After reading the following passage, answer the questions which follow:
I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been of no great disadvantage to me. In fact, I can see that, on the contrary, it has been all to my advantage. My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greatest pleasure has been that it has taught me the economy of words. I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can now, give myself the certificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever escapes my tongue or pen. I do not recollect ever having had to regret anything in my speech or writing. I have thus been spared many a mishap and waste of time. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man and silence is necessary in order to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech; he will measure every word.
From the options given below, select the one which will appropriately answer the following question:
The author due to his shy nature ______.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Naturally formed the habit of restraining his thoughts
To restrain is to hold back or keep under control. The author says in so many words, "I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts." His hesitancy in speech taught him to think before he spoke and to use few words.
Example: He restrained his anger and answered politely.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Would aggressively attack any and every crowd around him — Incorrect. Not mentioned: a shy person avoids attention; attacking crowds is the opposite of shyness and is nowhere in the passage.
Option 2: Worked hard to hide his stammer — Incorrect. Not mentioned: a stammer is a speech problem in which a person repeats sounds or stops before words. The author speaks of hesitancy in speech, but he never says he tried to hide it; he calls it a pleasure now.
Example: The boy overcame his stammer with the help of a speech therapist.
Option 4: Became an ascetic. — Incorrect. Not mentioned: an ascetic is a person who gives up all comforts and pleasures, usually for religious reasons. The author talks of silence as a discipline, but he never says that he gave up worldly life.
Example: The ascetic lived in a cave and ate only fruit.