Read the passage carefully and attempt the following questions

When you grow up in a place where it rains five months a year, wise elders help you to get acquainted with the rain early. They teach you that it is ignorant to think that it is the same rain falling every day. Oh no, the rain is always doing different things at different times. There is rain that is gentle, and there is also rain that falls too hard and damages the crops. Hence, the prayer for the sweet rain that helps the crops to grow.

The monsoon in the Naga hills goes by the native name, khuthotei (which means the rice-growing season). It lasts from May to early or mid-October. The local residents firmly believe that Durga Puja in October announces the end of rain. After that, one might expect a couple of short winter showers, and the spring showers in March and April. Finally comes the big rain in May, proper rainstorms accompanied by heart-stopping lighting and ear-splitting thunder. I have stood out in storms looking at lightning are across dark skies, a light-and-sound show that can go on for hours.

This is the season when people use the word sezuo or sizu to refer to the week-long rains, when clothes don't dry and smell of mould, when fungus forms on the floor and when you can't see the moon or the stars because of the rainclouds. But you learn not to complain Rain, after all, is the farmer's friend and brings food to the table. Rituals and festivals centre around the agricultural rhythm of life, which is the occupation of about 70 per cent of the population.

The word 'Khuthotei' in the passage means -

The rice growing season

The correct answer is Option (3) → The rice growing season

Explanation:
The passage mentions that in the Naga hills, the monsoon season goes by the native name "khuthotei," which means the rice-growing season. This indicates that "khuthotei" refers to the period when rice is cultivated, which aligns with the monsoon season from May to early or mid-October. Therefore, "khuthotei" specifically denotes the rice-growing season in the context of the passage.