hello i'm a korean highschool student studying english.
here's the paragraph and question:
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Empathy can be used as a tool for __________. This manifests frequently as pseudo-empathy, a social pose that disintegrates quickly if recognized. A friend complained to me about the salespeople in a pricey clothing store she likes to browse in: "They always say how nice it is to see me, and follow me around trying to make small talk. I just want them to leave me alone until I have a question." Then one day, in an unguarded moment, one of the salespeople confessed that her boss had instructed them to strike up a friendly conversation with customers who had made expensive purchases before. But this forced friendliness just didn't ring true — it actually put off my friend. We may have natural safeguards against such artificial empathy — the capacity to sense, as my friend did, when empathy is not sincere.
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Q. Choose the most appropriate word.
1. education
2. relaxation
3. promotion
4. cooperation
5. manipulation
the answer was 5.manipulation, and i can understand that is appropriate one.
but i think it makes more sense to choose "promotion" rather than "manipulation" because, in the paragraph, "Empathy" was used for a kind of sales promotion.
so, i wonder how you natives think...