Read the passage and answer the four questions that follow:-
Part of our programme included spending an afternoon on a machaan that overlooked a waterhole in the forest. Our riding elephants dropped us off, and we were given strict instructions to remain put until later, the elephants would come to pick us up.
So we sat, hoping that a tiger or leopard would come down for a drink. No such luck. After a while, a juvenile rhesus macaque poked its head out and looked around warily. Then, taking infinitesimal care, it emerged into the clearing cautiously. If it had been born and brought up in Delhi, it would have probably charged out, clambered up our machaan and relieved us of our drinking water and snacks. But not this fellow. I thought these forest monkeys were such wimps!
It was getting darker by the minute- and there was no sign of our elephant pickups. So we decided to trek back to Dhikala. We set off in single file along the forest path. When I was suddenly confronted by all the pioneering leaders rushing pell-mell back urgently whispering, 'mad elephant, mad elephant!' I saw the bulk of an elephant- I can't vouch if its head was aggressively cocked and trunk rolled up, appraising us prior to charging. Incontinently, we fled, to our machaan and clambered up.
One spank from its trunk would have sent any of us flying clear across the waterhole! We could only sit quietly. I realised that the juvenile rhesus had a very good reason for being so cautious. We had not.
The juvenile rhesus ____ the author by reflecting an overtly ____ approach.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → impressed: calm
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, there appears to be a discrepancy in the key: the correct answer should be Option (2) → disappointed: discreet, as explained below.
The first blank asks how the monkey made the author feel. The author expected a bold, cheeky monkey like the ones in Delhi. Instead it came out slowly and carefully, and he says, "I thought these forest monkeys were such wimps!" That is disappointment. The second blank describes the monkey's approach: it "looked around warily" and moved with "infinitesimal care". Such careful, guarded behaviour is discreet.
Option 1: impressed: calm — Should be Incorrect. (But this is the correct answer in the NTA Answer Key.) Contradicted: the author was not impressed at that moment. Calling the monkeys "wimps" is a put-down. He sees the sense in the monkey's caution only at the end, after his own fright. "Calm" also misses the point: the monkey was nervous and careful, not relaxed.
Option 2: disappointed: discreet — Should be Correct. (Incorrect as per NTA) To be disappointed is to feel let down when something is not as good or exciting as expected. Discreet means careful and cautious so as not to attract attention or trouble. Both words fit the "wimps" remark and the monkey's wary entry.
Example: The cat took a discreet look around before stepping into the room.
Option 3: angered: destructive — Incorrect. Wrong link: the author was not angry, and the monkey destroyed nothing. Destructive behaviour is what he imagined a Delhi monkey would show (charging out and stealing snacks), not what this one did.
Option 4: amused : clownish — Incorrect. Contradicted: clownish means silly and funny, like a clown. The monkey was timid and careful, not playful, and the author shows mild scorn, not amusement.
Example: His clownish antics made the whole class laugh.
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.