Comprehension
The call of self-expression turned the village of the internet into a city, which expanded at time-lapse speed, social connections bristling like neurons in every direction. At twelve, I was writing five hundred words a day on a public LiveJournal. By twenty-five, my job was to write things that would attract, ideally, a hundred thousand strangers per post. Now I’m thirty, and most of my life is inextricable from the internet, and its mazes of incessant forced connection—this feverish, electric, unliveable hell. The curdling of the social internet happened slowly and then all at once. The tipping point, I’d guess, was around 2012. People were losing excitement about the internet, starting to articulate a set of new truisms. Facebook had become tedious, trivial, exhausting. Instagram seemed better, but would soon reveal its underlying function as a three-ring circus of happiness and popularity and success. Twitter, for all its discursive promise, was where everyone tweeted complaints at airlines and moaned about articles that had been commissioned to make people moan. The dream of a better, truer self on the internet was slipping away. Where we had once been free to be ourselves online, we were now chained to ourselves online, and this made us self-conscious. Platforms that promised connection began inducing mass alienation. The freedom promised by the internet started to seem like something whose greatest potential lay in the realm of misuse.
Even as we became increasingly sad and ugly on the internet, the mirage of the better online self continued to glimmer. As a medium, the internet is defined by a built-in performance incentive. In real life, you can walk around living life and be visible to other people. But on the internet—for anyone to see you, you have to act. You have to communicate in order to maintain an internet presence. And, because the internet’s central platforms are built around personal profiles, it can seem—first at a mechanical level, and later on as an encoded instinct—like the main purpose of this communication is to make yourself look good. Online reward mechanisms beg to substitute for offline ones, and then overtake them. This is why everyone tries to look so hot and well-travelled on Instagram; why everyone seems so smug and triumphant on Facebook; and why, on Twitter, making a righteous political statement has come to seem, for many people, like a political good in itself. The everyday madness perpetuated by the internet is the madness of this architecture, which positions personal identity as the centre of the universe. It’s as if we’ve been placed on a lookout that oversees the entire world and given a pair of binoculars that makes everything look like our own reflection.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, by Jia Tolentino, Random House, 2019.]
Even as we became increasingly sad and ugly on the internet, the mirage of the better online self continued to glimmer. As a medium, the internet is defined by a built-in performance incentive. In real life, you can walk around living life and be visible to other people. But on the internet—for anyone to see you, you have to act. You have to communicate in order to maintain an internet presence. And, because the internet’s central platforms are built around personal profiles, it can seem—first at a mechanical level, and later on as an encoded instinct—like the main purpose of this communication is to make yourself look good. Online reward mechanisms beg to substitute for offline ones, and then overtake them. This is why everyone tries to look so hot and well-travelled on Instagram; why everyone seems so smug and triumphant on Facebook; and why, on Twitter, making a righteous political statement has come to seem, for many people, like a political good in itself. The everyday madness perpetuated by the internet is the madness of this architecture, which positions personal identity as the centre of the universe. It’s as if we’ve been placed on a lookout that oversees the entire world and given a pair of binoculars that makes everything look like our own reflection.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, by Jia Tolentino, Random House, 2019.]
Question: 1
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the above passage?
Which of the following statements can be inferred from the above passage?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- The internet expanded very slowly
- The internet can be used to cause harm
- The internet is addictive
- The main purpose of social media platforms is to dissuade people from showing off
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The Correct Option is B
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The correct option is (B):The internet can be used to cause harm
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The question asks which statement can be inferred from the passage. Let's test each option against what the passage actually says.
- The internet expanded very slowly: This is contradicted directly by the passage, which describes the internet expanding 'at time-lapse speed,' meaning very fast, not slowly.
- The internet can be used to cause harm: This is supported by the passage, which states that 'the freedom promised by the internet started to seem like something whose greatest potential lay in the realm of misuse.' Describing its 'greatest potential' as being in 'misuse' is a direct statement that the internet can be used harmfully.
- The internet is addictive: The passage does describe compulsive-feeling behaviour, like writing for large audiences and feeling 'chained' to an online self, but it never frames this in terms of addiction specifically; its focus is on performance and self-consciousness, not on addictive use as such, so this is a weaker inference than option (B).
- The main purpose of social media platforms is to dissuade people from showing off: This is the opposite of what the passage argues. It says platforms encourage people to 'look so hot and well-travelled,' 'smug and triumphant,' which is showing off, not discouraging it.
Of the four, only the second option is both stated in the passage's own words and consistent with its overall argument about the internet's darker potential.
Therefore, the correct answer is the internet can be used to cause harm.
