tense whereas the sentence clearly requires a past tense, indicated by ‘but back then’. Option 5 with “ever”, meaning ‘at all times; always’ becomes erroneous as it is placed after the word “before”.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.