Reading Comprehension

Medium

Read the paragraph and answer the questions that follow.

All great thinkers live and move on a high plane of thought. It is only there they can breathe freely. It is only in contact with spirits like themselves they can live harmoniously and attain that serenity which comes from ideal companionship. I have always thought that the strongest argument in favour of the Baconian theory was, that no man, however indubitable his genius, could have written the plays and sonnets that have come down to us under Shakespeare's name who had not the liberal education of Bacon. How this habit of intercourse with the gods makes one impatient of mere men. The magnificent ideals that have ever haunted the human mind, and given us our highest proofs of a future immortality by reason of the impossibility of their fulfillment here, are splintered into atoms by contact with life's realities. Hence comes our sublime discontent. It may be spiritual or intellectual pride that is engendered on the high plane of intellectual life. But whatever it is, it becomes inevitable. A habitual meditation on the vast problems that underline human life, and are knit into human destinies. It is easy to understand, therefore, why such thinkers fly to the solitude of their own thoughts, or the silent companionship of the immortals; and if they care to present their views in prose or verse to the world, that these views take a sombre and melancholy setting from "the pale cast of thought"in which they were engendered.

Given below are two statements : One is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).

Assertion (A) : The passage presents a rationale behind the great writers' flight to the solitude of their thoughts and silent companionship of immortals.

Reason (R) : They do so because they are melancholic and naturally averse to ordinary humanity and disgust of unregenerated masses.

Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of Assertion (A)

Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are correct but Reason (R) is NOT the correct explanation of Assertion (A)

(A) is correct but (R) is not correct

(A) is not correct but (R) is correct

✅ Correct Option: 3

Based on the given passage, the relationship between Assertion (A) and Reason (R) is that Assertion (A) is correct but (R) is not correct.

Assertion (A) states: "The passage presents a rationale behind the great writers' flight to the solitude of their thoughts and silent companionship of immortals." This assertion is supported by the passage, which explains that great thinkers seek solitude because of their intellectual nature and the "habitual meditation on the vast problems that underline human life." The passage clearly describes why these thinkers "fly to the solitude of their own thoughts, or the silent companionship of the immortals."

However, Reason (R) states: "They do so because they are melancholic and naturally averse to ordinary humanity and disgust of unregenerated masses." This explanation is not accurate according to the passage. While the passage mentions that great thinkers become "impatient of mere men," it attributes this to their "habit of intercourse with the gods" and the "spiritual or intellectual pride that is engendered on the high plane of intellectual life." The passage suggests their solitude stems from their intellectual depth and contemplative nature, not from melancholy or disgust toward humanity.

Hence, the correct answer is Option 3: Assertion (A) is correct but (R) is not correct.

Question 25

According to the author, why do the great thinkers need to attain and remain at high plane of thought?

(A) Because they want to enjoy harmony and serenity from ideal companionship.

(B) Because the experience of greatness makes them impatient of being ordinary men.

(D) Because they are apathetic to commoners and solely eager to attain lofty ideals.

Choose most appropriate answer from the options given below :

Question 26

What does the phrase "THE PALE CAST OF THOUGHT"mean?

Question 28

Given below are two statements :

Statement I: The author upholds the Baconian theory because, according to him, despite being a genius, Shakespeare could not write the plays and sonnets that have come down to us under his name.

Statement II : He holds that Bacon was more resourceful than Shakespeare because he had the liberal education.

Solution

More from this passage:

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