After reading the passage, answer the questions that follow:
Unhappiness and discontent spring not only from poverty. Man is a strange creature, fundamentally different from other animals. He has far horizons, invincible hopes, creative energies, spiritual powers. If they are left undeveloped and unsatisfied, he may have all the comforts which wealth can give, but will still feel that life is not worthwhile. The great humanist writers, Shaw and Wells, Arnold Bennett and Galsworthy, who are regarded as the prophets of the dawn, expose the foibles, inconsistencies and weaknesses of modern life, but they ignore the deeper currents and sometimes misrepresent them. At any rate, they give nothing in their place. In the void left by the removal of tradition, morality and religion, others are putting in vague sentiments of race and power. The modern mind is shaped by Rousseau's Social Contract, Marx's Capital, Darwin's On the Origin of Species and Spengler's The Decline of the West. The outward chaos and confusion of our life reflect the confusion of our hearts and minds. Constitutions, says Plato, "are but the reflections in the outside world of the values which prevail in men's minds." There must be a change in the ideals we cherish, in the values we adopt, before we can give social expression to them. We help to secure the future only to the extent to which we ourselves are changed. What is missing in our age is the soul; there is nothing wrong with the body. We suffer from sickness of spirit. We must discover our roots in the eternal and regain faith in the transcendent truth which will order life, discipline discordant elements, and bring unity and purpose into it. If not, when the floods come and the winds blow and beat upon our houses, it will fall.
According to the author, how is man different from other animals?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → In his hopes, creative-energies and spiritual powers
The passage says man is "fundamentally different from other animals" and at once gives the reason: "He has far horizons, invincible hopes, creative energies, spiritual powers."
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Because of his unique power of speech — Incorrect. Not mentioned: the passage says nothing about speech as the difference.
Option 3: In money and the material achievements of man — Incorrect. Contradicted: the author says that even with all the comforts of wealth, man feels life is not worthwhile; wealth is not what sets him apart.
Option 4: In his physical prowess — Incorrect. Not mentioned: Prowess means great skill or strength. The passage speaks of man's inner powers, not his body.
Example: The wrestler was famous for his prowess in the ring.