After reading the following passage, answer the questions which follow:
I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been of no great disadvantage to me. In fact, I can see that, on the contrary, it has been all to my advantage. My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greatest pleasure has been that it has taught me the economy of words. I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can now, give myself the certificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever escapes my tongue or pen. I do not recollect ever having had to regret anything in my speech or writing. I have thus been spared many a mishap and waste of time. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man and silence is necessary in order to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech; he will measure every word.
The author claims that _____.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → He has rarely ever spoken a thoughtless word due to his shy nature
The author gives himself "the certificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever escapes" his tongue or pen. "Hardly ever" means the same as "rarely ever". He links this to his shyness, which taught him to restrain his thoughts and measure his words.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: He always speaks without thinking because he is shy — Incorrect. Contradicted: this is the exact opposite of the passage; his shyness made him think before speaking.
Option 3: As a shy individual, he has become prone to nightmares — Incorrect. Not mentioned: Prone to means likely to suffer from something. The passage says nothing about nightmares.
Example: Small children are prone to colds in winter.
Option 4: His shy nature helped him become a great cricket player. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: cricket has nothing to do with the passage.