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Question: 2
All the following statements are ‘truisms’, except:
All the following statements are ‘truisms’, except:
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- The internet has changed the way the world works.
- A preference for cat videos can reveal a lot about your personality.
- Like with any tool, digital technology has both advantages and disadvantages.
- Only time can tell what the future holds.
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The Correct Option is B
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The correct option is (B):A preference for cat videos can reveal a lot about your personality.
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The question asks which of the four statements is NOT a 'truism,' a term that means an obviously true, often repeated statement that nobody would seriously dispute. Let's weigh each option against that definition.
- The internet has changed the way the world works: This is a broad, widely accepted, almost cliched claim that fits the definition of a truism, a statement so general and agreed-upon that it carries little specific information.
- A preference for cat videos can reveal a lot about your personality: This is not a truism. It is a specific, debatable, almost playful claim rather than a broad, self-evident one; unlike the other three options, it makes a pointed assertion that most people would not simply nod along to as an obvious truth.
- Like with any tool, digital technology has both advantages and disadvantages: This is a classic truism, a balanced, safe statement that applies to almost any technology and says little that is specific or contestable.
- Only time can tell what the future holds: This is also a standard truism, a familiar, hard-to-disagree-with phrase used to hedge against uncertainty.
Three of the four options are broad, safe, widely repeated statements, the very definition of a truism, while the option about cat videos and personality is a specific, quirky claim that stands out as the exception.
Therefore, the correct answer is a preference for cat videos can reveal a lot about your personality.
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Question: 3
Which of the following comes closest to the underlined sentence in the passage?
Which of the following comes closest to the underlined sentence in the passage?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- The way we use the internet says a lot about who we are.
- The internet has reduced the distance between people living across the world.
- The internet has the ability to customise what we access based on our identity.
- The internet only shows us what we don’t want to see.
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The Correct Option is C
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The correct option is (C):The internet has the ability to customise what we access based on our identity.
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The question asks which option comes closest to the meaning of the passage's closing, underlined sentence, about being placed on a lookout with binoculars that make 'everything look like our own reflection.' Let's test each option against that image.
- The way we use the internet says a lot about who we are: This is a plausible general statement, but it describes what our internet use reveals about us, whereas the binoculars image is about what the internet shows back to us, a subtle but real difference in direction.
- The internet has reduced the distance between people living across the world: This describes connectivity across geography, which is not what the binoculars and reflection image is about; that image is concerned with self-focus, not physical distance between people.
- The internet has the ability to customise what we access based on our identity: This matches the image closely. Binoculars that make 'everything look like our own reflection' describes a system that shows the viewer versions of themselves wherever they look, which is exactly what identity-based customisation and personalised feeds do, filtering and shaping content around who the user already is.
- The internet only shows us what we don't want to see: This is the opposite of the image in the passage, which is about the internet reflecting the self back to the user, not showing unwanted content.
The binoculars-and-reflection image is a metaphor for a personalised, self-referential internet experience, which is best captured by the idea of the internet customising what we see based on our own identity.
Therefore, the correct answer is the internet has the ability to customise what we access based on our identity.
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Question: 4
Which of the following is a metaphor?
Which of the following is a metaphor?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- the village of the internet
- this feverish, electric, unliveable hell
- three-ring circus of happiness and popularity and success
- all the above
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The Correct Option is D
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The correct option is (D):all the above
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The question asks which of the listed phrases is a metaphor, a figure of speech that describes one thing directly as another, without using 'like' or 'as.' Let's check each option.
- the village of the internet: This calls the internet a 'village,' directly equating a digital space with a small, close-knit settlement, without using 'like' or 'as.' This is a metaphor.
- this feverish, electric, unliveable hell: This calls the experience of being online 'hell,' a direct comparison to a place of suffering, again without 'like' or 'as.' This is also a metaphor.
- three-ring circus of happiness and popularity and success: This calls social media a 'circus,' directly describing it as a chaotic, performative spectacle, once more without 'like' or 'as.' This is a metaphor as well.
- all the above: Since each of the three phrases individually fits the definition of a metaphor, direct comparison without 'like' or 'as,' this combined option is correct.
Village, hell, and circus are each used to describe the internet or online life directly, as if the internet actually were those things, which is the defining feature of a metaphor, so all three examples qualify.
Therefore, the correct answer is all the above.
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Question: 5
Which of the following categories best describes this piece of writing?
Which of the following categories best describes this piece of writing?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- Non-fiction essay
- Fiction
- Academic paper
- Poem
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The Correct Option is A
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The correct option is (A):Non-fiction essay
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The question asks which category best describes this piece of writing. Let's check each option against the passage's style, source and content.
