Minimalist IAS
CSAT 2022 paper

UPSC CSE CSAT 2022 · Question 62 · Reading comprehension

What is the main idea of the passage?

Directions for the following 3 (three) items: Read the following two passages and answer the items that follow the passages. Your answers to these items should be based on the passages only.

Passage—1

The majority of people who fail to accumulate money sufficient for their needs, are generally, easily influenced by the opinions of others. They permit the newspapers and the gossiping neighbours to do their thinking for them. Opinions are the cheapest commodities on the earth. Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon by anyone who will accept them. If you are influenced by opinions when you reach decisions, you will not succeed in any undertaking.

CSAT 2022 · Q62

Reading comprehension Easy

What is the main idea of the passage?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) People should not be influenced by the opinions of others.

The passage links failure to being “easily influenced by the opinions of others” and warns that anyone influenced by opinions when deciding “will not succeed in any undertaking”. The main idea is to resist others’ opinions.

  • ✓ (a) The whole passage warns against letting newspapers and neighbours “do their thinking” for you.
  • ✗ (b) Money is the example, not the message; the passage never urges accumulating as much as possible.
  • ✗ (c) The author warns against being influenced by opinions; he does not forbid giving or accepting opinions altogether.
  • ✗ (d) Reverses the conditional: being influenced leads to failure, but rejecting all opinions is not said to guarantee success.

Remember · Main idea = the warning the example serves; and ‘if A then fail’ does not mean ‘if not A then succeed’.

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). ·

More on Reading comprehension

All Reading comprehension questions →