What does the word “it” in paragraph 3 refer to?

Mark the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.

The water workers' claim for a 10 percent pay rise has been under consideration by the Government.

People often avoid eating squash, pumpkin, melon and peanuts before their exams because they suppose that it is a _______.

These women were viewed with ____ and they had to work twice as hard to be accepted by their male colleagues.

Environmental campaigners argue that cheap short-haul flights have caused________________ massive increase at carbon emissions over the past few years.

Many girls want to go to the pub only a minority ______ to watch TV at home now.

Finally, after 10 years in prison, Tom found himself as free as a(n) ____.