Passage

Directions for the next 2 (two) items : Read the following passage and answer the items that follow. Your answers should be based solely on the passage. Passage Was it the sun-dappled ambience, the strawberries and cream, the frustration of Flavio Cobolli's unforced errors against Serbian Novak Djokovic on Centre Court or simply the crushing weight of being a 64-year-old man in the third act of a very public life? Whatever the reason, Hugh Grant, the actor, deserves empathy. There he was, in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, flanked by Britain's well-dressed and well-rested spectators, watching the men's singles quarterfinals, when the actor did something quietly radical : head at a tilt, eyes closed, utterly unbothered, he took a nap. So praise be to Grant for serving up an unexpected ace. In that small, delicious moment, he didn't merely catch forty winks, he made an elegant case for surrender. Not to laziness, but to limits. To the body's quiet wisdom over society's relentless performance metrics. Wimbledon had its tennis. The perpetually sleep-deprived discovered a leading man, not of action, but of rest.

Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. Radical action can also be attributed to mild surrender where one acts against societal expectations. 2. Submitting to one's limitations, given the effect of age and other factors, ought not to be conflated with laziness. 3. 'Leading man' usually refers to one who plays the lead role in a movie; in this instance the implication is that Hugh Grant is performing the role of not an action hero, but that of a resting one! Select the answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3 ✓ UPSC's answer
(d) 3 only

Why the answer is (c)

• Statement 1 is correct: the passage calls Grant's nap "quietly radical" and "an elegant case for surrender", an act that goes against society's performance expectations.

• Statement 2 is correct: the surrender is "not to laziness, but to limits", at a stage of life the passage links to age.

• Statement 3 is correct: the closing line plays on "leading man", describing Grant as a leading man "not of action, but of rest".

• Hence 1, 2 and 3: (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1 and 2 only: Statement 3 is also correct.
(b) 2 and 3 only: Statement 1 is also correct.
(d) 3 only: Statements 1 and 2 are also correct.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026, held on 24 May 2026. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.