Directions : Read the following passage and answer the given questions. When…
2025
Directions : Read the following passage and answer the given questions.
When Company X introduced its online game, the market response was immediate and overwhelming. The very next year, the company earned huge profits and quickly gained users across the globe. Reports revealed that the game generated 50 million dollars worldwide, making it one of the most successful digital launches in recent years. This sudden success was seen as a major hit, granting Company X recognition and dominance in the industry.
Yet, beneath the shining surface of profits and popularity, a darker picture began to emerge. Parents started to raise concerns over the time children were spending on this game. Many young users became addicted, unable to manage their daily schedules, and their studies suffered significantly. Teachers noticed falling grades, a decline in participation, and a visible drop in discipline. At home, the situation worsened as children grew increasingly irritable, spending less time with family and showing signs of inappropriate behavior.
Roommates, on the other hand, reported that their relationships remained smooth only during gaming sessions. Once the console was turned off, interactions were minimal, and genuine conversations reduced. What was marketed as a tool for entertainment and bonding ironically created isolation and
dependency. Parents found themselves struggling to establish healthy routines for their children, often entering into conflicts that left family ties strained.
An independent organisation decided to investigate these growing concerns and carried out a large-scale survey. The data collected and the report submitted revealed an alarming trend. The impact of the game was largely negative, with cases of extreme dependency, reduced academic achievement, and antisocial tendencies being repeatedly recorded. What initially gave the company a toe hold in the international gaming market was now turning into a nationwide social concern.
The report strongly emphasized that while the company’s financial growth was undeniable, the cost to society was far greater. Addiction had begun to reshape the daily lives of thousands of children, disturbing family harmony and disrupting the overall learning environment. Based on the overwhelming findings, the organisation recommended that the game should be banned in the country. The conclusion was clear: no amount of profit could justify the erosion of discipline, values, and future prospects of the younger generation.
What is the primary irony highlighted by the author regarding Company X's online game?
- A.
The company’s most profitable year was also its most controversial.
- B.
A game designed for entertainment and bonding ended up fostering addiction and isolation.
- C.
The company grew financially, but its user base started declining soon after.
- D.
Parents initially appreciated the game but later demanded it be banned.
- E.
While profits surged, the company secretly planned to shut down the game.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
In a reading-comprehension item that asks for the passage’s "irony", the correct option is the one that names both the stated purpose or expectation of an action and the actual outcome that contradicts it — not a mere coincidence in timing, a change in opinion, or an unrelated business detail.
Application
The passage explicitly states that the game was "marketed as a tool for entertainment and bonding" but "ironically created isolation and dependency": children grew irritable and spent less time with family, and roommates’ "genuine conversations" reduced once the game was switched off. The stated purpose — entertainment and bonding — is directly contradicted by the stated outcome — addiction and isolation — which is exactly the irony the passage itself names.
Contrast with the other options
"The company’s most profitable year was also its most controversial" restates the timing overlap between profit and controversy but does not identify the entertainment-versus-isolation contrast the passage calls ironic.
"The company grew financially, but its user base started declining soon after" is not supported by the passage, which says the game "gained users across the globe" throughout, with no mention of a decline in users.
"Parents initially appreciated the game but later demanded it be banned" is not supported either; the passage never describes parents appreciating the game — their concern is introduced alongside the addiction discussion, with no prior stage of approval.
"While profits surged, the company secretly planned to shut down the game" is not supported; the passage describes an independent organisation recommending a ban after its own investigation, not a secret shutdown plan by the company.
Hence, the primary irony is the gap between the game's marketed purpose — entertainment and bonding — and its actual effect of fostering addiction and isolation.