Question

The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of ____ smells and of oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills.

a) fragrant
b) evocative
c) dolorous
d) resonant
e) fetid

Answer 1

The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of   E) FETID smells and of oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills.

Answer 2

The statement is suggestive that the fishes are hardly able to absorb oxygen from the water body and are dying. Moreover, we understand that some living thing, when dies, does not smell very great. Anyhow, I have stated the meaning of each word in the options so that it becomes easy to understand and choose the right option from the many.

1. fragrant: having a smell that is very pleasant or sweet.
2. evocative: reminiscing strong incidents and feelings in mind.
3. dolorous: expressing or feeling deep distress.
4. resonant: related to sound-clear and clean sound in a continuous flow.
5. fetid: smelling very odd or unpleasant.

From the definitions provided, it becomes clear that the word "fetid" is fitting perfectly in blank and is also making sense.

Now, complete statement would be:

"The pond was a place of reek and corruption, of fetid smells and of oxygen-starved fish breathing through laboring gills."