I was on the point of asking him what that work might be, but something in his manner showed me that the question would be an unwelcome one. I pondered over our short conversation, however, and endeavoured to draw my deductions from it. He said that he would acquire no knowledge which did not bear upon his object. Therefore all the knowledge which he possessed was such as would be useful to him. I enumerated in my own mind all the various points upon which he had shown me that he was exceptionally well-informed. I even took a pencil and jotted them down. I could not help smiling at the document when I had completed it. It ran in this way— Sherlock Holmes—his limits. 1. Knowledge of Literature.—Nil. 2. Philosophy.—Nil. 3. Astronomy.—Nil. 4. Politics.—Feeble. 5. Botany.—Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. 6. Practical but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them. 7. Chemistry.—Profound. 8. Anatomy.—Accurate, but unsystematic. 9. Sensational Literature.—Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. 10. Plays the violin well. 11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman. 12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.
Which of the following statements BEST DESCRIBES the Sherlock Holmes?
Show Hint
- Wiley politician
- Aesthetic landscaper
- Intelligent Chemist
- Distinguished jurist
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The question asks for the best description of Sherlock Holmes based on the list of his skills and knowledge provided in the passage.
Step 2: Analyzing the Description of Sherlock Holmes
We need to check the list in the passage for evidence supporting each option. The list details Holmes's areas of expertise and ignorance.
Politics: "Knowledge of Politics.—Feeble."
Botany/Gardening: "Knows nothing of practical gardening."
Chemistry: "Knowledge of Chemistry.—Profound."
Law: "Has a good practical knowledge of British law."
Step 3: Evaluating the Options
(A) Wiley politician: This is incorrect. The passage explicitly states his knowledge of politics is "Feeble."
(B) Aesthetic landscaper: This is incorrect. The passage states he "Knows nothing of practical gardening."
(C) Intelligent Chemist: This is a strong candidate. The passage describes his knowledge of Chemistry as "Profound," which means deep and extensive. "Intelligent" is a reasonable adjective for someone with such specialized and profound knowledge.
(D) Distinguished jurist: While he has a "good practical knowledge" of law, this is not as strong as his "profound" knowledge of chemistry. "Distinguished jurist" implies a high-ranking legal expert, which is an overstatement based on the text.
Step 4: Final Answer
Comparing the options, the description "Intelligent Chemist" is the most strongly and directly supported by the text, which uses the powerful word "Profound" to describe his chemical knowledge. Therefore, option (C) is the best description.
What was the FEELING of the describer when he completed the enumeration of knowledge of Sherlock Holmes?
Show Hint
- Jealous
- Contemplative
- Happy
- Impressive
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The question asks to identify the emotion or feeling of the narrator (the "describer") immediately after he finished creating the list of Sherlock Holmes's abilities.
Step 2: Locating the Narrator's Reaction in the Passage
The passage provides a direct statement about the narrator's feeling upon completing the list. It says: "I could not help smiling at the document when I had completed it."
Step 3: Interpreting the Feeling
A smile is a physical expression most commonly associated with feelings of happiness, amusement, or pleasure. The narrator finds the strange and specific nature of Holmes's knowledge amusing.
(A) Jealous: There is no indication of envy in the passage.
(B) Contemplative: The narrator was contemplative ("pondered") while creating the list, but his reaction *after* completing it was to smile.
(C) Happy: Smiling is a direct sign of being happy or amused. This aligns perfectly with the text.
(D) Impressive: While the list might be impressive, the narrator's explicitly stated reaction is "smiling," which is better captured by "Happy" or "Amused." Between the given options, 'Happy' is the closest fit to the feeling expressed by a smile.
Step 4: Final Answer
The narrator's act of smiling directly indicates a feeling of happiness or amusement. Therefore, option (C) is the most appropriate answer.
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
During Bentham’s lifetime, revolutions occurred in the American colonies and in France, producing the Bill of Rights and the Declaration des Droits deHomme (Declaration of the Rights of Man), both of which were based on liberty, equality, and self-determination. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto in 1848. Revolutionary movements broke out that year in France, Italy, Austria, Poland, and elsewhere. In addition, the Indus trial Revolution transformed Great Britain and eventually the rest of Europe from an agrarian (farm-based) society into an industrial one, in which steam and coal increased manufacturing production dramatically, changing the nature of work, property ownership, and family. This period also included advances in chemistry, astronomy, navigation, human anatomy, and im munology, among other sciences.
