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Reading Comprehension

GATE CSE 2025 Set 1 · Q6

MCQ2 marksEasy

Time

“I put the brown paper in my pocket along with the chalks, and possibly other things. I suppose every one must have reflected how primeval and how poetical are the things that one carries in one’s pocket: the pocket-knife, for instance the type of all human tools, the infant of the sword. Once I planned to write a book of poems entirely about the things in my pocket. But I found it would be too long: and the age of the great epics is past.” (From G.K. Chesterton’s “A Piece of Chalk”)

Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?

Select one answerSingle correct

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Solution

Step-by-step verified solution

Official answer: C) The pocket-knife is described as the infant of the sword.

Reading Comprehension

Let us evaluate the statements based strictly on the text provided:

  • Option (A): The passage uses "reflected" in the sense of thinking/contemplating ("every one must have reflected how primeval..."), not carrying a literal mirror.

  • Option (B): The author planned to write a book of poems *about the things in his pocket*, not a poem on epics.

  • Option (C): The text explicitly mentions: *"...the pocket-knife, for instance the type of all human tools, the infant of the sword."* This directly matches option (C).

  • Option (D): The passage states that "the age of the great epics is past," not that epics are inconvenient to write.

Therefore, statement (C) is the correct choice.

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The misconception this question tests

This Reading Comprehension previous year question is Q6 of the GATE CSE 2025 Set 1 paper. Find more GATE CSE PYQs on Reading Comprehension in General Aptitude, or browse all GATE CSE PYQs.

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Reading Comprehension in GATE CSE

Reading Comprehension has 3 GATE CSE PYQs across 3 papers from 2025 to 2026. 3 of them are 2-mark MCQs like this one, and it is the only one in GATE CSE 2025 Set 1.

How GATE tests Reading Comprehension

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GateAI solution cardGATE CSE 2025 Set 1 · Q6 · MCQ

“I put the brown paper in my pocket along with the chalks, and possibly other things. I suppose every one must have reflected how primeval and how poetical are the things that one carries in one’s pocket: the pocket-knife, for instance the type of all human tools, the infant of the sword. Once I planned to write a book of poems entirely about the things in my pocket. But I found it would be too long: and the age of the great epics is past.” (From G.K. Chesterton’s “A Piece of Chalk”) Based only on the information provided in the above passage, which one of the following statements is true?

Topic-wise GATE CS PYQs with verified steps

Independent practice explanation verified by the GateAI team. GATE is conducted by the IITs; question text follows the official paper.