Comprehension
The call of self-expression turned the village of the internet into a city, which expanded at time-lapse speed, social connections bristling like neurons in every direction. At twelve, I was writing five hundred words a day on a public LiveJournal. By twenty-five, my job was to write things that would attract, ideally, a hundred thousand strangers per post. Now I’m thirty, and most of my life is inextricable from the internet, and its mazes of incessant forced connection—this feverish, electric, unliveable hell.
The curdling of the social internet happened slowly and then all at once. The tipping point, I’d guess, was around 2012. People were losing excitement about the internet, starting to articulate a set of new truisms. Facebook had become tedious, trivial, exhausting. Instagram seemed better, but would soon reveal its underlying function as a three-ring circus of happiness and popularity and success. Twitter, for all its discursive promise, was where everyone tweeted complaints at airlines and moaned about articles that had been commissioned to make people moan. The dream of a better, truer self on the internet was slipping away. Where we had once been free to be ourselves online, we were now chained to ourselves online, and this made us self-conscious. Platforms that promised connection began inducing mass alienation. The freedom promised by the internet started to seem like something whose greatest potential lay in the realm of misuse.
Even as we became increasingly sad and ugly on the internet, the mirage of the better online self continued to glimmer. As a medium, the internet is defined by a built-in performance incentive. In real life, you can walk around living life and be visible to other people. But on the internet—for anyone to see you, you have to act. You have to communicate in order to maintain an internet presence. And, because the internet’s central platforms are built around personal profiles, it can seem—first at a mechanical level, and later on as an encoded instinct—like the main purpose of this communication is to make yourself look good. Online reward mechanisms beg to substitute for offline ones, and then overtake them. This is why everyone tries to look so hot and well-travelled on Instagram; why everyone seems so smug and triumphant on Facebook; and why, on Twitter, making a righteous political statement has come to seem, for many people, like a political good in itself. The everyday madness perpetuated by the internet lay in the madness of this architecture, which positions personal identity as the centre of the universe. It’s as if we’ve been placed on a lookout tower and Facebook’s the one who’s given a pair of binoculars that makes everything look like our own reflection.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, by Jia Tolentino, Random House, 2019.]
The curdling of the social internet happened slowly and then all at once. The tipping point, I’d guess, was around 2012. People were losing excitement about the internet, starting to articulate a set of new truisms. Facebook had become tedious, trivial, exhausting. Instagram seemed better, but would soon reveal its underlying function as a three-ring circus of happiness and popularity and success. Twitter, for all its discursive promise, was where everyone tweeted complaints at airlines and moaned about articles that had been commissioned to make people moan. The dream of a better, truer self on the internet was slipping away. Where we had once been free to be ourselves online, we were now chained to ourselves online, and this made us self-conscious. Platforms that promised connection began inducing mass alienation. The freedom promised by the internet started to seem like something whose greatest potential lay in the realm of misuse.
Even as we became increasingly sad and ugly on the internet, the mirage of the better online self continued to glimmer. As a medium, the internet is defined by a built-in performance incentive. In real life, you can walk around living life and be visible to other people. But on the internet—for anyone to see you, you have to act. You have to communicate in order to maintain an internet presence. And, because the internet’s central platforms are built around personal profiles, it can seem—first at a mechanical level, and later on as an encoded instinct—like the main purpose of this communication is to make yourself look good. Online reward mechanisms beg to substitute for offline ones, and then overtake them. This is why everyone tries to look so hot and well-travelled on Instagram; why everyone seems so smug and triumphant on Facebook; and why, on Twitter, making a righteous political statement has come to seem, for many people, like a political good in itself. The everyday madness perpetuated by the internet lay in the madness of this architecture, which positions personal identity as the centre of the universe. It’s as if we’ve been placed on a lookout tower and Facebook’s the one who’s given a pair of binoculars that makes everything look like our own reflection.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, by Jia Tolentino, Random House, 2019.]
Question: 1
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the above passage?
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the above passage?
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When inferring from a passage, focus on the direct implications of the author’s statements rather than adding your own assumptions.
Updated On: Aug 13, 2025
- The internet expanded very slowly.
- The internet can be used to cause harm.
- The internet is addictive.
- The main purpose of social media platforms is to dissuade people from showing off.
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Changpeng Zhao
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Question: 2
All the following statements are ‘truisms’, except:
All the following statements are ‘truisms’, except:
Show Hint
Truisms are universal statements—look for the option that sounds opinion-based or specific.
Updated On: Aug 13, 2025
- The internet has changed the way the world works.
- A preference for cat videos can reveal a lot about your personality.
- Like with any tool, digital technology has both advantages and disadvantages.
- Only time can tell what the future holds.
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understand what a truism is.
A truism is a statement that is obviously true and requires no further proof.
