Question:medium
Instructions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Passage (D. H. Lawrence, 1885-1930, from Apocalypse, 1931): “For man, the vast marvel is to be alive. For man as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive. Whatever the unborn and the dead may know, they cannot know the beauty, the marvel of being alive in the flesh. The dead may look after the afterwards. But the magnificent here and now of life in the flesh is ours, and ours alone, and ours only for a time. We ought to dance with rapture, that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living, incarnate cosmos. I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me. That I am part of the earth my feet know perfectly, and my blood is part of the sea. My soul knows that I am part of the human race, my soul is an organic part of the great human soul, as my spirit is part of my nation. In my own very self, I am part of my family. There is nothing of me that is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of the waters.”
By the last line, “It [has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of] waters”, the author means that the mind is only:
Instructions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
Passage (D. H. Lawrence, 1885-1930, from Apocalypse, 1931): “For man, the vast marvel is to be alive. For man as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive. Whatever the unborn and the dead may know, they cannot know the beauty, the marvel of being alive in the flesh. The dead may look after the afterwards. But the magnificent here and now of life in the flesh is ours, and ours alone, and ours only for a time. We ought to dance with rapture, that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living, incarnate cosmos. I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me. That I am part of the earth my feet know perfectly, and my blood is part of the sea. My soul knows that I am part of the human race, my soul is an organic part of the great human soul, as my spirit is part of my nation. In my own very self, I am part of my family. There is nothing of me that is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of the waters.”
By the last line, “It [has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of] waters”, the author means that the mind is only:
Passage (D. H. Lawrence, 1885-1930, from Apocalypse, 1931): “For man, the vast marvel is to be alive. For man as for flower and beast and bird, the supreme triumph is to be most vividly, most perfectly alive. Whatever the unborn and the dead may know, they cannot know the beauty, the marvel of being alive in the flesh. The dead may look after the afterwards. But the magnificent here and now of life in the flesh is ours, and ours alone, and ours only for a time. We ought to dance with rapture, that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living, incarnate cosmos. I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me. That I am part of the earth my feet know perfectly, and my blood is part of the sea. My soul knows that I am part of the human race, my soul is an organic part of the great human soul, as my spirit is part of my nation. In my own very self, I am part of my family. There is nothing of me that is alone and absolute except my mind, and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of the waters.”
By the last line, “It [has no existence by itself, it is only the glitter of the sun on the surface of] waters”, the author means that the mind is only:
Show Hint
Sunlight glittering on water is literally a reflection, not a trick of the eye or magic.
Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
- a mirage
- an illusion
- magic
- a reflection
Show Solution
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Concept.
The author compares the mind to “the glitter of the sun on the surface of the waters”, a specific visual image of sunlight bouncing off water.
Step 2: Identify what this image literally describes.
Light glinting off a water surface is, physically, a reflection of the sun.
Step 3: Match this to the options.
“Mirage” and “illusion” both suggest something false or non-existent, which is stronger than the image used; “magic” is too fanciful. “Reflection” matches the literal physical process being described.
Step 4: Final Answer.
The mind is described as only a reflection, so option D is correct.
The author compares the mind to “the glitter of the sun on the surface of the waters”, a specific visual image of sunlight bouncing off water.
Step 2: Identify what this image literally describes.
Light glinting off a water surface is, physically, a reflection of the sun.
Step 3: Match this to the options.
“Mirage” and “illusion” both suggest something false or non-existent, which is stronger than the image used; “magic” is too fanciful. “Reflection” matches the literal physical process being described.
Step 4: Final Answer.
The mind is described as only a reflection, so option D is correct.
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Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
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