Concept:The test checks the ability to identify the word most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined word, while fitting naturally into the sentence.
Explanation:The underlined word is "heed", which means to pay attention to or follow advice or warnings.
We need a word that is opposite to "heed" and correctly completes: "Rather than heed advice, the children ....... it."
The sentence shows contrast: the children did not follow the advice; instead, they paid no attention to it.
"Defied" means openly resisted, "countered" means opposed, and "spurned" means rejected scornfully.
The most direct and natural opposite here is "ignored", which means deliberately paying no attention to something.
Thus, the correct word for the gap is "ignored".
Answer:C. ignored