Directions : Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow by…
2021
Directions : Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
That time of year thou mayst in me behold,
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self that seals up all in rest.
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.
In this season the branches have ______ leaves.
(i) few
(ii) no
- A.
only (i)
- B.
only (ii)
- C.
either (i) or (ii)
- D.
neither (i) nor (ii)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: In a “select the correct option from the given statements” comprehension question, the right choice must match exactly what the passage states — no more and no less. When a line joins two conditions with “or”, the accurate description covers both conditions together, not just one of them.
Application: The poem’s opening lines about the season read, “When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold.” This single clause names two conditions for the leaves on the boughs — they may be few, or they may be entirely absent — joined by “or”. Both statement (i) “few” and statement (ii) “no” are therefore explicitly present in this one clause, so the blank in the stem is filled correctly only by capturing both together.
Cross-check: Testing the clause against the remaining options: it does not restrict itself to a single leaf-count, so keeping only one of the two stated conditions leaves out something the clause actually says. Nor does the clause withhold both conditions, since it names them directly, one after the other.
Contrast:
only (i) — this keeps “few” but drops the “none” condition that the same clause names right beside it.
only (ii) — this keeps “none” but drops the “few” condition that the same clause names right beside it.
neither (i) nor (ii) — this rules out both conditions, but the clause names at least one of them explicitly, so ruling out both is not supported by the line.
Result: The clause names both leaf-count conditions together, so the branches are described as having either (i) or (ii) — few or no leaves — in this season.