Read the following passage carefully and answer the question by choosing the correct option.
The great Roman orator, Cicero, in his celebrated treatise on Friendship, remarks with truth that it increases happiness and diminishes misery by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. When we do well, it is delightful to have friends who are so proud of our success that they receive as much pleasure from it as we do ourselves. For the friendless man the attainment of wealth, power, and honour is of little value. Such possessions contribute to our happiness most by enabling us to do good to others but if all those whom we are able to benefit are strangers, we take far less pleasure in our beneficence than if it were exerted on behalf of friends whose happiness is as dear to us as our own. Further, when we do our duty in spite of temptation, the mental satisfaction obtained from the approval of our conscience is heightened by the praise of our friends; for their judgement is as it were a second conscience, encouraging us in good and deterring us from evil. Our amusements have little zest and soon pall upon us if we engage in them in solitude, or with uncongenial companions, for whom we can feel no affection. Thus in every case our joys are rendered more intense and more permanent by being shared with friends.
It is equally true that, as Cicero points out, friendship diminishes our misery by enabling us to share the burden of it with others. When fortune has inflicted a heavy unavoidable blow upon us, our grief is alleviated by friendly condolence, and by the thought that as long as friends are left to us, life is still worth living.
But many misfortunes which threaten us are not inevitable and in escaping such misfortunes, the advice and active assistance of our friends may be invaluable. The friendless man stands alone, exposed, without protection, to his enemies and to the blows of fortune; but whoever has loyal friends is thereby provided with a strong defence against the worst that fortune can do to him.
Find out a word from the passage above which means 'INEVITABLE'.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → unavoidable
- Inevitable means certain to happen, impossible to prevent. The passage speaks of misfortunes that "are not inevitable" and can be escaped with the help of friends.
Example: With so little rain, a poor harvest was inevitable. - Unavoidable means impossible to avoid or prevent, which is the same meaning. The passage uses it for "a heavy unavoidable blow" of fortune.
Example: The delay was unavoidable because of the storm.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: celebrated — Incorrect. Celebrated means famous and much praised, as in Cicero's "celebrated treatise".
Example: Lata Mangeshkar was a celebrated singer.
Option 3: possession — Incorrect. A possession is something that one owns. The passage calls wealth, power and honour "possessions".
Example: The old watch was his most valued possession.
Option 4: solitude — Incorrect. Solitude is the state of being alone. Amusements soon pall "in solitude".
Example: The poet wrote best in the solitude of the hills.
| Synonyms of inevitable: unavoidable, certain, inescapable, sure Antonyms of inevitable: avoidable, uncertain, preventable, unlikely Also asked in CUET (UG): solitude – 08-08-2022 Slot 1, 20-07-2022 Slot 1 |