- Non-fiction essay: This matches the passage. It is a first-person reflective piece, drawing on the author's own life and observations to make a broader argument about the internet, and it is explicitly credited as an extract from Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino, a nonfiction essay collection.
- Fiction: The passage presents the author's own experiences and opinions as factual reflection, not as an invented story with characters and plot, so it does not fit the category of fiction.
- Academic paper: The passage lacks the formal structure, citations and detached, analytical tone typical of academic writing; it is personal and essayistic rather than a scholarly paper.
- Poem: The passage is written in prose paragraphs with ordinary sentence and paragraph structure, not in verse, so it does not fit the category of a poem.
Its first-person voice, personal history and reflective argument, combined with its sourcing from a published essay collection, place it clearly in the nonfiction essay category.
Therefore, the correct answer is non-fiction essay.
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Top CLAT Questions
- In the realm of contemporary literature, the interplay between character and setting is a nuanced dance that shapes the narrative’s essence. The setting, often described with painstaking detail, becomes more than a backdrop; it becomes a character, influencing the plot and character development.
Consider, for instance, the barren expanse of the desert in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. The arid landscape mirrors the sense of isolation felt by the protagonist, Gogol, as he navigates his identity crisis in a foreign land. The relentless sun and vast sands are not mere descriptions; they are the silent witnesses to his inner turmoil.
On the other end of the literary spectrum, there is Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. The lush, vibrant Kerala backwaters are not just the setting; they are a character woven into the fabric of the story. The teeming, humid landscape reflects the complex web of human relationships and secrets that unravel in the narrative. This interplay is not confined to contemporary literature alone. In Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy Macbeth, the eerie and foreboding setting of the Scottish moors casts a dark shadow over the characters’ actions. The moors, shrouded in mist and mystery, serve as an ever-present omen of the impending tragedy. - The crisis of justice that is the subject matter of discussion in the media today is in fact the crisis of “justice for the middle class”. The main difference between India and the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries is that whereas the middle class in these countries has reasonable access to justice, in India it does not. A vocal and powerful middle class has emerged in India since 1991. It is demanding reasonable access to justice. Much of the judicial reform effort will help meet this demand…
The question of justice for the poor is, however, an altogether different challenge. No country in the world has been able to secure justice for the poor. Most of the jails of the richest countries are filled with the poorest. The “masses” are more often victims of the criminal justice system than of crime. In India as well, jails are almost exclusively filled with the poor. The civil justice system is hardly accessible to them. They are often victimised by lawyers, touts and court staff. They are docket-excluded, a new type of untouchability. The language and the logic—and the colonial and feudal culture—of the judicial system are alien to them. It rarely takes cognisance of their needs and interests.
Their main concern, therefore, is to escape the attention of the justice system, criminal and civil. A landless Dalit person in the interior of Madhya Pradesh once gave me an insightful definition of a court from the perspective of the masses: “A court is a place where you are forcibly taken by the police to be punished; no one goes to a court.” In contrast, many lawyers and judges colloquially define a court as “a temple of justice where rights are protected”.
These sharply divergent visions mean that justice for one section is often injustice for another. Protecting the livelihood of traditional taxi and auto drivers from predatory pricing by corporate app-based taxi providers by imaginatively using the available tools of law to delay their incursion would be seen by the rich and by sections of the middle class as a failure of the judicial system, and possibly as also resulting in a downgrading of the “ease of doing business” measure. However, the masses would see such a judicial intervention as strong evidence of a good justice system. Although the conflict over competing visions of the nation and conflicting demands from social and economic segments have confined judicial reform of judicial administration mainly to “neutral” areas such as process reform, procedural law, technology, planning and court and case management, judge strength, and the workload of judges, there has been considerable improvement in these areas, and the judicial system has improved its performance.
[Extracted, with edits, from “Justice and the Two Ideas of India”, by G. Mohan Gopal, Frontline] - Everything she wanted was here, at Carignano, in Kasauli. Here, on the ridge of the mountain, in this quiet house. It was the place, and the time of life, that she had wanted and prepared for all her life-as she realized on the first day at Carignano, with a great, cool flowering of relief - and at last she had it. She wanted no one and nothing else. Whatever else came, or happened here, would be an unwelcome intrusion and distraction. This she tried to convey to the plodding postman with a cold and piercing stare from the height of the ridge onto his honest bull back. Unfortunately, he did not look up at her on the hilltop but stared stolidly down at the dust piling onto his shoes as he plodded on. A bullock-man, an oafish ox, she thought bitterly. She stepped backwards into the garden and the wind suddenly billowed up and threw the pine branches about as though to curtain her. She was grey, tall and thin and her silk sari made a sweeping, shivering sound and she fancied she could merge with the pine trees and be mistaken for one. To be a tree, no more and no less, was all she was prepared to undertake.
