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.

Identify the statement which is true:

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.

Identify the statement which is true:

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 1:

The college where the author worked in Delhi had a reputation for its academic standards.

This statement is explicitly supported by the text. The author mentions working in a college in Delhi, and then states, "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." This sentence directly confirms that the college where the author taught, despite being known for its high academic quality, still failed to inspire ambition in its students, which is the main criticism the author develops.

The incorrect option is 2:
The students who were asked to do the language exercise were graduates.
This is incorrect because the text clearly states that the author gave the exercise to "a group of eight undergraduates." They were asked to *imagine* they had already graduated, but they were not actual graduates.

The incorrect option is 3:
All colleges produce scientists, scholars and leaders of opinion.
This statement is an overgeneralization that contradicts the author's point. The text states that colleges are often "more proud of the bureaucrats among their alumni than of any scholars, scientists or leaders of opinion," and that "these latter, understandably, are a small number," indicating that such high-achieving alumni are rare, not universal across all colleges.

The incorrect option is 4:
The language exercise is stored in the author's less comfortable memories.
This is incorrect because the text says the exercise is "among my more uncomfortable memories." The word "more" implies it is one of the *most* uncomfortable or disturbing memories, not a "less comfortable" one.