Example 11
Read the passage below and answer the 3 associated questions:
[XAT 2020]
Once, during a concert of cathedral organ music, as I sat getting gooseflesh amid that tsunami of sound, I was struck with a thought: for a medieval peasant, this must have been the loudest human-made sound they ever experienced, awe-inspiring in now-unimaginable ways. No wonder they signed up for the religion being proffered. And now we are constantly pummeled with sounds that dwarf quaint organs. Once, hunter-gatherers might chance upon honey from a beehive and thus briefly satisfy a hardwired food craving. And now we have hundreds of carefully designed commercial foods that supply a burst of sensation unmatched by some lowly natural food. Once, we had lives that, amid considerable privation, also offered numerous subtle, hard-won pleasures. And now we have drugs that cause spasms of pleasure and dopamine release a thousand fold higher than anything stimulated in our old drug-free world.
An emptiness comes from this combination of over-the-top non-natural sources of reward and the inevitability of habituation; this is because unnaturally strong explosions of synthetic experience and sensation and pleasure evoke unnaturally strong degrees of habituation. This has two consequences. First, soon we barely notice the fleeting whispers of pleasure caused by leaves in autumn, or by the lingering glance of the right person, or by the promise of reward following a difficult, worthy task. And the other consequence is that we eventually habituate to even those artificial deluges of intensity. If we were designed by engineers, as we consumed more, we’d desire less. But our frequent human tragedy is that the more we consume, the hungrier we get. More and faster and stronger. What was an unexpected pleasure yesterday is what we feel entitled to today, and what won’t be enough tomorrow.
Question 1 of 3
Which of the following options BEST reflects the author’s understanding of human perception of pleasure?
(1) Pleasure comes from whatever we are exposed to for the first time.
(2) Pleasure comes from what appears to be a valuable discovery or invention.
(3) Pleasure comes from what we are accustomed to.
(4) Pleasure comes from what we are deprived of.
(5) Pleasure comes from what is perceived to be extraordinary.
Solution
In this passage, the author contrasts the easy access to sources of pleasure today. These sources are often artificial, provide a high intensity of pleasure, and are plentiful. However, the author feels that the very intensity and availability reduces the pleasure we feel from them (unnaturally strong explosions of synthetic experience and sensation and pleasure evoke unnaturally strong degrees of habituation). As we become habituated, we get less and less pleasure from these sources.
Therefore, we can infer that pleasure comes from something which is not commonly available. We cannot infer that pleasure has to come from natural sources, as we know that artificial stimulants provide a much greater degree of pleasure.
The option which is closest to uncommonly is option (5) – extraordinary suggests a similar meaning.
Option (1) is not correct – we can feel pleasure from the same thing, as long as it is not easily available (this would lead to habituation).
Options (2) and (4) can be eliminated in favour of option (5), as these are special cases of uncommon or extraordinary. Valuable might simply mean expensive, which might reduce access. Similarly, we would find something to be uncommon if we are deprived of it. But there are other ways to make something extraordinary, and hence, we can eliminate these two options.
Option (3) is factually incorrect, as accustomed objects will quickly lead to habituation.
Thus, we can select option (5) as the most suitable choice.
Answer: (5) Pleasure comes from what is perceived to be extraordinary.
Question 2 of 3
Going by the author, which of the following options BEST answers the question “how can one sustain the pleasure derived from any experience?"
(1) Periodic displeasure with synthetic experiences leads to sustaining pleasure.
(2) Awareness of a habituation moment helps sustain pleasure.
(3) The closer the experience is to nature, the more sustainable it is.
(4) Training to appreciate sweet whispers and fleeting moments of joy to sustain pleasure.
(5) The harder to replicate, the more sustainable the pleasure from that experience.
Solution
Similar to the previous question, sustaining (continuing to extend ) the pleasure from something would require the item to be uncommon. Therefore, we again need to look for an option suggesting uncommon. This is mentioned in option (5), which should be the correct choice.
Option (1) is incorrect – we are concerned with objects which are not easily available. We need not mix displeasure with pleasure.
Option (2) would also not be sufficient, as awareness of pleasure would not prevent habituation (getting used to the pleasure). Therefore, we can eliminate this option as well.
Option (3) is factually incorrect, as we know that natural sources provide a lower intensity of pleasure than artificial sources (commercial foods that supply a burst of sensation unmatched by some lowly natural food... drugs that cause spasms of pleasure and dopamine release a thousand fold higher). Therefore, we will not get any pleasure from natural sources unless we prevent habituation from artificial sources. This is the first consequence of habituation, mentioned in the second paragraph.
Option (4) also speaks about natural sources of pleasure, and can be eliminated with the same reasoning.
Therefore, option (5) is the correct choice.
Answer: (5) The harder to replicate, the more sustainable the pleasure from that experience.
Question 3 of 3
Which of the following options BEST describes “emptiness” as described in the passage?
(1) A feeling, evoked by the carefully designed commercial foods, alluring us to them.
(2) The inevitability of habituation that one gets from repeated consumption of manmade foods or drugs.
(3) A feeling of absence of sources of pleasure when extant sources are in abundance.
(4) Yearning for newer sources of pleasure when extant sources are in abundance.
(5) A feeling of weariness around extant sources of pleasure that are in abundance.
Solution
The author tells us that emptiness comes from a combination of over-the-top non-natural sources of reward and the inevitability of habituation. Therefore, we can infer that constant access to unnatural or artificial sources of pleasure (high intensity sources) causes emptiness because we are unable to feel pleasure any more.
This is explained best in option (3).
This is preferable to option (5), as absence of...pleasure is preferable to weariness (meaning tiredness). Similarly, option (4) is speaking about yearning (craving, desire) does not convey emptiness either. Thus, options (4) and (5) can be eliminated.
Option (1) mentions an artificial source, but not constant access to the source.
Option (2) has part of the cause, habituation, but does not explain that habituation leads to emptiness. It seems to suggest that habituation is emptiness, which is not correct.
Therefore, we can eliminate these options and select option (3).
Answer: (3) A feeling of absence of sources of pleasure when extant sources are in abundance.