Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Some people say that man’s desire for war is due to his fight for survival and that war is necessary to preserve his virility. Yet war nowadays leaves a legacy of the weakest men and stimulates not the noble but the bestial qualities of mankind. Adventure of some kind is necessary for man; he will inevitably deteriorate physically if his life is one of ease lived in an atmosphere of luxury and ‘Safety first’. This is the real reason behind our love of sports. A rich man with chronic indigestion is far less happy than a tramp with good innards. Nothing that money can buy is worthwhile without good health. There is no better way to perfect health and physical fitness than to walk over and climb hills and mountains. Mountains give us much more than physical fitness; they exercise the mental faculties as well. Climbing a high and difficult peak is as much a mental exercise as a physical one. It calls for a sense of judgment and planning and thinking ahead, for anticipating difficulties and dangers, for responsibility towards one’s companions, and best of all, it brings the mountaineer into touch with the beauties of the universe.
According to the passage, what is the greatest gift of mountaineering?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → It brings the climber close to the beauty of the universe.
The last line of the passage lists what mountain climbing gives a person.
- It ends with “best of all, it brings the mountaineer into touch with the beauties of the universe”. “Best of all” marks the greatest gift.
- So the writer values this gift above all the others.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: It teaches the climber to foresee dangers on the way. — Incorrect. Wrong focus: The passage does name “anticipating difficulties and dangers”. But it is one gift in the list. It is not the one called “best of all”.
Option 2: It keeps the climber fit in body and mind. — Incorrect. Wrong part of the passage: Fitness of body and mind comes earlier in the passage. The writer says mountains give “much more than physical fitness”. The greatest gift comes at the end of the list.
Option 4: It makes the climber responsible for his companions. — Incorrect. Wrong focus: “Responsibility towards one’s companions” is in the list. But the writer puts the beauty of the universe above it.