As there was a fallen tree ... the path,I had to walk ... it to go to the other side

Question

As there was a fallen tree ... the path, I had to walk ... it to go to the other side.

Options:

• a). out of/in
• b). under/around
• c). out of/into
• d). along/along
• e). across/around

My Approach: I am confused between d) and e).

Reason:

I found along meaning that correlated in the sentence like

beside, by the side of, on the edge of, alongside.

Example: Trees grew along the river bank.

I found across meaning the following:

from one side to the other of (something)

in other words, it is expressing movement over a place or region.

Can anyone guide me on how to solve the problem?

Answer 1

If you apply the definitions to the logical meaning of the phrases, it should be clear.

If:

there was a fallen tree along the path

being beside/alongside the path you would not have to take the action in the second phrase:

I had to walk...to go to the other side.

Only across (blocking the path) would result in such action:

there was a fallen tree across the path

After establishing this, it follows that to get past the obstacle you have to go around it:

I had to walk around it to go to the other side