Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answers to this item should be based on the passage only. The very first lesson that should be taught to us when we are old enough to understand it, is that complete freedom from the obligation to work is unnatural, and ought to be illegal, as we can escape our share of the burden of work only by throwing it on someone else's shoulders. Nature ordains that the human race shall perish of famine if it stops working. We cannot escape from this tyranny. The question we have to settle is how much leisure we can afford to allow ourselves. The main idea of the passage is that
Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answers to this item should be based on the passage only. The very first lesson that should be taught to us when we are old enough to understand it, is that complete freedom from the obligation to work is unnatural, and ought to be illegal, as we can escape our share of the burden of work only by throwing it on someone else's shoulders. Nature ordains that the human race shall perish of famine if it stops working. We cannot escape from this tyranny. The question we have to settle is how much leisure we can afford to allow ourselves. The main idea of the passage is that Correct Answer it is essential for human beings to work
The correct answer is "it is essential for human beings to work."
Key Points
- Let us look at the meanings of the given options:
- Option (1)- this statement tells "the necessity of the human race to work". The given passage also talks about our obligations to do our work and it is essential for human beings to work as without work how can they get food?
- The given passage also emphasizes on the importance of doing our work. It is illegal to throw our work on others and be free. The author also tells that the whole human race will perish due to famine if they abstains from working to get only leisure. He tells that humans should have a proper balance between the amount of work and leisure they can enjoy. In this way, this statement gives the main idea which is the crux of the whole passage.
- Option (2)- It tells that "there should be a balance between work and leisure" which is mentioned there in the passage but clearly not the main idea of the passage.
- Option (3)- It tell about "working is a tyranny which we have to face". But it is also not the main idea of the passage.
- Option (4)- It reads "human's understanding of the nature of work is essential". This is not mentioned anywhere in the passage. Hence not the correct one.
- Hence, the correct answer is option (1).
Additional Information
- Let us look at meanings of some of the difficult words mentioned in the passage:
- famine- an extreme scarcity of food
- ordains- to make somebody a priest of the Church.
- tyranny- the cruel and unfair use of power by a person or small group to control a country or state