The end of formal colonialism did not [1] erase the structural inequalities that empire had constructed over centuries. In many post-colonial states, the administrative apparatus — legal codes, land tenure systems, and territorial borders — was [2] wholesale from the departing colonial power, often without regard for indigenous institutions or traditions. This institutional legacy has [3] state-building efforts in profound ways, contributing to governance deficits, ethnic tensions, and [4] economic dependency on former colonial powers. The borders [5] at the Berlin Conference of 1884, for instance, arbitrarily divided communities and lumped together rival ethnic groups, sowing seeds of conflict that persist to the present day. Contemporary scholars contend that genuine sovereignty requires not merely political independence but a systematic dismantling of colonial knowledge systems, economic structures, and cultural hierarchies. This process, often termed 'decolonisation', extends beyond the political realm into education, medicine, law, and the arts. Unless it is pursued comprehensively, critics warn, formal independence will remain a hollow achievement.

1. Blank [1]
   • A. immediately
   • B. completely
   • C. instantly
   • D. automatically ✓

   'The end of formal colonialism did not ___1___ erase the structural inequalities' — the adverb modifies 'erase' to explain the assumed but false expectation. 'Automatically' is the most precise choice: it means as an inevitable, mechanical consequence — the assumption being challenged is that political independence would, by its own logic, eliminate structural inequality. 'Did not automatically erase' means the erasure was not a foregone conclusion. 'Immediately' and 'instantly' are temporal. 'Completely' means in full — possible, but 'automatically' better captures the false assumption of inevitability.

2. Blank [2]
   • A. inherited ✓
   • B. adopted
   • C. absorbed
   • D. retained

   'the administrative apparatus... was ___2___ wholesale from the departing colonial power' — the verb must describe receiving an entire system from a predecessor. 'Inherited' is the most precise choice for post-colonial institutional transfer: it means receiving something from a predecessor, often including both benefits and burdens. 'Inherited wholesale' captures the uncritical, complete adoption of colonial structures. 'Adopted' implies active choice. 'Absorbed' implies gradual integration. 'Retained' means kept — but it implies the post-colonial state already owned it, which is historically inaccurate.

3. Blank [3]
   • A. shaped
   • B. constrained ✓
   • C. hampered
   • D. complicated

   'This institutional legacy has ___3___ state-building efforts in profound ways' — the verb must capture the limiting, restricting effect of inherited colonial structures on new states. 'Constrained' means placed within limiting boundaries — it captures the sense of being hemmed in by structural forces without implying active obstruction ('hampered') or mere complication ('complicated'). 'Constrained state-building' reflects the technical vocabulary of comparative politics, where institutional legacies are understood as constraints. 'Shaped' is too neutral and positive. 'Hampered' is more active. 'Complicated' understates the depth of the impact.

4. Blank [4]
   • A. persistent
   • B. structural
   • C. entrenched ✓
   • D. continued

   '___4___ economic dependency on former colonial powers' — the blank modifies 'dependency' to capture how deeply rooted this reliance is. 'Entrenched' is the most precise academic adjective: it means deeply embedded and resistant to change, as if dug into fortified positions. 'Entrenched economic dependency' is the standard phrase in development studies for structural reliance that persists because of deeply embedded institutional arrangements. 'Persistent' means continuing over time. 'Structural' means arising from the system's design. 'Continued' is merely temporal. 'Entrenched' adds the crucial sense of resistance to removal.

5. Blank [5]
   • A. delineated
   • B. demarcated
   • C. established
   • D. drawn ✓

   'The borders ___5___ at the Berlin Conference of 1884' — the blank requires the verb used specifically for creating territorial borders. 'Drawn' is the standard verb for borders: 'draw a border/line' is the fixed collocation in historical and geographical writing. 'Borders drawn at the Berlin Conference' is the standard historical phrase. 'Delineated' and 'demarcated' are more technical surveying terms. 'Established' is too general and administrative. 'Drawn' carries the metaphor of a pencil stroke across a map — vivid and historically standard.