Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: Chocoholics…
2024
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
Chocoholics no longer need to feel guilty about their desire for chocolate. They are simply the victim of the genes, scientists have found. The so called “sweet-tooth gene” has been identified by separate teams of researchers and helps explain why some find it harder to resist chocolate bars and cream cakes. It also raises the possibility of designing a drug which could “switch off” the gene and help people resist sugary foods. Children, in particular, risk their health by eating too many sweets and chocolates
To identify the gene, research teams conducted almost identical experiments using mice which have differences in their ability to taste sweet foods. One of the team members said “A sweet taste receptor recognises the sweet content of food and initiates a cascade of events which signals to the brain that a sweet food has been eaten.” He further added, “The same gene exists in humans, so it means that if your parents have a sweet tooth then you probably will as well”.
He said, ”We have always known that some people have a sweeter tooth than others. But it has also been proved that if you are gradually exposed to less sugar, then the body becomes accustomed to less. They will be satisfied with a lower level of sweetness. Doctors warn against any form of gene therapy which seeks to deactivate the sweet gene. ”We have produced this gene through evolution because sweet foods in nature are not poisonous, they give us energy. We all need to have some sugar in our diet,” claim scientists. US researchers are using this discovery to develop artificial sweeteners without any after-taste.
‘Chocoholics’ are people :
- A.
who hate chocolates
- B.
who enjoy both chocolates and alcohol
- C.
who are fond of chocolates
- D.
who are makers of chocolates
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
A meaning-in-context question in reading comprehension is answered from clues inside the passage itself, not from a guess at the word's other everyday senses — the surrounding sentences fix what the term means here.
Application
The passage opens with people who no longer need to feel guilty about their desire for chocolate, and later explains that the identified gene helps explain why some find it harder to resist chocolate bars and cream cakes. Both clues describe people who crave chocolate and struggle to resist it — that is, people who are fond of chocolate.
Cross-check
who hate chocolates — contradicted by the passage, which describes craving chocolate and finding it hard to resist, the opposite of hatred.
who enjoy both chocolates and alcohol — the passage's genetic explanation is limited to a sweet/chocolate-taste receptor; alcohol is never mentioned anywhere in the text.
who are makers of chocolates — the passage is about people affected by a craving-related gene, i.e. consumers, never about anyone who manufactures chocolate.
So ‘Chocoholics’ are people who are fond of chocolates.