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.
Why does the writer compare a rich man with chronic indigestion with a tramp with good innards?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → To show that good health is worth more than wealth
Chronic indigestion is a stomach problem that goes on for a long time.
- A tramp is a poor man with no home. Innards are the stomach and the other parts inside the body.
- The writer says the rich man is “far less happy” than the tramp. The next line says “Nothing that money can buy is worthwhile without good health”.
- So the rich man has money but poor health. The tramp has no money but good health.
- The writer uses them to show that health matters more than money.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: To show that rich people seldom take part in sports — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The writer does not say whether rich people play sports. He talks only about the rich man’s health.
Option 2: To show that a wandering life is better than a settled one — Incorrect. Wrong focus: The tramp is happier because of his healthy stomach. The writer is not praising his way of life.
Option 3: To show that wealth brings nothing but worry and illness — Incorrect. Overstated: The writer does not say that money causes illness. He says money is of little use without good health.