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Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.
Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.
Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something in
  • a)
    Spontaneity of a person
  • b)
    Enjoyment
  • c)
    Golf and bridge
  • d)
    Eyes of a boiled codfish
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?
Most Upvoted Answer
Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that f...
Comparison with Golf and Bridge
- The passage compares the seriousness applied to talk with the seriousness applied to golf and bridge.
- Just like people desire to improve their game in golf and bridge by brooding over mistakes and trying to do better, the author wishes people would apply the same seriousness to their conversations.

Effeminate vs. Manly and Rational
- The author questions why many people would consider it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet consider it manly and rational to try to shoot better.
- This highlights the societal norms and perceptions attached to different activities, where improving one's conversation skills may not be given the same importance as improving skills in traditionally male-dominated activities like shooting.

Spontaneity and Charm of Talk
- The author emphasizes the importance of spontaneity in conversations, stating that pre-planning and trying to fit in certain stories can deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.
- While seriousness in talk is encouraged, it should be coupled with a natural zest and enjoyment to maintain the essence of spontaneity.
Therefore, the comparison of applying seriousness to talk with the seriousness applied to golf and bridge underscores the author's belief that conversations should be taken seriously, like any other skill that one seeks to improve. It challenges societal norms regarding the perception of improving conversation skills and highlights the importance of spontaneity and charm in engaging discussions.
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Community Answer
Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that f...
The passage mentions 'What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge ...'. So, option 3 is correct.
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Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?
Question Description
Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? for CAT 2024 is part of CAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the CAT exam syllabus. Information about Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for CAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for CAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for CAT Exam by signing up for free.
Here you can find the meaning of Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the question that follows.Really good talk is one of the greatest pleasures and yet how rarely one comes across it. There are a good many people among my acquaintances who, on occasions, are capable of talking well. But what they seem to lack is initiative and deliberate purpose. If people would only look upon conversation in a more serious light, much would be gained. I do not of course mean, heaven forbid, that people should try to converse seriously; that results in the worst kind of dreariness in feeling, as Stevenson said that one has the brain of a sheep and the eyes of a boiled codfish. What I mean is that the more seriously one takes an argument, the more amusing it becomes. What I wish is that people would apply the same sort of seriousness to talk that they apply to golf and bridge, just as they desire to improve their game, brood over their mistakes, try to do better. Why is it that so many people would think it effeminate to try to improve their talk, yet think it manly and rational to try to shoot better? Of course, it must be done with a natural zest and enjoyment or it is useless. It is all very well to know beforehand the kind of line you would wish to take; but spontaneity is a necessary ingredient to talk and to make up one's mind to get certain stories in, is to deprive talk of its fortuitous charm.Q. The applying of seriousness to talk has been compared with something ina)Spontaneity of a personb)Enjoymentc)Golf and bridged)Eyes of a boiled codfishCorrect answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer? tests, examples and also practice CAT tests.
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