Read the given passage and answer the six questions that follow.
On a chilly winter evening, nothing warms you up better than a cup of hot cocoa. Chocolate was first consumed in liquid form by the Olmec people of northwestern Central America around 1500 BCE. It was even enjoyed by the Aztec Emperor Montezuma, and the Aztec word for it (xocolatl, pronounced shoh-kwah-tl) evolved into the English word Chocolate.
But the Aztecs didn't serve their cocoa hot. And since sugar had not yet arrived from Europe, back then, the drink was often flavoured with peppers and spices. It may not have been quite as indulgent as today's version, but it was more palatable if you believed, as the Aztecs did, that chocolate was a gift from the Gods and had healing properties.
After the Spanish arrived in the Americas in the 1500s, liquid chocolate made its way across the pond, where wealthy Europeans added sugar and drank it warm. In Chocolate: History, Culture and Heritage, author Bertram Gordon says hot chocolate became "the beverage of the aristocracy," as sugar was still a luxury.
Soon enough, though, hot chocolate caught on with the masses. Chocolate houses - a cross between cafes and casinos - started popping up around 17th-century Europe. In these lively places, hot chocolate was poured from gilded pots into elegant cups (for a posh experience, one can still find it today at the famed Parisian tearoom Angelina's, which is also in New York City). But by the end of the 18th century, chocolate houses had mostly died off, partly because the cost of chocolate was much higher than that of coffee or tea.
Taking a tour of international cups of cocoa, Italians serve it like a thick pudding. Colombians serve it with a dollop of soft cheese while Mexicans punch it up with vanilla, chilli powder and cinnamon. And Filipinos serve it with mango chunks.
Why did hot chocolate become "the beverage of the aristocracy" in Europe?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Only wealthy Europeans could buy it.
The passage says wealthy Europeans added sugar and drank it warm, and that hot chocolate became "the beverage of the aristocracy" as sugar was still a luxury. A luxury is costly, so only the rich could afford the drink, and that made it the drink of the upper class.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: It was believed to cure all diseases. — Incorrect. Wrong reason: only the Aztecs believed chocolate had healing properties. The passage gives cost, not any cure, as the reason it became the drink of the aristocracy in Europe.
Option 2: The Queen had a marked chocolate maker. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: the passage says nothing about a Queen or a royal chocolate maker.
Option 4: It was being consumed by the pharma companies. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: the passage says nothing about pharma companies. Only the Aztecs believed in the healing power of chocolate.
Note: In the original NTA paper, Option 1 read "The essential ingredient was out of reach of the commoners". NTA accepted this option as a correct answer as well. To leave only one correct answer and avoid confusion for students, it has been changed here to "It was believed to cure all diseases".
Advice for the exam: In the real exam, mark the answer that is grammatically or factually correct. If NTA’s provisional answer key marks a different option, challenge it during the answer-key challenge window and give the reason in one or two lines.