Site navigation

Read the passage and answer the question. I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been no disadvantage whatsoever. In fact, I can see that, on the…

Question and options

Read the passage and answer the question.
I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been no disadvantage whatsoever. 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 benefit 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. We find so many people impatient to talk. There is no chairman of a meeting who is not pestered with notes for permission to speak. And whenever the permission is given the speaker generally exceeds the time limit, asks for more time, and keeps on talking without permission. All this talking can hardly be said to be of any benefit to the world, but is so much waste of time. My shyness has been in reality my shield and buckler. It has allowed me to grow. It has helped me in my discernment of truth.

The title that best expresses the ideas of the passage is,
  1. The value of silence
  2. The importance of shyness
  3. The discernment of truth
  4. Silence and truth

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A - The value of silence
The passage argues that the author's shyness taught him economy of words and restraint, that silence aids truth and that excessive talk is waste; the central idea is the value of silence.

Practice for these exams

  • CUSAT Three-Year LL.B.

Related question papers

Related exam syllabi

More solved explanations in English Language