Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow:

'Either its note is in itself offensive or we dislike it as the voice of an unscrupulous enemy.'

(Para 1)

i) Identify 'it' in the line.

ii) Why is 'it' referred to as an ‘unscrupulous enemy’?

iii) Give the opposite of 'offensive'.

i) ‘It’ in the given line refers to the mosquito.

ii) A ‘unscrupulous enemy’ means an enemy who has no moral principles and is rather unfair in its ways and manners. The author refers to the mosquito as an unscrupulous enemy, because it seems to lack even basic ethics in the way it attacks anyone and everyone. Unlike the bee which attacks only when attacked or touched, the mosquito bites to prey and not in defence. It enters gardens as well as bedrooms alike with the sole motive of biting individuals and causing harm.

iii) The opposite of offensive can be either defensive or polite, depending on the context. In the given context, the word polite seems more fitting. Offensive can mean either causing someone to feel annoyed, or to act in an attacking manner. Since the first meaning seems more suitable, as it refers to the buzzing of a mosquito, the correct opposite word here would be polite.