The completed diary page:
Saturday, 17 August 20XX, 8:00 p.m.
Today, I defeated Surya in a badminton match but 1. I do not feel happy about it. He was playing very well and was getting the points easily. I was sure that 2. I will lose the match. So, when everyone was laughing at a joke he cracked, 3. I managed to change the scoreboard. No one noticed the change and 4. I won the match. What surprised me the most was that he said 5. he had fun playing with me and we should play again. How could he be so relaxed after losing a match? He should have been sad if not crying over his loss!
Though 6. everyone congratulated me after my win, I did not enjoy as I usually do. It really disturbed me that 7. Surya did not feel bad about losing the match. It is still bothering me. Is it because I changed the score? I do not understand myself.
Let me sleep now. I feel that it may make me feel better. Goodnight!
| Blank | Phrase | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | I do not feel happy about it | The word but demands a contrast with “I defeated Surya”. |
| 2 | I will lose the match | He says it right after “He was playing very well and was getting the points easily.” |
| 3 | I managed to change the scoreboard | The story’s own words — he did it while everyone was laughing at Surya’s joke. |
| 4 | I won the match | The direct result of the change that nobody noticed. |
| 5 | he had fun playing with me | Surya actually said, “It’s been fun. We should play again some other time.” |
| 6 | everyone congratulated me after my win | Though needs a contrast — praise on the outside, emptiness inside. |
| 7 | Surya did not feel bad | “…about losing the match” completes this phrase exactly. |
One phrase is left over: “I felt very happy” is the extra phrase — it fits nowhere, because the whole point of the diary entry is that Prabhat did not feel happy. (Blanks 4 and 6 may be interchanged — “No one noticed the change and everyone congratulated me after my win… Though I won the match, I did not enjoy as I usually do” also reads correctly.)