Multiple choice

The author uses the sentence, 'You might like to chew gum, but a cow will still prefer to chew the cud' in order to?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

For a creative writer, the most important part of the entire process from conception to fructification starts even before conception itself. Just as the human embryo needs a certain set of favorable circumstances before it can even begin to exist, the writer’s muse requires inspiration. Once inspiration strikes, and it can sometimes happen in the middle of sleep, the next step involves holding on to the idea lest it be lost in the rough house of everyday life. This process involves allowing the idea to ferment and hopefully turn into a culture that will deliver heady literary wine. The writer needs to let his subconscious work on the germ, knead it, tweak it, and evaluate it. Many ideas are stillborn, many more are worthy, and still the author fails to take them to the logical conclusion. Only a few survive the tumult and make it to the next stage which involves the channelizing of the idea towards the building up of an atom around the nucleus. While the author needs to nurture the idea, woe betides the one who gets too attached to it, especially if his livelihood depends on it. You might like to chew gum, but a cow will still prefer to chew the cud.

  1. Stress the importance of varying tastes and preferences.

  2. Emphasize that the other side of the coin is more important than the viewed side.

  3. Failure is more likely than success in a literary venture.

  4. Elucidate that animals and humans have different needs.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

(1) Incorrect. The simile is a reference to an author getting too attached to his idea. (2) Correct. The sentence is an oblique reference to the writer's obligation to cater to his readers. Writing what the readers would prefer to read is more important than writing to please self. (3) Incorrect. Cannot be inferred. (4) Incorrect. The comparison is only to highlight the fact that what works for one might not work for the other. (5) Incorrect. The comparison is implicit that a cow would not prefer to chew gum. A writer has to write what his readers want to read, not what he, the writer, wants to read.

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