Question

I was overwhelmed with gratuitous advice. Well-meaning yet ignorant friends thrust their opinions into unwilling ears. The majority of them said I couldn't do without meat in the cold climate. I would catch consumption. Mr Z went to England and caught it on account of his foolhardiness. Others said I might do without flesh but without wine I could not move. I would be numbed with cold.
One went so far as to advise me to take eight bottles of whisky, for I should want them after leaving Aden. Another wanted me to smoke, for his friend was obliged to smoke in England. Even medical men, those who had been to England told the same tale. I replied that I would try my best to avoid all these things, but if they were found to be absolutely necessary I did not know what to do. I may here mention that my aversion to meat was not so strong then as it is now. I was even betrayed into taking meat about six or seven times at the period when I allowed my friends to think for me. But in the steamer, my ideas began to change. I thought I should not take meat on any account. My mother, before consenting to my departure, had exacted a promise from me not to take meat. So, I was bound not to take it, if only for the sake of the promise. The fellow passengers in the steamer began to advise us (the friend who was with me and myself) to try it. --

M K Gandhi

Write the correct option in your answer sheets

(a) The advice the narrator received from his friends was NOT.......................

(i) well-meaning (ii) uncalled for

(iii) sought after (iv) given by friends

(b) When was the narrator offered the advice?

(i) when he was leaving for England

(ii) when he was in Aden

(iii) when he had started eating meat

(iv) when he was on the steamer

(c) Why did the narrator's friends advise him to take meat?

(i) everyone in England ate meat

(ii) meat would cause consumption

(iii) meat-eating would keep him healthy

(iv) he would find it tasty

(d) The narrator was reluctant to eat flesh as ……………………….

(i) he had never eaten it before

(ii) he did not like the taste

(iii) it was not available on the steamer

(iv) he had promised his mother he would not do so

(e) What does the term consumption here refer to?

(i) eat (ii) give up

(iii) a disease (iv) cold

Answer 1

Question A

Correct option is (iii) sought after, as it is indicated in the passage that "I was overwhelmed with gratuitous advice". Gratuitous means not required, or not necessary. Hence the author was not asking for advice, it was not sought after

Question B

Correct option is (iv) when he was on the steamer. It is indicated at the end of the passage that "The fellow passengers in the steamer began to advise us". After reading the statement, "I should want them after leaving Aden", you might feel that the correct option could be (ii) when he was in Aden, but the passage doesn't give enough information to confirm that the advice was give at the point when he was in Aden

Question C

The correct option is (iii) meat-eating would keep him healthy. It is indicated in the passage that "The majority of them said I couldn't do without meat in the cold climate. I would catch consumption.". Hence, the meat was supposed to keep him healthy and not catch consumption.

Question D

The correct option is (iv) he had promised his mother he would not do so. It is indicated in the passage that "My mother, before consenting to my departure, had exacted a promise from me not to take meat. So, I was bound not to take it, if only for the sake of the promise.".