Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. A certain…
2020
Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
A certain king was travelling from one place to another in disguise because he wanted to check on his officers.
One day he was resting under a tree near a house which belonged to a goldsmith. He overheard a conversation between the father and the son in that house. The son was saying, "Father, don't worry, I shall cheat my customers fully." The king wanted to test him.
The next day the King sent for the son and said, "Make a gold crown for the temple goddess. Come to the palace every day and work on the crown."
The son agreed. He went every day and worked on the gold crown. In the evening when he returned home, he closed his room and used to work on something. He would go to bed late at night.
After some days he finished the work. On the last day before he went to the palace, he went to the river early in the morning to do puja. Then he went to the palace. After finishing the work he took the gold crown to the river to wash it. The soldiers went with him. He came back with the crown. The king was pleased at the work and also that the young man could not cheat him. He said, "You promised your father that you would cheat people fully. But now you know that you cannot." After some silence the young man replied, "I did cheat you fully, my lord."
Why was the King travelling from one place to another in disguise?
- A.
He wanted to spy on his officials.
- B.
He loved travelling from place to place.
- C.
He wanted to find a goldsmith to make a crown.
- D.
He always wanted to wander in disguise.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
A literal-comprehension "why" question asks you to find the one sentence in the passage that directly states the reason, and choose the option that restates it in different words. An option describing something that happens later in the story, or an unsupported personality trait, is not the stated reason.
The opening line of the passage gives the reason directly: the king was travelling in disguise "because he wanted to check on his officers." Checking on his officers without being recognised is exactly what spying on one's officials means, so the option that restates this stated cause is the answer.
Checking each other option against the passage:
"He loved travelling from place to place" supplies a liking for travel that the passage never mentions; it explains only the ACT of travelling, not the stated reason for the disguise.
"He wanted to find a goldsmith to make a crown" describes something that happens only after the king overhears the goldsmith's son and decides to test him — a later event in the story, not why he set out travelling in disguise in the first place.
"He always wanted to wander in disguise" turns one particular journey into a permanent habit, which the passage never states.
So the reason given in the passage — checking on his officers unrecognised — matches wanting to spy on his officials.