I worked for a brief while in a college in Delhi, and among my more uncomfortable memories is a language exercise, I gave a group of eight undergraduates: I asked them to imagine that they had already graduated and wanted them to write an application for a suitable job. Seven of the eight students wrote applications for the jobs of clerks. Even in one of the good universities, and in a college that had a reputation for its academic standards, the system had snuffed out all youthful ambition.

Even the highest youthful ambition in the prestigious colleges is to pass the competitive examination for appointments in the administrative services, and there are colleges that are more proud of the bureaucrats among their alumni than of any scholars, scientists or leaders of opinion. And these latter, understandably, are a small number. Students derive the meanness of their ambitions from the meanness of the goals that the colleges propose to themselves. And of the most ambitious, as well as of the least, among the students, it could be said that they think more of what society will do to or for them, than of what they would be able to do for and to society. This is an excellent apprenticeship for joining the ranks of hirelings or of the unemployed.

How long did the author work in a Delhi College?

Question

I worked for a brief while in a college in Delhi, and among my more uncomfortable memories is a language exercise, I gave a group of eight undergraduates: I asked them to imagine that they had already graduated and wanted them to write an application for a suitable job. Seven of the eight students wrote applications for the jobs of clerks. Even in one of the good universities, and in a college that had a reputation for its academic standards, the system had snuffed out all youthful ambition.

Even the highest youthful ambition in the prestigious colleges is to pass the competitive examination for appointments in the administrative services, and there are colleges that are more proud of the bureaucrats among their alumni than of any scholars, scientists or leaders of opinion. And these latter, understandably, are a small number. Students derive the meanness of their ambitions from the meanness of the goals that the colleges propose to themselves. And of the most ambitious, as well as of the least, among the students, it could be said that they think more of what society will do to or for them, than of what they would be able to do for and to society. This is an excellent apprenticeship for joining the ranks of hirelings or of the unemployed.

How long did the author work in a Delhi College?

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

The correct answer is "short time." We must carefully locate the textual evidence in the passage that directly answers the question, "How long did the author work in a Delhi College?" The very first sentence of the text states, "I worked for a brief while in a college in Delhi." The phrase "brief while" is synonymous with a "short time" or a short period of duration. Therefore, Option 2 accurately reflects the explicit information provided by the author about the duration of their employment. Reading comprehension questions often rely on identifying direct paraphrasing, and in this context, "brief while" is perfectly encapsulated by the option "short time."

The incorrect option is 1:
Option 1, "long time," is incorrect because it is the opposite of what the passage states. The author explicitly used the adjective "brief" to describe the length of time they worked in the college.

The incorrect option is 3:
Option 3, "three years," is incorrect because the passage does not specify the duration using an exact number of years. It only uses the descriptive phrase "a brief while," which does not equate to three years.

The incorrect option is 4:
Option 4, "seven years," is incorrect. Like Option 3, this choice introduces a specific numerical duration that is not supported by the text. The only temporal descriptor used by the author is "brief while."