It’s not that money guarantees happiness, but want of currency certainly makes attaining contentment that much more difficult; with this in mind, it’s remarkable that people choosing to lead ________ lives are nothing but fulfilled.
banal
spartan
invasive
wasteful
extravagant
ascetic
(Correct answers : 2. spartan and 6. ascetic)
The logic is confusing me. This is how I interpreted it: the first idea is ‘chasing money makes it difficult to be fulfilled’. Then ‘it’s remarkable’ must contrast it to imply that ‘money does make one fulfilled’ and chose 5. extravagant.
Reading by ear I know that spartan and ascetic make sense but not by the logic of ‘remarkable’ contrasting an idea. Please help
First half is saying “money may bring happiness but you will not be content”. So, what would be the surprising case person being content without money that is what second section is hinting towards. Spartan and ascetic makes sense
I had the same interpretation as @user2448. I think the crux is around the meaning of “want of currency”. According to Google’s definition (or Oxford’s), “want” as a noun can mean:
a lack or deficiency of something.
a desire for something.
If “want of currency” means “a desire for money”, then “wasteful” and “extravagant” are correct. If it means “a lack of money”, then “spartan” or “ascetic” are correct.
Since it can go either way, I think this question is flawed and should be modified?
@ganesh is it okay if I ping you here about this? I noticed you were the most responsive moderator in the verbal problem solving part of the forum. Sorry if this is not the right way to go about making corrections.
EDIT: I changed my mind about this. Look at my response below.
The correct interpretation here would be
“lack of currency makes fulfilment more difficult”, which one can see from the relation between the first two clauses: the second clause softens/qualifies the first one:
Money cannot buy happiness, but lack of money does make it harder to be happy.
Keeping this in mind, it is remarkable (expressing surprise) that people can live fulfilled lives without money.
Ascetic and spartan are the closest options for such a life.
Having money does not guarantee happiness, but having a desire for money makes it more difficult to be happy.
Having money does not guarantee happiness, but having no money makes it more difficult to be happy.
Okay, now that I’ve re-read the above sentences, I agree with you @kamal. The first sentence would work better if “but” is replaced with an “and” since both clauses support each other. Having the “but” in the second sentence makes more sense, since both clauses contrast each other.