Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions by…
2019
Directions : Read the passage given below and answer the questions by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
The other day I received an unusual and very gratifying gift : I was given a tree. Or rather, I was given half-a-dozen trees, which would be planted on my behalf. I had been invited to give a talk to an organisation. After such events, the speaker is usually given a token gift. Sometimes the gift is that of a pen, or something useful. Often, the gift is in the form of a plaque or similar commemorative token. However well-meant, such gifts are destined to gather dust in forgotten corners. Which is why I was agreeably surprised to be given a scroll which attested that, in a designated plantation established for the purpose, six tress would be added in my name, as part of ‘green’ movement being sponsored by the organization.
In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, the gift of a living tree or plant makes for a perfect present. The tradition of giving and receiving gifts has increasingly become a highly evolved marketing exercise. Apart from festivals like Diwali, Holi, Christmas, Eid and others, a whole new calendar of celebratory events has been created to promote the giving of gifts : Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Teacher’s Day, Valentine’s Day and so on and on.
What do you give to people – friends, relatives, spouses, children, parents, employees, clients, well-wishers who have more or less everything, or at least everything that you could afford to give them as a gift ? Another shirt or kurta ? Another bottle of scent or after shave ? Another box of chocolates ? Another any other ?
The word ‘gratifying’ means
- A.
annoying
- B.
satisfying
- C.
giving
- D.
fortifying
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
A word's meaning in a passage is fixed by its CONTEXT — the sentence's tone and the surrounding ideas point to which sense of the word is intended. ‘Gratifying’ is an adjective (from the verb ‘gratify’) meaning giving pleasure, satisfaction, or a sense of fulfilment.
Application
The speaker calls the gift of trees ‘unusual and very gratifying’, then goes on to say he was ‘agreeably surprised’ by it — both phrases carry a clearly positive, pleased tone. So ‘gratifying’ here describes a gift that brought him satisfaction/pleasure, not one that annoyed him or merely involved an action.
Cross-check / Contrast
‘Annoying’ carries the opposite sentiment — it would mean the gift irritated him, which directly contradicts ‘agreeably surprised’.
‘Giving’ names the passage's THEME (the act of gift-giving) rather than the FEELING the word describes — it is a topical echo, not a synonym.
‘Fortifying’ means strengthening or reinforcing (as in fortifying food with nutrients) — a different sense chosen mainly because it rhymes/sounds similar (shares the ‘-ifying’ ending), not because it matches the meaning.
Only the option that means ‘giving pleasure or satisfaction’ matches both the dictionary sense of ‘gratifying’ and the passage's positive tone.