He was ______ to take over the duties and responsibilities of his father from an early age.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】 词义辨析。将选项一一代入句中，D选项destined“注定的”符合句意，表示“他命中注定很小就要继承他父亲的责任和义务”。deduce“推论，演绎出”，damp“使潮湿，使沮丧”，diminish“减少，贬低”都不符合句意。故答案为D。