Passage

Passage - 6 I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been of no disadvantage whatever. 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. It 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 author says that a thoughtless word hardly ever escapes his tongue or pen. Which one of the following is not a valid reason for this ?

(a) He has no intention to waste his time. ✓ UPSC's answer
(b) He believes in the economy of words.
(c) He believes in restraining his thoughts.
(d) He has hesitancy in his speech.

Why the answer is (a)

• The passage explicitly states that the author's hesitancy in speech has taught him the 'economy of words'.

• It further explains that he has 'naturally formed the habit of restraining his thoughts' as a direct result of his shyness.

• The text links his shyness and hesitancy to being a 'shield and buckler' that helps in the 'discernment of truth'.

• The author argues that silence is necessary to surmount the natural weakness of exaggerating or modifying the truth.

• While the author mentions that excessive talking is a 'waste of time', he does not state that his personal intention to avoid wasting time is the cause of his careful speech; rather, his shyness and discipline are the causes.

• Therefore, the lack of intention to waste time is not cited as a valid reason for his controlled speech in the text.

Why the other options are wrong

(b) He believes in the economy of words.: The passage directly states that his hesitancy taught him the 'economy of words', which is a valid reason for his careful speech.
(c) He believes in restraining his thoughts.: The author explicitly mentions that he has 'naturally formed the habit of restraining his thoughts', which is a valid reason for his controlled speech.
(d) He has hesitancy in his speech.: The text identifies his 'hesitancy in speech' as the root cause that led to his discipline and careful word choice, making it a valid reason.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015, held on 23 August 2015. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.