Question

What sort of people read for amusement?

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks to identify the type of people who, according to the provided passage, read for the sole purpose of amusement.
Step 2: Locating the Information in the Passage:
To answer this, we need to scan the passage for keywords like "amusement" and see who is associated with this type of reading. The second sentence provides a direct answer.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The passage explicitly states: "Half-educated persons read for amusement, and are not to be blamed for it; they are incapable of appreciating the deeper qualities that belong to a really great literature."
This sentence directly links "half-educated persons" with reading for "amusement".
Step 4: Final Answer:
Based on the text, the sort of people who read for amusement are half-educated persons.

Answer 2

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks what kind of reading material a truly educated and disciplined person seeks, according to the passage's description.
Step 2: Locating the Information in the Passage:
The passage describes the behavior of a disciplined reader who has moved beyond reading for mere amusement. This description reveals what they value in a book.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The passage states that once a person has formed the habit of discipline, "He will then impatiently throw down any book from which he cannot obtain intellectual food, any book that does not make an appeal to the higher emotions and to his intellect."
This implies that the educated person actively seeks out books that offer these qualities: 'intellectual food' and an appeal to 'higher emotions and intellect'.
Step 4: Final Answer:
A truly educated person reads books that provide intellectual food and make an appeal to the higher emotions and to his intellect.

Answer 3

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
This question asks for the negative consequences or harmful outcomes of habitually reading only for entertainment, as described in the passage.
Step 2: Locating the Information in the Passage:
The last part of the passage is dedicated to explaining the dangers of this habit, using strong comparisons.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The passage compares the habit to "wine-drinking or opium-smoking" and a "narcotic". It then lists the specific ill effects:
1. It "eventually results in destroying all capacity for thought."
2. It gives "exercise only to the surface parts of the mind."
3. It leaves "the deeper springs of feeling and the higher faculties of perception unemployed."
Step 4: Final Answer:
The ill effects mentioned are the destruction of the capacity for thought, exercising only the superficial mind, and neglecting the deeper feelings and perceptive faculties.

Answer 4

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the specific time or stage in life when a person should begin the training for disciplined reading, according to the author.
Step 2: Locating the Information in the Passage:
The passage gives advice specifically to a young person undergoing university training.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The text states: "But a young man who has passed through a course of university training should discipline himself at an early day never to read for mere amusement."
The phrase "at an early day" clearly indicates the recommended time to start this discipline.
Step 4: Final Answer:
According to the passage, one should train oneself for reading the right kind of books at an early day.

Answer 5

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
This is a vocabulary-in-context question. It asks for the meaning of the metaphorical phrase 'intellectual food' as it is used in the passage.
Step 2: Analyzing the Context:
The passage contrasts 'intellectual food' with reading for 'mere amusement'. An educated person is said to throw down any book from which he cannot obtain this 'food'. This sets up a clear distinction between substantial, nourishing content and light, superficial content.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Just as physical food provides nourishment for the body, 'intellectual food' provides nourishment for the mind (the intellect). This means the content should be thought-provoking, offer new ideas, challenge existing beliefs, and engage the higher faculties of the brain. It is the substance that allows the mind to grow and be exercised meaningfully.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The phrase 'intellectual food' means content that is mentally nourishing and stimulating, providing substance for thought and engaging the higher emotions and intellect.

Answer 6

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks for the antonym (a word with the opposite meaning) of the word 'discipline'.
Step 2: Analyzing the Meaning of 'Discipline' in Context:
In the passage, 'discipline' refers to self-control, training, and a structured habit of choosing intellectually stimulating books. It implies order and regulation of one's reading habits.
Step 3: Finding the Opposite:
The direct opposite of control and order is a lack of control and order. The most common antonym for discipline is formed by adding the prefix 'in-', which negates the root word.
Therefore, the opposite is 'indiscipline'. Other possible words, depending on the context, could be 'chaos', 'disorder', or 'negligence'. However, 'indiscipline' is the most precise antonym.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The opposite word of 'discipline' is indiscipline.

Answer 7

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks to find a word within the provided passage that is a synonym or has the closest meaning to 'entertainment'.
Step 2: Scanning the Passage for Synonyms:
We need to read through the passage and look for a word that describes the act of occupying oneself in an enjoyable or pleasant way, which is the core meaning of 'entertainment'.
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The passage repeatedly uses the phrase "read for mere amusement". 'Amusement' is defined as the state or experience of finding something funny or entertaining. The author uses it to describe reading that is done simply to pass the time pleasantly, without any deeper intellectual goal. This aligns perfectly with the common meaning of 'entertainment'.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The word in the passage nearest in meaning to 'entertainment' is amusement.