The orphanage is high (a) ___ the Carolina mountains. The writer was there (b) ___ the autumn. She preferred peaceful environment to pen some troublesome writing. She wanted the mountain air to blow (c) ___ the malaria from too long a time (d) ___ the subtropics. She was homesick (e) ____ the flaming maples (g) ___ October and for many other things. She found them all living (h) ___ a cabin belonging (i) ___ the orphanage, half a mile (j) ___ orphanage farm.
The orphanage is high (a) in the Carolina mountains. The writer was there (b) in the autumn. She preferred peaceful environment to pen some troublesome writing. She wanted the mountain air to blow (c) out the malaria from too long a time (d) in the subtropics. She was homesick (e) for the flaming (f) of maples (g) in October and for many other things. She found them all living (h) in a cabin belonging (i) to the orphanage, half a mile (j) beyond orphanage farm.
In formal English, the conjunction "as" is used to introduce a clause or a phrase that indicates a comparison or the manner in which something is done. In this sentence, "as in the old days" describes how the evening was spent, implying "in the way it was done in the old days."
Conversely, "like" is primarily used as a preposition to mean "similar to" or "in the manner of," and is typically followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. While "like" is often used informally in place of "as" or "as if," it is generally considered incorrect in standard written English when introducing a clause or an adverbial phrase of comparison.
For example:
Incorrect: She sings like she is a professional.
Correct: She sings as if she is a professional.
Correct: She sings like a professional. (Here, 'like' is a preposition followed by a noun phrase 'a professional'.)
Therefore, "as in the old days" is the grammatically correct and more formal choice for this context.
In English grammar, the verb 'call' can be used in several ways, and its usage dictates whether a preposition is required. When 'call' means 'to telephone someone', it functions as a transitive verb and directly takes an object without any preposition. For example, one would say "Please call Mr. Khan" to mean telephoning him.
Conversely, if 'call' is used to mean 'to pay a brief visit to someone', it typically forms a phrasal verb with the preposition 'on', as in "to call on someone". For instance, "We will call on our neighbours tomorrow."
Given the structure "Please call – Mr. Khan tomorrow morning", the most common and grammatically appropriate interpretation is that Mr. Khan should be telephoned. Therefore, no preposition is needed in the blank, and the sentence correctly reads "Please call Mr. Khan tomorrow morning."