GATE 2023 CE (CE2) – Question 8
Based only on the following passage, which one of the options can be inferred with certainty?
When the congregation sang together, Apenyo would also join, though her little screams were not quite audible because of the group singing. But whenever there was a special number, trouble would begin; Apenyo would try singing along, much to the embarrassment of her mother. After two or three such mortifying Sunday evenings, the mother stopped going to church altogether until Apenyo became older and learnt to behave.
At home too, Apenyo never kept quiet; she hummed or made up silly songs to sing by herself, which annoyed her mother at times but most often made her become pensive. She was by now convinced that her daughter had inherited her love of singing from her father who had died unexpectedly away from home.
[Excerpt from These Hills Called Home by Temsula Ao]
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Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: (D) When Apenyo hummed at home, her mother tended to become thoughtful.
Explanation
Read each option against what the passage says.
- **A, "mother was embarrassed about her daughter's singing at home".** The embarrassment was in **church**, not at home. ✗
- **B, "only annoyance at home".** The passage says it annoyed her mother "at times", and "most often made her become pensive". So not only annoyance. ✗
- **C, "mother was not sure Apenyo inherited singing from her father".** The passage says the mother "was by now **convinced**" of it. ✗
- **D, "when Apenyo hummed at home, her mother tended to become thoughtful".** *Pensive* means deeply thoughtful, and this was her mother's most frequent response. ✓
Answer **D**.