Passage

I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been of no disadvantage whatever. In fact, I can see that, on the contrary, it has been all to my advantage. My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greatest benefit has been that it has taught me the economy of words. I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can now give myself the certificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever escapes my tongue or pen. I do not recollect ever having had to regret anything in my speech or writing. I have thus been spared many a mishap and waste of time. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man, and silence is a natural weakness of man, and silence is necessary in order to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech; he will measure every word. We find so many people impatient to talk. There is no chairman of a meeting who is not pestered with notes for permission to speak. And whenever the permission is given the speaker generally exceeds the time-limit, asks for more time, and keeps on talking without permission. All this talking can hardly be said to be of any benefit to the world. It is so much waste of time. My shyness has been in reality my shield and buckler. It has allowed me to grow. It has helped me in my discernment of truth.

Question

CSATEasyPrelims 2015Comprehension

In reference to the above passage, the most appropriate reason for the author to be spared many a mishap is that

Explanation

Option A is correct because the author mentions that his shyness has taught him the economy of words, leading to fewer thoughtless words in speech and writing, sparing him mishaps.

Option B is incorrect because the passage does not attribute the author’s ability to avoid mishaps to immense patience, but rather to his careful restraint in speech.

Option C is incorrect because the author does not claim to be a spiritual person in a broad sense, but relates silence to the discipline of truth rather than spirituality alone.

Option D is incorrect because while the author mentions being a votary of truth, the reason for being spared mishaps is his careful speech, not solely his spiritual devotion to truth.