Directions : Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that…
2017
Directions : Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow by selecting the most appropriate option.
The first thing which a scholar should bear in mind is that a book ought not to be read for mere amusement. Half-educated persons read for amusement, and are not to be blamed for it; they are incapable of appreciating the deeper qualities that belong to a really great literature. But a young man who has passed through a course of University training should discipline himself at an early day never to read for mere amusement. And once the habit of discipline has been formed, he will find it impossible to read for mere amusement. He will then impatiently throw down any book from which he cannot obtain intellectual food, any book which does not make an appeal to the higher emotions and to his intellect. But on the other, the habit of reading for amusement becomes with thousands of people exactly the same kind of habit as wine-drinking or opium-smoking; it is like a narcotic, something that helps to pass the time, something that keeps up a perpetual condition of dreaming, something that eventually results in destroying all capacity for thought, giving exercise only to the surface parts of the mind and leaving the deeper springs of feelings and the higher faculties of perception unemployed.
The word ‘eventually’ in the passage means
- A.
after some time
- B.
at last
- C.
never
- D.
initially
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Step-by-Step Solution
The question asks for the meaning of the word "eventually" as used in the passage.
The relevant sentence is:
"...something that keeps up a perpetual condition of dreaming, something that eventually results in destroying all capacity for thought..."
Here, the author means that the harmful effects of reading merely for amusement do not occur immediately; they occur after a period of time and finally lead to destruction of intellectual capacity.
Thus, "eventually" means "in the end" or "at last."
Examine the Options
Option A: after some time
This means "later" or "following a period of time." Although it is close in meaning, it does not fully capture the idea of a final result implied by "eventually."
Option B: at last
This means "in the end" or "finally," which best matches the contextual meaning of "eventually" in the passage.
Option C: never
This means "at no time," which is the opposite of the intended meaning.
Option D: initially
This means "at the beginning," which is contrary to the meaning of "eventually."
Correct Answer: B. at last