UPSC Prelims 2026 · CSAT
Question 61: Reading Comprehension
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1.Radical action can also be attributed to mild surrender where one acts against societal expectations.
- 2.Submitting to one’s limitations, given the effect of age and other factors, ought not to be conflated with laziness.
- 3.‘Leading man’ usually refers to one who plays the lead role in a movie; in this instance the implication is that Hugh Grant is performing the role of not an action hero, but that of a resting one!
Select the answer using the code given below.
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).
All three statements follow the passage. Statement 1: the writer treats the public nap as a quiet act of defiance and frames it as surrender, so a mild surrender can be radical because it defies social expectations. Statement 2: the writer separates this surrender from idleness; it is giving in to one's limits, and the subject is a 64-year-old, so accepting limits is not laziness. Statement 3: 'leading man' normally means a film's star, and the writer twists it so that Grant is the star of repose instead of an action hero.
- 1. The nap is framed as a quiet act of defiance, a surrender that goes against expectations.
- 2. The surrender is an acceptance of limits, which the writer distinguishes from idleness.
- 3. The writer twists 'leading man' so that Grant stars as repose, not as an action hero.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (b) and (d) go: each of them leaves 1 out.
What you needed to know: The nap is framed as a quiet act of defiance, a surrender that goes against expectations.
- Then, if you were sure statement 3 is correct, (a) goes: it leaves 3 out.
What you needed to know: The writer twists 'leading man' so that Grant stars as repose, not as an action hero.
Only (c) is left. You didn’t need statement 2.
This follows UPSC’s provisional key; the final key could change it.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Wrong: omits 3, which is a fair reading of the wordplay.
- (b) Wrong: omits 1, which the passage supports.
- (c) Right: all three are supported.
- (d) Wrong: 1 and 2 are also supported.
Only the provisional key (27 May 2026) was found; the final key replaces it when found.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.