2182. What characters can be added here so that each character contains a part of the previous character? a) 柔 -> _ -> _ -> 鳴 b) 化 -> _ -> _ -> 距

a) 柔 -> 杯 -> 否 -> 鳴  

柔  JUU, NYUU, yawa(rakai) - soft

杯  HAI, sakazuki - wine cup

否  HI, ina - no, negative

鳴  MEI, na(ku), na(ru)(rasu) - cry, sing, howl, ring

b) 化 -> 旨 -> 明 -> 距  

化  KA, KE, ba(keru) - transform

旨  SHI, mune - purport, content, instruction

明  MEI, MYOU, aka(rui), a(keru) - bright

距  KYO - distance