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UPSC CSE CSAT 2017 · Question 7 · Reading comprehension

The main idea of the passage is that

Passage—7

The very first lesson that should be taught to us when we are old enough to understand it, is that complete freedom from the obligation to work is unnatural, and ought to be illegal, as we can escape our share of the burden of work only by throwing it on someone else’s shoulders. Nature ordains that the human race shall perish of famine if it stops working. We cannot escape from this tyranny. The question we have to settle is how much leisure we can afford to allow ourselves.

CSAT 2017 · Q7

Reading comprehension Easy

The main idea of the passage is that

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) it is essential for human beings to work

The passage calls complete freedom from work unnatural, says that escaping work only throws the burden on someone else, and warns that mankind would starve if it stopped working. Its main idea is that work is essential for human beings.

  • ✓ (a) Every sentence leads here: freedom from work is 'unnatural', and the human race 'shall perish of famine' if it stops working.
  • ✗ (b) The closing line asks how much leisure we can afford, but only as a follow-up to the main point that work cannot be escaped.
  • ✗ (c) 'Tyranny' describes nature's rule that we must work; it is a supporting phrase, not the main idea.
  • ✗ (d) Our 'understanding' of work is not the subject; the passage asserts the necessity of work itself.

Remember · Main idea = the claim most sentences support. A striking word from the passage, or its closing question, is rarely the main idea by itself.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

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