Passage:
PASSAGE—V The overwhelming vote given by the greater part of the public has so far been in favour of films which pass the time easily and satisfy that part of our imagination which depends on the more obvious kind of daydreams. We make up for what we secretly regard as our deficiencies by watching the stimulating adventures of the other people who are stronger, more effective, or more beautiful than we are. The conventional stars act out our daydreams for us in a constant succession of exciting situations set in the open spaces, in the jungles or in the underworld of great cities which abounds in crime and violence. We would not dare to be in such situations but the situations are very exciting to watch since our youth is being spent in day-to-day routine of school, office or home.
Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, we are aware that
- Awe are weak and plain
- Bwe are both powerful and handsome
- Cwe are as strong as film heroes
- Dwe are more beautiful than film stars
Explanation
We watch people ‘stronger, more effective, or more beautiful than we are’ to compensate for our deficiencies — implying we know ourselves to be weaker and plainer by comparison. The passage gives no support to the flattering options. Hence the answer is (a).