Question

The stranger is by nature no "owner of soil" -- soil not only in the physical, but also in the figurative sense of a life-substance, which is fixed, if not in a point in space, at least in an ideal point of the social environment. Although in more intimate relations, he may develop all kinds of charm and significance, as long as he is considered a stranger in the eyes of the other, he is not an "owner of soil." Restriction to intermediary trade, and often (as though sublimated from it) to pure finance, gives him the specific character of mobility. If mobility takes place within a closed group, it embodies that synthesis of nearness and distance which constitutes the formal position of the stranger. For, the fundamentally mobile person comes in contact, at one time or another, with every individual, but is not organically connected, through established ties of kinship, locality, and occupation, with any single one. What assumptions can be made about the stranger from the passage above?

• A. The stranger can become an owner of soil through developing all kinds of charm in more intimate relations.
• B. The stranger cannot become an owner of soil either in the physical or psychological sense.
• C. The stranger can become an owner of soil through establishing ties of kinship and so on.
• D. The stranger might become an owner of soil in the physical sense but not in the psychological.

Hint:

In comprehension passages, carefully distinguish between literal (physical) and figurative (psychological/social) meanings. The "stranger" here is defined by lack of organic ties, regardless of charm or interaction.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B, D

Step 1: Identify the central idea of the passage
The stranger is described as fundamentally "not an owner of soil." This metaphor of soil applies both in the physical sense (ownership of land or fixed place) and in the psychological/social sense (fixed, organic ties in a community). The stranger is defined by mobility and lack of rooted connection.

Step 2: Examine each option
(A) Incorrect. Although the stranger may develop charm and significance, the passage clearly says this does not make him an "owner of soil." Personal charm does not remove the condition of strangeness.
(B) Correct. The stranger, by definition, "is not an owner of soil" in either sense — physical or psychological. This matches the core statement of the passage.
(C) Incorrect. Establishing ties of kinship, locality, or occupation would contradict the very definition of the stranger, who is never "organically connected" with such ties.
(D) Correct. The passage allows a subtle interpretation: physically, one could own soil (in the sense of land), but psychologically/socially, the stranger remains a stranger, not organically tied. Hence, this option also aligns with the text.

Step 3: Final Answer
Both (B) and (D) are consistent with the description in the passage. \[ \boxed{\text{Correct Assumptions: (B) and (D)}} \]