Question

6 read these sentences from the text.
in 1453 a.d., the byzantine empire fell to the turks. today, constantinople is called istanbul, and it is the largest city in turkey.
as used in these sentences, what do the words \fell to\ most nearly mean?
a dropped from
b defeated by
c took over from
d made peace with

Explanation:

The context describes the Byzantine Empire's loss to the Turks, leading to Constantinople (now Istanbul) being part of Turkey. "Fell to" here refers to being defeated and taken over by an opposing force, which matches "defeated by". Other options do not fit: "dropped from" is literal, "took over from" reverses the subject-object relationship, and "made peace with" contradicts the historical event of conquest.

Answer:

B. defeated by