OEThere are two possibilities for the blank: something like a bad ending (yet another bad event occurred in December) or something like an inconvenience (relative to the other
“devastating” events). A
“coda” is an ending that sums up what came before, which, in this case, was pretty bad. A
“rampage” is bad but does not fit grammatically before the word
“to,” nor does it correctly describe an earthquake—rather, murderers or mobs go on rampages. A
“prologue” would be at the beginning of the year, not at the end.
“Catharsis” means an emotional release and doesn’t fit the context of a natural disaster, which would build up emotional distress rather than release it. And finally,
“homily” is a lecture, sometimes religious, but this doesn’t fit the context of a natural disaster.
Answer: C