Practise the standard verbs for talking through a bug out loud until the answer surfaces itself.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Fill in: 'We ___ the problem out loud, line by line, to a rubber duck before touching any code, since narrating the logic often reveals the flawed assumption unprompted.'
We 'explain a problem' — the standard, simple collocation for verbalising reasoning aloud during rubber-duck debugging. The other options aren't idiomatic here.
2 / 5
Fill in: 'Staring silently at broken code instead of narrating it out loud can ___ an obvious off-by-one error unnoticed for far longer than a five-minute explanation would.'
We say silent debugging will 'leave' an obvious error unnoticed — the standard, natural collocation for the resulting delay. The other options aren't idiomatic here.
3 / 5
Fill in: 'We ___ ourselves mid-explanation whenever the reasoning suddenly stalls, since that exact pause is usually where the actual bug is hiding.'
We 'catch ourselves' — the standard, simple collocation for noticing a break in one's own reasoning. The other options are less idiomatic here.
4 / 5
Fill in: 'We ___ a rubber duck, or any silent listener, on the desk specifically for this purpose, rather than waiting until a teammate happens to be free.'
We 'keep a duck' — the standard, simple collocation for having a dedicated listener on hand for this technique. The other options are less idiomatic here.
5 / 5
Fill in: 'We ___ the technique to a genuinely stuck problem only, since narrating code that's already working correctly is simply wasted explanation time.'
We 'apply a technique' — the standard, simple collocation for using a debugging method in the situation it actually suits. The other options are less idiomatic here.