Which one of the following habits is found more often in good people?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Intentional mixing up of truth with the false
Even the most truthful people tell 'semantic lies': their words carry 'some measure of falsehood, more or less deliberate'. So the habit found in good people is a knowing blend of truth with falsehood — not outright falsification or concealment.
- ✗ (a) Mixing does happen, but the passage adds that it is 'more or less deliberate'; this option leaves out the intent that (b) captures.
- ✓ (b) Semantic lies contain 'some measure of falsehood, more or less deliberate' — an intentional mixing of truth with falsehood.
- ✗ (c) Falsifying facts is outright lying, which the passage says most people consider wrong.
- ✗ (d) Complete concealment is not mentioned; semantic lies carry only 'some measure' of falsehood.
Remember · Match every qualifier in the text — here 'some measure' (mixing, not total) and 'deliberate' (intentional).
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·