The Author's Tone, Purpose and Attitude — Practice

Question 1

Passage: What a masterpiece of planning — the new flyover was inaugurated with speeches and garlands, then closed the next morning because the engineers had forgotten to build an exit ramp.
The tone of the passage is best described as:
(a) ironic and critical (b) genuinely admiring (c) hopeful and optimistic (d) sad and mournful

Accepted Answer

(a) ironic and critical.

The praise word 'masterpiece' sits on an obvious blunder — a flyover with no exit ramp — the classic signal of irony, and the intended attitude is critical. (b) takes the praise literally and is the bait; (c) and (d) miss the mocking edge.

Question 2

Passage: The report is padded with jargon, repeats itself for forty pages, and buries its single useful recommendation on the last line. One wonders whether anyone expected it to be read.
The author's attitude toward the report is:
(a) dismissive and critical (b) respectful and approving (c) indifferent (d) enthusiastic

Accepted Answer

(a) dismissive and critical.

'Padded with jargon', 'repeats itself', 'buries' and the closing jab all carry a negative charge. (b) and (d) reverse the direction; (c) misses the clear disapproval — the author is far from indifferent.

Question 3

Passage: The census records the country's population every ten years. Enumerators visit households, note details on standard forms, and the aggregated figures are later published by the statistics office.
The tone of the passage is best described as:
(a) objective and expository (b) admiring (c) alarmed (d) nostalgic

Accepted Answer

(a) objective and expository.

The passage reports a process in neutral, fact-stating language with no charged words. (b), (c) and (d) each impute a feeling the diction simply does not carry.

Question 4

Passage: The proposal has merit, though one might wish its authors had checked their figures a little more carefully before circulating it.
Which best captures the author's tone?
(a) mildly critical (b) furious and indignant (c) wholly approving (d) scornful and mocking

Accepted Answer

(a) mildly critical.

The gentle 'one might wish… a little more carefully' is a soft reservation, not an outburst; the direction is critical but the intensity is low. (b) and (d) overshoot the strength, and (c) ignores the reservation.

Question 5

Passage: For thirty years she taught in a one-room school with almost no resources, and still sent a stream of her students to the country's finest universities. Her former pupils speak of her with something close to reverence.
The author's attitude toward the teacher is:
(a) admiring (b) pitying (c) sceptical (d) detached

Accepted Answer

(a) admiring.

The emphasis on her achievement against the odds and the reference to 'reverence' convey genuine admiration. (b) misreads the hardship as something to pity; (c) and (d) contradict the warm tone.

Question 6

Passage: If the aquifer keeps falling at its present rate, the wells that supply three districts will run dry within a decade. The time to act on how we use water is now, not after the taps fail.
The author's main purpose is to:
(a) warn of a looming water crisis and urge action (b) describe how aquifers form (c) celebrate a conservation success (d) narrate a personal experience of drought

Accepted Answer

(a) warn of a looming water crisis and urge action.

The passage points to a danger ('run dry within a decade') and calls for action ('the time to act… is now') — the language of warning. (b), (c) and (d) name moves the passage never makes.

Question 7

Passage: The new wing is undeniably striking, and visitors will admire its glass and steel. Yet it turns its back on the old quarter it looms over, and one cannot help feeling that something was lost to gain this bright, cold monument.
The author's attitude toward the new wing is best described as:
(a) ambivalent (b) unreservedly enthusiastic (c) wholly hostile (d) indifferent

Accepted Answer

(a) ambivalent.

The passage both praises ('undeniably striking', 'admire') and laments ('turns its back', 'something was lost', 'cold') — genuinely mixed feelings. (b) and (c) each capture only one side; (d) ignores the strong feeling running through both.

Question 8

Passage: Nehru's letters to his daughter are, for the most part, luminous and generous — a father sharing the whole sweep of history with a child. Only occasionally does he lapse into the lecturing tone he could never quite shed. But the overwhelming impression is one of warmth and wonder.
The author's overall attitude toward the letters is:
(a) admiring (b) mainly critical of their lecturing tone (c) coldly analytical (d) dismissive

Accepted Answer

(a) admiring.

Globally the author calls the letters 'luminous and generous' and closes on 'warmth and wonder'; the lecturing tone is a single local reservation ('only occasionally'). Answering for the whole passage, the attitude is admiring. (b) elevates a local point to the whole; (c) and (d) contradict the evident warmth.

Practice — The Author's Tone, Purpose and Attitude

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