Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow by selecting the most appropriate option.

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. The general recognition of this fact is shown in the proverbial phrase, “It is the busiest man who has time to spare”. Thus, an elderly lady at leisure can spend the entire day writing a postcard to her niece. An hour will be spent in finding the postcard, another hunting for spectacles, half an hour to search for the address, an hour and a quarter in composition and twenty minutes in deciding whether or not to take an umbrella when going to the $\underline{pillar-box}$ in the street. The total effort that would occupy a busy man for three minutes, all told, may in this fashion leave another person completely exhausted after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil.

What happens when the time to be spent on some work increases?

Question

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow by selecting the most appropriate option.

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. The general recognition of this fact is shown in the proverbial phrase, “It is the busiest man who has time to spare”. Thus, an elderly lady at leisure can spend the entire day writing a postcard to her niece. An hour will be spent in finding the postcard, another hunting for spectacles, half an hour to search for the address, an hour and a quarter in composition and twenty minutes in deciding whether or not to take an umbrella when going to the $\underline{pillar-box}$ in the street. The total effort that would occupy a busy man for three minutes, all told, may in this fashion leave another person completely exhausted after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil.

What happens when the time to be spent on some work increases?

Accepted Answer

Here is a detailed explanation justifying Option 3 as correct and explaining why the others are incorrect:

**Justification for Option 3: The work consumes all the time.**

The passage explicitly states in its very first sentence, "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." This is the central theme and a direct answer to the question. The example of the elderly lady further illustrates this point: a task that would take a busy man three minutes ends up consuming her entire day ("an elderly lady at leisure can spend the entire day writing a postcard to her niece"). This clearly demonstrates that when more time is available for a task, the work expands to occupy and consume all that available time, rather than being completed efficiently.

**Why other options are incorrect:**

*   **Option 1: The work is done smoothly.**
    This option is incorrect because the passage describes the process as involving "doubt, anxiety and toil" for the elderly lady, leading to her being "completely exhausted." This directly contradicts the idea of the work being done smoothly. The expansion of work often leads to inefficiency and stress, not a smooth process.

*   **Option 2: The work is done leisurely.**
    While the elderly lady is "at leisure" in terms of having free time, the passage does not suggest the *work itself* is done in a relaxed or unhurried pleasant manner. Instead, it describes a drawn-out, inefficient process filled with "doubt, anxiety and toil," resulting in exhaustion. The work expands to fill the time, but this expansion is not necessarily synonymous with a pleasant, leisurely execution of the task. The outcome of "exhausted after a day of doubt, anxiety and toil" is the opposite of a leisurely experience.

*   **Option 4: The work needs additional time.**
    This option misinterprets the core idea. The passage states that work *expands to fill* the time available, not that it inherently *needs* additional time. The problem isn't a shortage of time, but rather that the work will stretch to occupy *whatever* time is allotted. If more time is given, the work will expand to fill that new, larger timeframe, not that the original scope of work inherently requires more time. The example shows a simple task taking an excessive amount of time because that time is *available*, not because the task genuinely *needs* it.