XAT 2019 — VARC Question 3
In 1942, the French writer Albert Camus composed an essay, ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’. It draws on the Greek fable of a man condemned to roll a rock up a mountain only to have it roll back down under its own weight, a ______ that lasts for eternity. Camus argues that this image ______ the human condition in a world where we can no longer make sense of events; but instead of committing suicide, we should ______ ourselves to this ‘elusive feeling of absurdity’ and bear it as best we can. In this sense, Sisyphus is the ideal hero.
Consider the following words:
- surrender
- choice
- symbolises
- quandary
- attune
- option
- reconcile
- depicts
Study the first sentence and then identify from among the options given the closest antonym of the highlighted word in the second sentence
It’s conventional wisdom that procreation between first cousins is unhealthy. But what are the actual genetic risks?
Answer & solution
unfounded
- B
relative
- C
tangible
- D
hard
- E
abstract
‘Actual’ means ‘in fact’ or ‘real’. Thus ‘unfounded’ which means ‘not based on fact’ is the correct antonym of ‘actual’ in the given sentence. (‘Abstract’ means ‘having no reference to material objects’ and is thus incorrect in the given sentence).
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.