Step 2: Analyse each option.
- (A) is an obvious truth in modern times.
- (C) is a general truth about technology.
- (D) is a universally accepted statement.
- (B) is specific, subjective, and not universally true — it is not a truism.
Step 3: Identify the exception.
Option (B) stands out as it is an opinion rather than a widely accepted truth.
\[ \boxed{\text{(B) A preference for cat videos can reveal a lot about your personality}} \]
A truism is a statement that is obviously true and requires no further proof.
Step 2: Analyse each option.
- (A) is an obvious truth in modern times.
- (C) is a general truth about technology.
- (D) is a universally accepted statement.
- (B) is specific, subjective, and not universally true — it is not a truism.
Step 3: Identify the exception.
Option (B) stands out as it is an opinion rather than a widely accepted truth.
\[ \boxed{\text{(B) A preference for cat videos can reveal a lot about your personality}} \]
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Question: 3
Which of the following comes closest to the underlined sentence in the passage?
Which of the following comes closest to the underlined sentence in the passage?
Show Hint
Look for metaphors and match them to options that preserve the figurative meaning, not just literal details.
Updated On: Aug 13, 2025
- The way we use the internet says a lot about who we are.
- The internet has reduced the distance between people living across the world.
- The internet has the ability to customise what we access based on our identity.
- The internet only shows us what we don’t want to see.
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Recall the underlined sentence meaning.
The sentence compares Facebook to giving binoculars that make everything look like our own reflection — implying self-centred perception online.
Step 2: Match with the closest option.
Option (A) matches because it reflects that the internet mirrors our own identity and personality back to us.
Step 3: Eliminate wrong answers.
- (B) talks about reducing distance, not the reflection idea.
- (C) is about customization but not the metaphorical “self-reflection.”
- (D) is unrelated to the context.
\[ \boxed{\text{(A) The way we use the internet says a lot about who we are}} \]
The sentence compares Facebook to giving binoculars that make everything look like our own reflection — implying self-centred perception online.
Step 2: Match with the closest option.
Option (A) matches because it reflects that the internet mirrors our own identity and personality back to us.
Step 3: Eliminate wrong answers.
- (B) talks about reducing distance, not the reflection idea.
- (C) is about customization but not the metaphorical “self-reflection.”
- (D) is unrelated to the context.
\[ \boxed{\text{(A) The way we use the internet says a lot about who we are}} \]
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Question: 4
Which of the following is a metaphor?
Which of the following is a metaphor?
Show Hint
If all options involve figurative language, choose “all of the above” only when each clearly matches the definition.
Updated On: Aug 13, 2025
- the village of the internet
- this feverish, electric, unliveable hell
- three-ring circus of happiness and popularity and success
- all the above
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understand metaphor.
A metaphor is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is applied to something it does not literally denote, suggesting similarity.
Step 2: Evaluate options.
- (A) compares the internet to a village — metaphorical.
- (B) describes the internet as an “unliveable hell” — metaphorical.
- (C) compares social media to a “three-ring circus” — metaphorical.
Step 3: Conclusion.
All three are metaphors; hence option (D) is correct.
\[ \boxed{\text{(D) all the above}} \]
A metaphor is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is applied to something it does not literally denote, suggesting similarity.
Step 2: Evaluate options.
- (A) compares the internet to a village — metaphorical.
- (B) describes the internet as an “unliveable hell” — metaphorical.
- (C) compares social media to a “three-ring circus” — metaphorical.
Step 3: Conclusion.
All three are metaphors; hence option (D) is correct.
\[ \boxed{\text{(D) all the above}} \]
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Question: 5
Which of the following categories best describes this piece of writing?
Which of the following categories best describes this piece of writing?
Show Hint
When determining genre, check if the passage is factual, personal, and reflective — these traits often indicate a non-fiction essay.
Updated On: Aug 13, 2025
- Non-fiction essay
- Fiction
- Academic paper
- Poem
Hide Solution
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Identify writing style.
The passage is reflective, analytical, and based on the author’s personal experiences and observations about the internet.
Step 2: Match to categories.
- Fiction is ruled out — no imaginary story.
- Academic paper is ruled out — lacks formal research structure.
- Poem is ruled out — no poetic structure or rhythm.
Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct match is non-fiction essay, as it is personal yet analytical.
\[ \boxed{\text{(A) Non-fiction essay}} \]
The passage is reflective, analytical, and based on the author’s personal experiences and observations about the internet.
Step 2: Match to categories.
- Fiction is ruled out — no imaginary story.
- Academic paper is ruled out — lacks formal research structure.
- Poem is ruled out — no poetic structure or rhythm.
Step 3: Conclusion.
The correct match is non-fiction essay, as it is personal yet analytical.
\[ \boxed{\text{(A) Non-fiction essay}} \]
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