important or terrible

[jasonlulu_2000]

Lying silently on the operation table, my husband was still worried about me. Even in such a(n) ______ state as he was then, his thought still went to me.
A. terrible B. important

The answer given is B.

Does "important" mean the same as "critical or serious"? Is it a natural collocation as "He was in an important state"?

Why is A wrong, since he was in a terrible state.

Thanks for your help!

Jason

[SlickVic9000]

(not a teacher)

B doesn't sound right at all. A is the only sensible answer.

[emsr2d2]

The fact that he is in a terrible state is important, but that does not mean he is in an important state. Unless you're talking about the individual states of the USA in which case, some states are more important than others (during an election, for example). In your context though, a man who is lying on the operating table is almost certainly in a terrible state (of health).

[Grumpy]

Lying silently on the operation table, my husband was still worried about me. Even in such a(n) ______ state as he was then, his thought still went to me.
A. terrible B. important

The answer given is B.

As the others have said, "B" is certainly not the correct answer here. This, together with the wording of 2 sentences, makes me suspect that the author's command of English is not good.