The author of the passage is against

Passage—2

If presents bring less thrill now that we are grown up, perhaps it is because we have too much already; or perhaps it is because we have lost the fullness of the joy of giving, and with it the fullness of the joy of receiving. Children’s fears are poignant, their miseries are acute, but they do not look too forward nor too far backward. Their joys are clear and complete, because they have not yet learnt always to add ‘but’ to every proposition. Perhaps we are too cautious, too anxious, too sceptical. Perhaps some of our cares would shrink if we thought less about them and entered with more single-minded enjoyment into the happiness that come our way.

CSAT 2022 · Q53

Reading comprehension Medium

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) worrying too much about the past and future

Children’s joys are complete because they “do not look too forward nor too far backward”, and the author feels our cares would shrink “if we thought less about them”. He is against excessive worry about the past and the future.

✓ (a) The contrast with children, who “do not look too forward nor too far backward”, and the regret that we are “too cautious, too anxious, too sceptical” show what he opposes.
✗ (b) Presents are only the opening example; thinking about them is never criticised.
✗ (c) Feeling less thrilled is the puzzle the author explores, not the attitude he argues against; ‘new things’ are not mentioned.
✗ (d) Losing the fullness of the joy of giving is one tentative explanation for the lesser thrill, not what the passage as a whole argues against.

Remember · For ‘author is against’, read the advice at the end (think less, worry less); it names what he opposes.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

The author of the passage is against

Passage—2

CSAT 2022 · Q53

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