Read the passage and answer the questions given below it.
Linthoi had never played on a ground so flat. At home in Imphal the college field was all tufts and bare patches, and a ball could hop sideways off a stone. Here in Kolhapur the grass was cut short and even, the lines were newly painted, and a raw wind blew across it from the hills.
In the hostel the night before, Sanatombi had talked until the warden switched off the light, about the dal, about the Kerala girls in the next room who laughed at everything. Linthoi had lain awake listening to the ceiling fan tick on each turn. At breakfast the rice was the wrong kind, dry and loose. She finished every grain, because Coach Tomba was noting who left food on their plates.
Behind the stand she retied her left boot twice.
The first time the ball came to her, she hit it far too hard and it rolled out for a goal kick. Someone in the crowd shouted something in Marathi. She did not know what it meant and decided it was not about her.
Coach Tomba did not shout from the line. He held out his palm and pressed it down through the air, twice, slowly.
Ten minutes later she took a high ball on her chest, let it drop, and slid it out to Roja on the wing without looking up. It left her foot the way it did at home. Roja’s cross was cleared, but Linthoi noticed she was breathing properly again. By the second half she had stopped hearing the crowd.
The word ‘raw’, as used in the passage, means:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → cold and unpleasantly harsh
Raw, used for weather, means cold and harsh in an unpleasant way.
- The passage speaks of “a raw wind” that blew across the ground “from the hills”. Here the word describes the wind, so it is about weather.
- It adds to how strange the new place feels to Linthoi. Example: The fishermen pulled their shawls tight against the raw morning air.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: not cooked, like fresh meat or vegetables — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This is another meaning of raw, used for food. Example: Some people like to eat raw carrots with salt.
Option 2: new to something and lacking training — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This is another meaning of raw, used for a beginner. Example: The new clerk was still raw and asked for help with every form.
Option 4: sore, as when the skin is rubbed off — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This is another meaning of raw, used for a painful part of the body. Example: The tight new shoes left his heels raw.