Question

In the following sentence, a part of the sentence is underlined. Beneath the sentence, four different ways of paraphrasing the underlined part are indicated. Choose the best alternative among the four options-
The management can still hire freely but cannot scold freely.
A) Cannot scold at will
B) Cannot give umbrage
C) Cannot take decision to scold
D) Cannot scold wilfully

Answer 1

Hint:Paraphrasing is the restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words or Paraphrasing means formulating someone else's ideas in your own words.

Complete answer:
Option A) Cannot scold at will – is the correct answer because the meaning of the underlined phrase ‘cannot scold freely’ is similar or rephrased as cannot scold at will. And this means that the management cannot scold anybody at their will or mood. Thus, this is the correct answer.
Option B) Cannot give umbrage – is an incorrect answer because the meaning of umbrage is ‘'Umbrage' means 'offence or annoyance'. It is not relevant in meaning. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option C) Cannot take decision to scold – is an incorrect answer because the meaning of ‘cannot take decision to scold' is an unnecessary extension of the phrase. Also, the meaning changes due to the word 'decision'. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option D) Cannot scold wilfully – is an incorrect answer because the meaning of wilfully means intentionally, and this is a negative word. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Hence the correct answer is option A.

Note: In this question it is very important to understand the paraphrasing as it is a restatement of the meaning of a text. Like in this question, 'At will' means 'at whatever time or in whatever way one pleases’ in Option A. 'Wilfully' is a negative word that means 'with the intention of causing harm'. The best version of the underlined phrase should mean the same. So 'at will' is closest in meaning to 'freely'. Hence the former is the better version and option A is correct and other options are wrong.