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Question:

Directions: Read the short passages given below and answer the question that follows it.

According to McNeill, a Brahmin priest was expected to be able to recite at least one of the Vedas. The practice was essential for several centuries when the Vedas had not yet been written down. It must have had a selective effect, since priests would have been recruited from those able or willing to memorize long passages. It must have helped in the dissemination of the work, since a memorized passage can be duplicated many times.

Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?

Explanation:

(b) is the correct answer choice
Apparently McNeill is a Westerner who is doing some sort of research on the role of the Brahmin priest in ancient Indian society. From the way his thoughts are evolving in the passage (recite–memorize– dissemination–duplicated), McNeill can only understand the role of a Vedic priest by drawing a direct analogy between the Vedic priest, whom he does not understand except superficially, and a recorded audio casette, which is an essential and ubiquitous item in McNeill’s world.

(a) and (d) are more or less stated in the passage, so there is no inference involved. ‘... practice of reciting Vedas was essential ...’ means that it was an obligation and ‘... when the Vedas had not yet been written down ...’ means Vedic hymns had not been scripted.
(c) also is less of an inference and more of a surmise.

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