If a man reads very little, what must he pretend?

The correct answer is C) He must pretend to know a lot. The question is a reasoning item, so the answer has to follow from the premise. A man who reads very little has little to show for his knowledge, so if he wants to be seen as learned, he has to fake a breadth of knowledge he does not have.

Why the others fall short:

• A (good memory): Memory is not what reading little exposes. The gap is in knowledge itself, not in recall.
• B (lot of intelligence): Intelligence is a separate quality. Reading volume does not force a person to pretend to it.
• D (witty): Wit is a conversational trait. Nothing in the premise requires it to be faked.

The concept here is inference from a stated condition to the behaviour it implies. In Prelims, such items reward tracing the logical link rather than importing outside facts. For Mains, the underlying idea connects to intellectual honesty in public life: a civil servant who admits what he does not know, instead of bluffing, is more trustworthy.

Trap: Aspirants often choose B because intelligence sounds like the more flattering quality, or A because memory seems linked to reading. Ask what the premise itself forces him to fake.