Read the following passage and answer the questions based on the passage :
In the relentless pursuit of excellence, the dichotomy between hard work and smart work emerges not merely as a matter of preference but as a nuanced dialectic in the broader schema of human productivity. Hard work—often equated with sheer diligence, indefatigable endurance, and linear perseverance—has historically been valorized as the cornerstone of achievement. The laboring individual, armed with nothing but obstinacy and time, is celebrated in folklore and biographies alike. However, in an era punctuated by algorithmic precision and cognitive economy, such traditional notions increasingly invite scrutiny. Contrastingly, smart work embodies a strategic orchestration of effort—an application of metacognition, resource optimization, and situational analysis. It seeks to minimize entropy in labor while maximizing the return on cognitive and physical investment. Smart workers interrogate systems, deconstruct inefficiencies, and leverage available tools—be they digital frameworks or social capital—to expedite outcomes. They transcend the treadmill of unidirectional exertion by inserting intelligence into execution. Nevertheless, the glorification of smart work without the substratum of hard work yields its own inadequacies. Smartness devoid of rigor often culminates in superficiality—a veneer of competence that collapses under sustained demand. Likewise, unmitigated hard work, devoid of strategic redirection, can lead to burnout and inefficacy. Hence, the contemporary paradigm necessitates a confluence: the sagacious worker is one who tempers grit with guile, who labors not just with effort but with efficacy. The juxtaposition, then, is not binary but complementary. To romanticize either extreme is to overlook the variegated realities of performance. In the crucible of modern challenges, the symbiotic blend of persistence and precision is what renders output sustainable and impact magnified. In essence, success is not the fruit of blind toil or cunning alone, but the synthesis of intelligent perseverance.
Select the sentence that most clearly presents the limitation of relying solely on smart work.
- (a)“Hard work...has historically been valorized...”
- (b)“They transcend the treadmill...”
- (c)“Smartness devoid of rigor often culminates in superficiality...”
- (d)“The sagacious worker is one...”
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The question asks for the limitation of relying solely on smart work. The passage signals it first: the glorification of smart work without the substratum of hard work yields its own inadequacies.
The next sentence names the limitation: Smartness devoid of rigor often culminates in superficiality—a veneer of competence that collapses under sustained demand. Smartness without rigor is smart work alone, and the collapse is its limit → option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)“Hard work...has historically been valorized...” — Hard work...has historically been valorized is about hard work's past prestige. It says nothing about smart work and names no limitation.
- (b)“They transcend the treadmill...” — They transcend the treadmill praises smart workers: they escape the treadmill of unidirectional exertion by inserting intelligence into execution. That is a strength of smart work, not its limit.
- (d)“The sagacious worker is one...” — The sagacious worker is one who tempers grit with guile: the blend the author recommends. It is the remedy for the limitation, not the limitation itself.
Concept
This item gives the opening words of four passage sentences and asks which one does a named job. Find each sentence in full before judging, because an opening alone may not show its point.
Here the job is a limitation, so look for the sentence that says what goes wrong. Nevertheless turns the passage from the strengths of smart work to its inadequacies, and devoid of rigor names what is missing.
Superficiality here is competence on the surface only, a veneer that gives way when the demand is sustained.
Key facts
- Devoid of means entirely lacking: smartness devoid of rigor is smartness without disciplined effort.
- A veneer is a thin surface layer, used figuratively for a show of a quality that has no depth.
- Nevertheless signals a turn against what came before, here from the strengths of smart work to its limits.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking (b) because it is about smart work, without checking that it praises rather than limits
- Picking (d) because it comes right after the limitation, when it describes the cure
The same passage also carries Q.15 on the author's tone and Q.17 on the author's argument. Here the answer is a sentence, so the work is locating it in the passage and reading it whole.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.