Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow:-
Maya sat by the window of her apartment in Boston, watching the snowfall coat the streets in silence. The winter here was nothing like the winters she had known as a child in Kolkata, where the chill in the air was softened by the warmth of family gatherings. She thought of her mother's kitchen, the scent of frying luchis and the distant hum of the morning news on the radio. Here, the mornings were different—quiet, lonely, and marked by the distant sound of car engines outside.
The phone rang, jolting her from her thoughts. It was her father, calling from India. "When are you coming to visit us?" he asked, his voice tinged with both hope and sadness. Maya hesitated. It had been two years since her last trip home and with each passing year, the distance seemed to grow—not just geographically but emotionally.
She glanced at the bookshelves in her living room, filled with English novels and photographs of friends from college. Somewhere between these shelves and the memories of her childhood, Maya felt split in two, as if she belonged fully to neither world.
Later that evening, as she prepared dinner, she tried recreating one of her mother's recipes. The spices didn't taste the same, the aroma felt incomplete. But as she sat down to eat, she felt a fleeting connection to home, as if she had carried a piece of it with her despite the miles.
Maya's hesitation in responding to her father's question about visiting home suggests:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The deepening emotional and geographical distance between her past and present.
Right after Maya hesitates, the passage says it had been two years since her last trip home and that the distance seemed to grow, not just geographically but emotionally. Her hesitation shows this widening distance between her life in Kolkata and her life in Boston.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Her indifference towards returning to Kolkata as she was alienated and distanced. — Incorrect. Contradicted: indifference means having no interest or feeling, but Maya misses her mother's kitchen and feels a connection to home. She is torn, not uncaring.
Option 2: A firm decision never to visit home again without a feeling of regret or connection. — Incorrect. Overstated: a hesitation is not a firm decision, and the passage shows that she still feels connected to home.
Option 3: A lack of emotional connection with her family and not feeling sequestered. — Incorrect. Contradicted: sequestered means cut off or isolated from others. Maya does feel lonely in Boston, and she has not lost her emotional link with her family; she thinks of them fondly.
Example: The jury was sequestered in a hotel until the trial ended.