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.
How does the writer respond to the claim that war is necessary to preserve man’s virility?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → He rejects it, since modern war leaves weak men and brings out the worst in man.
Virility means a man’s strength and energy.
- Some people say war keeps this strength alive.
- The writer answers with “Yet”, a word that shows he disagrees.
- He says war today leaves “a legacy of the weakest men”. A legacy is what is left behind.
- War also brings out “the bestial qualities”. Bestial means cruel, like a wild animal.
- So war makes men weak and cruel, not strong. The writer rejects the claim.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: He accepts it, but says that sport can do the same job more safely. — Incorrect. Contradicted: The writer does not accept the claim at all. He talks of sport only as a way to find adventure in life.
Option 3: He agrees that war is needed, since man must fight to survive. — Incorrect. Opposite meaning: The “fight for survival” is what “some people say”. The writer argues against this view.
Option 4: He sets it aside, since it is true only of soldiers and not of others. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The passage says nothing about soldiers. The writer says the claim is wrong for mankind as a whole.