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.
‘..... relishing a challenging trek.’
Choose the word opposite in meaning to the underlined one.
- A.
realising
- B.
disliking
- C.
revealing
- D.
denying
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
In “opposite in meaning” (antonym) questions, first pin down the precise sense in which the underlined word is used in its context, then pick the option that expresses the direct opposite of that specific sense — not merely any word that sounds negative.
Here the underlined word is “relishing,” used in the passage as “relishing a challenging trek” — that is, taking great pleasure or enjoyment in a difficult trek. The antonym must sit on the same enjoy/dislike axis and express the opposite feeling: aversion rather than enjoyment.
Realising means becoming aware of or coming to understand something. It belongs to a knowledge/awareness axis, not an emotion axis, so it has no bearing on whether one enjoys or dislikes an activity.
Revealing means making something known or visible — an act of disclosure. It says nothing about enjoyment or aversion, so it cannot oppose the emotional sense carried by relishing.
Denying means refusing to accept, admit, or grant something. It operates on an affirm/refuse axis; although it sounds negative in tone, it does not express aversion to an activity, so it fails to oppose the specific enjoyment sense of relishing.
Only one option expresses direct aversion — the opposite feeling to taking great pleasure in something — so that is the word opposite in meaning to relishing.