Comprehension:
Read the given extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Mr.Utterson, the lawyer was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. It was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour.
No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity; and that was the lawyer’s way. His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, no doubt, this was the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distant kinsman, the well-known man about town.
Read the following sentence carefully:
His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object.
Based on your understanding, choose the option that correctly describes the meaning of the sentence.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Mr Utterson's friendship was restricted to blood relatives and those he had known for a long time. His friendship is compared to ivy, which grows anywhere, without paying attention to appropriate conditions.
The sentence says that Mr Utterson's friends were "those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest", and that his affections, "like ivy, were the growth of time" and "implied no aptness (suitability) in the object". Ivy is a creeper that grows slowly over years and clings to whatever is near it, suitable or not. So his friendships grew with time and were limited to relatives and old acquaintances, without regard to how suitable the person was.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Mr Utterson befriended only close relatives and his friendship is compared to ivy, which grows only where it is nurtured. — Incorrect. Misread: it limits his friends to close relatives, leaving out those he had known longest, and it says ivy grows only where nurtured, which goes against "no aptness in the object".
Option 3: Mr Utterson never befriended any friends or acquaintances but rather preferred to form relationships with people he shared common interests with. The comparison to ivy is used for comic effect. — Incorrect. Contradicted: he did have friends, "those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest"; nothing is said about shared interests or a comic effect.
Option 4: Mr Utterson was a loving family man. — Incorrect. Wrong focus: the sentence describes how his friendships formed ("the growth of time"), not his family life.