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.
Choose the option that is closest in meaning to the word "hit" as used in the passage (i.e., "hit" in the sense of a popular success):
- A.
Blow
- B.
Success
- C.
Punch
- D.
Trial
- E.
Drama
Attempted by 30 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
A synonym question asks for the word whose meaning best matches the target word IN ITS GIVEN SENSE. The word "hit" is a homonym: as a verb or noun it can mean a physical strike (a blow), but as a noun it also means something very popular or successful — a "hit movie", a "hit song". The right synonym must match the intended sense, which here is that of a popular success.
Application
In the sense of popular success, "hit" means a thing that achieves great popularity or wins wide approval. The word that carries exactly this meaning of an achieved, favourable, popular outcome is Success. So "hit" (a popular success) maps directly onto Success.
Contrast with the other choices
Blow names the physical-strike sense of "hit", not the popularity sense.
Punch is likewise a physical strike with the fist, the literal-impact sense.
Trial means a test or attempt — an unfinished effort, the opposite of an achieved success.
Drama names a genre of story or play; it has no link to popularity or success.