What pleased and satisfied her so, here at Carignano, was its barrenness. This was the chief virtue of all Kasauli of course-its starkness. It had rocks, it had pines, it had light and air. In every direction there was a sweeping view - to the north, of the mountains, to the south, of the plains. Occasionally an eagle swam through this clear unobstructed mass of light and air, that was all. And Carignano, her home on the ridge, had no more than that. Why should it? The sun shone on its white walls. Its windows were open the ones facing north opened on to the blue waves of the Himalayas flowing out and up to the line of ice and snow sketched upon the sky, while those that faced south looked down the plunging cliff to the plain stretching out, flat and sere to the blurred horizon.
Yes, there were some apricot trees close to the house. There were clumps of iris that had finished blooming. There was the kitchen with a wing of smoke lifting out of its chimney and a stack of wood outside its door. But these were incidental, almost unimportant.
[Extracted, with edits and revisions, from “Fire on the Mountain” by Anita Desai] - English literature is a vast and diverse field that has left an indelible mark on the world of letters. From the eloquent plays of William Shakespeare to the complex novels of Jane Austen and the profound poetry of William Wordsworth, English literature offers a window into the human experience. One of the luminaries of English literature is William Shakespeare, often hailed as the greatest playwright in the history of English language. His works, including Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet, are celebrated for their exploration of human nature, love, ambition, and tragedy. His characters, such as the tormented Hamlet and the star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, continue to captivate readers and audiences worldwide.
The 19th century ushered in a new era of literary giants. Jane Austen’s novels, such as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, provide incisive social commentary through the lens of wit and romance. Austen’s heroines, like Elizabeth Bennet and Elinor Dashwood, remain beloved literary figures known for their intelligence and resilience. The Romantic era brought forth poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who celebrated * 8 UG the beauty of nature and the emotional intensity of the individual. Wordsworth’s ‘‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’’ and Coleridge’s ‘‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’’ are testament to the power of the written words to evoke profound emotions and imagery. Moving towards 20th century, English literature continued to evolve. Virginia Woolf’s ground-breaking novel Mrs. Dalloway explored the inner thoughts and lives of its characters with a modernist narrative style. Dystopian visions, as seen in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four provided stark warnings about the dangers of totalitarianism and the erosion of individual freedom.
Today, English literature is a global phenomenon, transcending borders and languages. Indian authors like Arundhati Roy, with her novel The God of Small Things, have won prestigious international literary awards. The book not only explores intricate family dynamics but also delves into the broader socio-political landscape of India. In summary, English literature is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the written word. It encompasses an array of authors, themes, and styles that continue to captivate and inspire readers across the world. - On the evening of the 10th, General Dyer arrived at Amritsar, and the Deputy-Commissioner handed over the civil power to him. He issued a proclamation by word of mouth that no meetings should be held. Two days later, after there had been no sort of riot, nor murder, General Dyer heard that a meeting was to be held at the Jallianwala Bagh. He proceeded there with about fifty troops, half British, half Indian, and a certain number of Ghurkas, armed with their kukris. The Jallianwala Bagh is an open space, half a mile square, which has one entry wide enough for three persons. The troops got in and lined up on a mound of debris. The walls, seven feet high, and the surrounding houses enclosed the people. There were, too, three alleys through which the people might have been able to pass. Within thirty seconds of the troops getting in, General Dyer gave orders to fire, and the crowd of people, estimated at anything from 5,000 to 20,000, who were sitting on the ground peacefully listening to the mob oratory, were fired on. The result of the troops’ fire into the mass of people we do not know. But we do know that Dyer’s own estimate of the casualties resulting from ten minutes continual individual firing, was 400 to 500 killed and 1,500 wounded. The people were not able to escape. They were people who had not offered any violence and who had not been warned. These people were shot down. After ten minutes, the ammunition was exhausted and the troops marched off, and they left 1,500 wounded there. There were men lying there for two days, dying of thirst, eating the ground, bleeding to death and nobody to look after them. Those who lived nearby came and carried away some of the wounded from the heap of dead and dying, but the unfortunate country people died there miserably of their wounds. This is what is done in 1919 in British India…
Centuries hence you will find Indian children brought up to this spot, just as they visit now the Cawnpore Well, and you can imagine the feelings of these Indians for generations over this terrible business.
[Col. Wedgwood, MP, speaking in the British Parliament, 22 December 1919]
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