Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow…
2019
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
As science progresses, superstitions ought to grow less. On the whole, that is true. However, it is surprising how superstitions linger on. If we are tempted to look down on savage tribes for holding such ideas, we should remember that even today, among most civilised nations, a great many equally stupid superstitions exist and are believed in by a great many people. Some people will not sit down thirteen at a table; or will not like to start anything important on a Friday; or refuse to walk under a ladder. Many people buy charms and talismans because they think they will bring them luck. Even in civilised nations today, many laws are made on the basis of principles which are just as much unproved. For instance, it is often held as a principle that white people are by nature superior to people of other colours. The ancient Greeks believed that they were superior to the people of Northern and Western Europe. The only way to see if there is anything in such a principle is to make scientific studies of a number of white and black and brown people under different conditions of life and find out just what they can and cannot achieve.
It is, however, true that the increase of scientific knowledge does reduce superstition and also baseless guessing and useless arguments and practices. Civilised people do not argue and get angry about what water is composed of. The composition of water is known, and there is no argument about it.
Study the following statements :
(a) Ancient Greeks were superior to other European nations.
(b) Science helps us fight superstitions.
Answer: B. (a) is wrong and (b) is right. — Concept: In a passage-based True/False/Cannot-Say item, a statement is marked True only when the passage itself states it as an established fact or firm…
- A.
(a) is right and (b) is wrong.
- B.
(a) is wrong and (b) is right.
- C.
Both (a) and (b) are right.
- D.
Both (a) and (b) are wrong.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In a passage-based True/False/Cannot-Say item, a statement is marked True only when the passage itself states it as an established fact or firm conclusion. If the passage instead reports the claim as something a person or group merely believed, assumed, or as an unproven principle still needing verification, a statement asserting that claim as fact must be marked False.
Application: The passage reports that "the ancient Greeks believed that they were superior to the people of Northern and Western Europe" and immediately adds that "the only way to see if there is anything in such a principle is to make scientific studies" — placing the claim in the same basket as the unproven racial principle the author is criticising, never endorsing it as settled fact. Separately, the passage states outright, without qualification, that "the increase of scientific knowledge does reduce superstition".
Statement (a) treats Greek superiority as an established fact, but the passage only reports it as a belief awaiting scientific testing — so (a) does not match the passage.
Statement (b) restates the passage's own direct assertion that growing scientific knowledge reduces superstition — so (b) matches the passage exactly.
Cross-check: Any reading that accepts Greek superiority as proven contradicts the passage's own framing of it as an unproven principle, and any reading that rejects the science statement contradicts the passage's direct, unqualified sentence on the point — both checks confirm the same pairing independently.
Since (a) is unsupported by the passage (reported only as a belief) and (b) is explicitly confirmed by the passage's own words, the statement pairing “(a) is wrong and (b) is right” is the one that matches the passage.