Read the passage and answer the questions given below it.
Most visitors to the Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha come to see its carvings. Sooner or later a guide stops the group beside one of the stone wheels and points to the shadow a spoke casts on the rim. This wheel, he says, can tell you the time.
The temple was built in the thirteenth century under King Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. It was planned as the chariot of Surya, the Sun god, with twenty-four carved wheels and seven stone horses to pull it. Each wheel has eight thick spokes and eight thinner ones. Guides explain that the gap between two thick spokes stands for about three hours, so the shadow gives a rough idea of the hour.
It is a pleasing story, and on a bright morning the shadow does seem to behave. Whether the builders meant it that way is harder to say. A wheel set in a wall faces one direction only, so for part of each day it stands in shade. A clock that works only some of the time is an odd thing to build in stone. The wheels may have been carved first as signs of the Sun’s journey, with the time-telling read into them later.
None of this has harmed the wheel’s fame. The temple was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, and the wheel now appears on the back of the ten-rupee note. Millions who have never seen Odisha carry it in their pockets, and few have tried to read the time from it.
The word ‘rough’, as used in the passage, means
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → not exact, but close enough
Rough, as used here, means not exact, but near enough to be useful.
- Guides say the gap between two thick spokes stands for “about three hours”. A shadow inside such a big gap cannot give the exact minute.
- So it gives only a “rough idea of the hour”, an idea that is close but not exact. Example: Can you give me a rough count of how many guests will come?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: not smooth or even to the touch — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This is another sense of rough, used for surfaces. Example: The bark of the old neem tree felt rough under her hand.
Option 3: not gentle, but harsh in manner — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This is another sense of rough, used for the way people behave. Example: The coach told the players not to be rough with the younger boys.
Option 4: not easy, but full of trouble — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: This is another sense of rough, used for a hard period of time. Example: The shopkeeper had a rough year after the floods.