The preposition from contains two meanings that might apply:
- Indicating the source or provenance of someone or something:
or
- Indicating separation or removal:
The preposition among contains a meaning that applies:
- Indicating a division, choice, or differentiation involving three or
more participants:
The preposition out of contains a meaning that combines from and among:
- From among (a number):
All three expressions could correctly be interpreted with the same meaning:
- X chooses Y from three Zs can mean X chooses Y from among three Zs.
- X chooses Y out of three Zs can mean X chooses Y from among three Zs.
- X chooses Y among three Zs can maean X chooses Y from among three Zs.
Still, each of the prepositions can also imply separate nuances according to their respective definitions.
The etymologies suggest different root ideas:
from suggests movement to another location:
Old English fram "from, since, by, as a result," originally "forward
movement, advancement," evolving into sense of "movement away," from
Proto-Germanic *fra "forward, away from" (cognates: Old Saxon, Old
High German, Gothic fram "from, away," Old Norse fra "from," fram
"forward"), from PIE *pro-mo-, suffixed form of *pro (see pro-).
out of suggests movement out and away
Old English of, unstressed form of æf (prep., adv.) "away, away from,"
from Proto-Germanic *af (cognates: Old Norse af, Old Frisian af, of
"of," Dutch af "off, down," German ab "off, from, down"), from PIE
*apo- "off, away" (see apo-). Primary sense in Old English still was "away," but shifted in Middle English with use of the word to
translate Latin de, ex, and especially Old French de, which had come
to be the substitute for the genitive case. "Of shares with another
word of the same length, as, the evil glory of being accessory to more
crimes against grammar than any other." [Fowler]
among suggests connection to a group:
early 12c., from Old English onmang, from phrase on gemang "in a
crowd," from gemengan "to mingle" (see mingle). Collective prefix ge-
dropped 12c. leaving onmong, amang, among. Compare Old Saxon angimang
"among, amid;" Old Frisian mong "among."
The verb choose complements all three of those root meanings:
What I choose moves toward me from the original group.
What I choose also moves out and away from its original group.
What I choose was part of the original group of choices.
Dcaswell's interpretation is legitimate: The preposition among tends to stand alone in its implication of exclusivity with reference to the original group, but that implication is not absolute in any way.
The question is flawed and impossible to answer
StoneyB is correct here, none of the answers are correct. The question, as it is currently asked, has no answer.
Let's think about this before we even address the question itself. When comparing two specific positions, there are only three possible outcomes:
I assume you see that I'm using M and W to refer to men and women.
Now, we introduce the statement (I will refer to this as "the statement" later on):
"Men hold no better positions in society than women do."
This tells us that (M > W) is not a possibility. This is the only conclusion we can draw from this statement.
Therefore, we are left with the following possibilities:
Men could have equal positions to women.
Men could have inferior positions to women.
It's also possible that some men hold equal positions to women, and some men hold inferior positions to women.
Now let's discuss why every answer is wrong
A. Women are in better positions in society than men are
Incorrect.
As I addressed before, we cannot know for certain if (M = W) or (M < W). Both could be possible (separately, or at the same time). "The statement" never confirmed that (M < W) is the only remaining option, and therefore we cannot conclude that answer A is conclusively correct.
We could say that it's possible, but not that it is definitively correct.
"The statement" and answer A do not have the same meaning. They could possibly both be correct at the same time; but that does not mean they mean the same thing!
Consider the following statements:
(1) The first name of the President of the United States is Donald.
(2) The last name of the President of the United States is Trump.
Are these statements both correct? Yes.
Do these statement have the same meaning? No.
B. Women and men hold the same positions in society
Incorrect.
The same argument is true here. We cannot know for certain if (M = W) or (M < W). Both could be possible (separately, or at the same time). "The statement" never confirmed that (M = W) is the only remaining option, and therefore we cannot conclude that answer B is conclusively correct.
We could say that it's possible, but not that it is definitively correct.
"The statement" and answer B do not have the same meaning. They could possibly both be correct at the same time; but that does not mean they mean the same thing!
C. Men are not as good as women in society
Incorrect.
This like comparing apples and oranges. Just because you can compare the position of men and women objectively, does not mean that you can apply those conclusions to the inherent worth of men and women.
Even if I state that shooting someone in the head is a better way to kill a man, compared to being kind to him; that does not inherently mean that I think shooting people in the head is better than being kind to people.
Regardless of whether the examinator made a mistake or not, A and B should always be considered equally correct or incorrect. Every argument you can make for A being (in)correct will automatically apply to B too, and vice versa.
Best Answer
Adding to Josh61's great answer, the adjective soft is more idiomatic when we describe rain, snow and wind as an antonym of strong and heavy. According to Oxford Online Dictionary it means:
Rain and snow could be heavy and wind could be strong or violent respectively. However, winter generally can't be heavy or strong and that's why soft winter is not as idiomatic as soft rain, soft snow or soft wind.
If the meteorologists are forecasting weather for a region known for frequent violent winter storms, calm winter would mean winter without as many frequent winter storms. But, generally speaking mild or warm is more idiomatic when describing winter weather which is warmer than previous years.
As commented below, light and gentle are also broadly used for rain and wind.