<p>Apple's shares have risen <b>nearly</b> 50% this year, making the company the most highly valued on the American stock market, at more than $550 billion.</p>
<p>The correct answer is <b>(B) nearly</b>.</p>
<p>In this sentence, we are talking about the increase in Apple's shares. The word "nearly" is an adverb that means "almost" or "close to." It is used to describe the extent of the increase, indicating that the shares have risen to a value close to 50%.</p>
<p>The other options do not fit grammatically or contextually:</p><p><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">(A) "near" is an adjective, not an adverb, and does not correctly modify the verb "risen."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">(C) "neared" is the past tense of the verb "near," which does not fit the present tense context of the sentence.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 13.008px;">(D) "nearer" is a comparative form of the adjective "near" and does not correctly modify the verb "risen."</span></p>