Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting…
2023
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate option.
Father would dress himself for court in a brightly coloured dhoti, a matching white shirt with an equally bright white turban and a neat black coat. The paraphernalia to court would include a cloth bundle containing court papers and a basket containing hot coffee with tumblers and plates for tiffin given by my mother or sisters-in-law.
The younger advocates of his time were great admirers of my father and used to listen to him with rapt attention whenever he rose to address the court. His arguments were forceful, coherent, cogent, compulsive and conclusive. The arguments would go on till about lunchtime and even the English judge used to take down notes of his points.
One client was particular that my father alone should argue his case. On the day my mother died, this case happened to be on the cause list. My mother was alive when my father left for court at 10 a.m. that morning and he had told my brother that he would return as soon as the case was over. Unfortunately, she died within an hour of his departure.
With some difficulty, the news was conveyed through an advocate in court. My father, however, continued his arguments without showing any emotions. Only after concluding the case did he get back home to the room where my mother’s body lay and stood in stoic silence.
Father was very particular about dressing :
- A.
as he wanted to follow the proper dress code.
- B.
to impress the judges.
- C.
to impress his family.
- D.
as he was rich enough to buy good clothes.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
In inference-based reading comprehension, the correct option must follow strictly from what the passage states or clearly implies. An inference is a conclusion supported by concrete textual evidence — not an assumption invented beyond it. When a question asks WHY a character does something, the answer must trace back to details the passage actually gives, never to an unstated motive.
The passage describes the father dressing in a very specific, formal, matching manner before going to court — a brightly coloured dhoti, a matching white shirt and turban, and a neat black coat — mentioned in the same breath as his cloth bundle of court papers and his routine of arguing before the English judge until lunchtime. This careful, coordinated attire is presented purely in the context of appearing at court as a practising advocate, which is the standard professional dress expected of a lawyer of that era, not a personal styling choice.
to impress the judges — the passage attributes the judges' and younger advocates' attention to his forceful, coherent, cogent arguments, not to his clothing; his attire is never linked to how the judges perceive him.
to impress his family — the family's role in the passage is limited to sending tiffin and preparing his court bundle; there is no textual link between his dress choices and impressing them.
as he was rich enough to buy good clothes — the passage never mentions his financial status or the cost of his clothes; the emphasis is on neatness and matching, which signals formal propriety, not affluence.
So the only reason the text actually supports is that his dressing followed the proper professional dress code expected of an advocate appearing in court.