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Venal means open to bribery or motivated by corrupt financial gain. The political context—“officials” and a contested contract—signals concerns about integrity, not fairness or clarity. “Bribable” (B) captures that meaning precisely. “Merciful” (A) is unrelated to ethics of procurement. “Transparent” (C) and “Impartial” (D) are positive governance traits that directly oppose the insinuation in the stem. On Nelson–Denny items, map the connotation to the institutional domain; words like venal, “graft,” and “kickback” cluster around corruption. A substitution test—“encouraged bribable behavior”—retains the accusation’s sting. Do not confuse venal with “venial” (pardonable, as in minor sins); the latter softens fault, whereas venal intensifies it. Recognizing this distinction helps you interpret editorials and investigative passages where author stance hinges on whether a failure is corrupt (venal), minor (venial), or merely negligent. Exam strategy: eliminate options that change the moral axis (e.g., compassion or logistics) when the sentence clearly targets ethics.