Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow…
2021
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
The very nature of the mind is restlessness. It cannot stay at one place or hold one thought for long. For every thought that appears, there are comments, judgements and associations. Thinking is a continuous activity with the mind jumping from one thought to another from morning till night. Like clouds in the sky or waves in the ocean, thoughts appear and disappear as if in ceaseless activity.
However, all thoughts that pass through our mind do not affect us. But we get affected when our ego is hit. Then the mind whirls and creates a tornado of restlessness within. A variety of probable scenarios crop up 'how dare he insult me; what does she think of herself ? Where I am not respected, I will not go; if he speaks thus, I will reply so'. And so it goes on and on.
We have an inbuilt filter in our mind which chooses the types of thoughts or subjects that we like to brood upon. We are not born with this filter but we acquire it over the years with the kind of books we read, the company we keep and the subjects we are interested in.
That is why some people are obsessed with football, cricket or fashion while others could not care less for such things. This filter is built day by day by our actions, suggestions, teachings and influence of others. We can ultimately choose our own filter. So let us learn to build our filter wisely and strengthen it daily.
Read the following statements :
A. Our reading decides the filter in our minds.
B. The filter in our mind controls our likes but not dislikes.
- A.
Both A and B are correct.
- B.
Both A and B are incorrect.
- C.
A is correct and B is incorrect.
- D.
A is incorrect and B is correct.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: In statement-based reading comprehension, a statement is accepted only when the passage explicitly states it or directly implies it, and rejected when the passage is silent on it or adds something the passage never claims. A plausible-sounding elaboration that goes beyond the actual wording of the passage must be treated as unsupported, not as automatically true.
Application: Check each statement against its exact anchor in the passage.
Statement A says our reading decides the filter. The passage states the filter is acquired “with the kind of books we read, the company we keep and the subjects we are interested in.” Reading is named directly as one of the things that shapes the filter, so Statement A has a direct textual anchor.
Statement B says the filter controls likes but not dislikes. The passage says the filter “chooses the types of thoughts or subjects that we like to brood upon.” This tells us what the filter selects for our attention; it never draws a separate boundary in which dislikes are excluded from the filter's working. The likes-but-not-dislikes distinction in Statement B is an addition the passage does not make.
Putting the two findings together: the reading-to-filter link (A) has textual support, while the likes-only boundary (B) does not.
Cross-check: test each combination against the two findings above.
Both statements correct — would need the passage to also draw the likes-versus-dislikes boundary for B, which it does not.
Both statements incorrect — would need the passage to not link reading to the filter, but it names “the kind of books we read” explicitly.
Statement A incorrect and Statement B correct — reverses both findings and matches neither.
Statement A correct and Statement B incorrect — is the only combination consistent with both findings.
So the passage supports the reading-to-filter claim in Statement A while it does not support the likes-but-not-dislikes claim in Statement B.