Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow…
2023
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate option.
“Let’s go! We are going to be late!” shouted Glen gleefully as he tightened his schoolbag on his back. Three other faces broke into a smile upon hearing his words. They could not wait to soak their feet in the water and perhaps catch a small fish or two, just for kicks. They were clearly not heading towards where they should be — school. The cold imposing white building became smaller and smaller. Their little hearts grew braver by the minute. They knew exactly where to go.
The canal was huge but that morning, there was only a small lazy stream of dirty water in it. With great gusto, Glen, the leader of the pack, hoisted himself over the railings and climbed down the huge monsoon drain. In the process, he got himself very dirty, but the excitement of truancy was too great to be bothered by some loose buttons and tears in his shirt.
In a fraction of seconds, the other boys joined him. Soon, screams and laughter of delight reverberated into the air but no one else could hear them for they had chosen a canal that was far from anyone. Glen spied many tiny fish darting to and fro in the murky water. They had no economical value and were practically worthless but nevertheless, the thrill of catching them bare-handed was priceless. Glen raced after an extra fat one. He plunged his hands to grab it only to have it slip between the cracks of his fingers.
The word ‘lazy’ in the phrase ‘a small lazy stream of dirty water’ means :
- A.
tired
- B.
slow
- C.
lethargic
- D.
murky
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept: In vocabulary-in-context questions, a word's meaning is decided by how it functions with the specific noun it modifies, not by its single most common dictionary sense. The same adjective can carry a different sense depending on whether it describes a person, an animal, or a natural feature such as flowing water.
Application: In the passage, 'lazy' modifies 'stream' — a description of moving water, not of a person or animal. The sentence reads: "the canal was huge but that morning, there was only a small lazy stream of dirty water in it." Read alongside 'huge' (size) and 'dirty' (appearance), 'lazy' here describes how much and how fast the water was flowing — a stream that trickles along at a low pace rather than filling and rushing through the canal.
Cross-check: comparing each option against the water-flow context —
'tired' names physical or mental fatigue, a condition of a living being after exertion — water cannot literally become fatigued.
'lethargic' names a lack of energy in a living creature's behaviour — again a property of animate beings, not of inanimate water.
'murky' names the water's clarity or colour, which the passage already covers separately with 'dirty water' — it answers how the water looked, not how it moved.
'slow' names the rate of movement, which is exactly the property a 'lazy stream' conventionally describes.
The option naming a rate of movement — 'slow' — matches how 'lazy' is used to describe a stream in this passage.