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.
In the middle of her solo trip to Mizoram last month, Geeta Garud, 69, was walking on a narrow ledge, ‘‘making my way behind a waterfall, trying out something I wouldn’t have in my younger years. And I realised how travelling solo was such a liberating experience.’’
Before going on her week-long holiday, she was hesitant about travelling by herself. Garud had asked friends and family but found no takers. Yet there she was, alone, relishing a challenging trek. ‘‘Why was I being dependent on others? Being alone gives you a sense of freedom.’’
She ended up having many firsts. She danced impromptu at a festival in Reiek, waded into a river, and went horse-riding. ‘‘I had opportunities to try horse-riding when I was younger, but could not work up the courage. This time, I thought, if not now, I may not get another chance,’’ says Garud, who was an athlete in her youth and had played cricket.
She was at her farm in Koregaon during the lockdown and had felt the lack of social connections. It motivated her to travel as soon as things eased.
‘‘Travel is also about meeting people; I felt that sense of joy and freedom when I finally did it.’’ She is planning to travel to Europe next and has decided not to take a friend or relative along. She intends to revisit the joy of travelling alone and relishing a sense of freedom all over again.
Study the following statements :
A. She practised only for a day before dancing in a festival.
B. Horse-riding is a courageous skill.
C. Her experience as an athlete helped her in trying horse-riding.
Choose the correct option :
- A.
A and B are false, but C is true.
- B.
A and B are true, but C is false.
- C.
B and C are true, but A is false.
- D.
A and C are true, but B is false.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
In a statement-based reading comprehension question, each statement (A, B, C) must be checked strictly against what the passage states or clearly implies — nothing may be assumed beyond the text. A statement holds only when the passage supports it directly or through an unambiguous inference; otherwise it does not hold, and the option to choose is the one whose combination of verdicts matches every statement.
Statement A claims she practised only for a day before dancing at the festival. The passage instead says she "danced impromptu at a festival in Reiek" — impromptu means spontaneous, without any rehearsal or prior practice. This directly contradicts a claim of a day's practice, so Statement A does not hold.
Statement B claims horse-riding is a courageous skill. The passage quotes her: "I had opportunities to try horse-riding when I was younger, but could not work up the courage." This explicitly ties attempting horse-riding to needing courage, so Statement B holds.
Statement C claims her experience as an athlete helped her in trying horse-riding. The passage does not state this as a direct cause-and-effect fact; it places the detail that she "was an athlete in her youth and had played cricket" immediately after her account of finally working up the courage to attempt horse-riding, within a passage that overall builds a profile of an athletic, physically confident solo traveller taking on new physical challenges. Read this way, the passage supports Statement C through a reasonably drawn inference rather than an explicit claim.
With Statement A not holding on explicit textual grounds, Statement B holding on explicit textual grounds, and Statement C holding on this inferential reading, the only offered option consistent with all three verdicts is the one reading "B and C are true, but A is false." Each of the other three options requires flipping at least one verdict — treating Statement A as holding, or Statement B as not holding — which the passage does not support. This is also the option keyed in the official CTET August 2023 Paper 1 (Set A) answer key, which resolves the inferential reading of Statement C in favour of it holding.