Given this historical context, it is understandable that Bentham used reason and science to explain human behaviour. His ethical system was an attempt to quantify happiness and the good so they would meet the conditions of the scientific method. Ethics had to be empirical, quantifiable, verifiable, and reproducible across time and space. Just as science was beginning to understand the workings of cause and effect in the body, so ethics would explain the causal relationships of the mind. Bentham rejected religious authority and wrote a rebuttal to the Declaration of Independence in which he railed against natural rights as “rhetorical nonsense, nonsense upon stilts.” Instead, the fundamental unit of human action for him was utility—solid, certain, and factual.
What is utility? Bentham’s fundamental axiom, which underlies utilitarianism, was that all so cial morals and government legislation should aim for producing the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism, therefore, emphasizes the consequences or ultimate purpose of an act rather than the character of the actor, the actor’s motivation, or the particu lar circumstances surrounding the act. It has these characteristics: (1) universality, because it applies to all acts of human behaviour, even those that appear to be done from altruistic mo tives; (2) objectivity, meaning it operates beyond individual thought, desire, and perspective; (3) rationality, because it is not based in metaphysics or theology; and (4) quantifiability in its reliance on utility.- CLAT PG - 2026
- Legal Studies
- Reading Comprehension
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”.
This statement, in spite of literal inaccuracy in its every phrase, served the purpose for which it was written. It expressed an aspiration, and it was a fighting slogan. In order that slogans may serve their purpose, it is necessary that they shall arouse strong, emotional belief, but it is not at all necessary that they shall be literally accurate. A large part of each human being’s time on earth is spent in declaiming about his “rights,” asserting their existence, complaining of their violation, describing them as present or future, vested or contingent, absolute or conditional, perfect or inchoate, alienable or inalienable, legal or equitable, in rem or in personam, primary or secondary, moral or jural (legal), inherent or acquired, natural or artificial, human or divine. No doubt still other adjectives are available. Each one expresses some idea, but not always the same idea even when used twice by one and the same person.
They all need definition in the interest of understanding and peace. In his table of correlatives, Hohfeld set “right” over against “duty” as its necessary correlative. This had been done num berless times by other men. He also carefully distinguished it from the concepts expressed in his table by the terms “privilege,” “power,” and “immunity.” To the present writer, the value of his work seems beyond question and the practical convenience of his classification is convincing. However, the adoption of Hohfeld’s classification and the correlating of the terms “right” and “duty” do not complete the work of classification and definition.- CLAT PG - 2026
- Legal Studies
- Reading Comprehension
- Cite two evidences from the text to show that Indian youth is adapting itself to the needs of the job market.
- CBSE CLASS XII - 2025
- English Core
- Reading Comprehension
- In the line "it is indeed a single instrument, but it contains an arsenal of tools…", what does the phrase “arsenal of tools” refer to?
- CBSE CLASS XII - 2025
- English Core
- Reading Comprehension
- My Last French Lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn any more! I must stop there, then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds' eggs or going sliding on the Saar! My books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the saints, were old friends now that I couldn't give up and M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was.
Poor man! It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
(The Last Lesson)- CBSE CLASS XII - 2025
- English Core
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in KLEE exam
- The smallest positive number which is divisible by the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is
- KLEE - 2024
- Number System
- Two statements followed by two conclusions are given. Taking the given statements to be true even if they seem to be at variance from commonly known facts, read all the conclusions and then decide which of the given conclusions logically follow from the statements. Statements: 1. Mathematics is essential for all subjects.
2. Statistics is applied in Economics.
Conclusions: I. Mathematics is not needed in Sociology.
II. Economics is applied in Statistics.- KLEE - 2024
- Statements and Conclusions
- A person bought an item for Rs. 1350 and spent Rs.150 towards transportation of the item. Then he sold it for Rs.1800. The profit percentage is
- KLEE - 2024
- Profit & Loss
- Who is considered as the "founding father" of space programmes in India?
- KLEE - 2024
- Science and Technology
- Earth's atmosphere contains
- KLEE - 2024
- Astronomy