Based on the given passage about self-reliance and personal effort, choose what the author appears to highlight most strongly.

Introduction / Context:
This is a reading comprehension question based on a philosophical passage that discusses self reliance, envy, imitation, inner power, and personal effort. The author explains that each person has a unique role and that genuine satisfaction comes only when one puts heart and hard work into one's own tasks. You must identify which option best captures the main idea the author highlights.

Given Data / Assumptions:
Key ideas from the passage include:

• Envy is ignorance and imitation is suicide.
• A person must accept himself for better or worse as his portion.
• No good can come to a person except through his own toil on his own plot of ground.
• The power in each person is new in nature and only he can discover it by trying.
• A man is relieved and happy when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; what he does otherwise gives him no peace.

The options are:

• Being contented with the status quo
• Knowing oneself better
• Working hard and sincerely
• Waiting for better opportunities

Concept / Approach:
We must decide which option summarises the central emphasis of the passage. While the passage certainly touches on knowing oneself and on inner power, it repeatedly stresses personal toil, putting one's heart into one's work, and the idea that genuine relief and joy come only from having done one's best. Therefore, working hard and sincerely on one's own tasks is the main highlighted message. The other options either miss the emphasis on effort or contradict the passage.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note that the passage rejects envy and imitation, saying envy is ignorance and imitation is suicide. This pushes the reader away from comparing and copying others. Step 2: The text goes on to say that no kernel of nourishing corn can come to a man but through his toil on his own plot of ground. This image directly connects personal effort with real reward. Step 3: The passage further states that the power within each person is new in nature and only discovered by trying, implying that effort and action are essential. Step 4: Crucially, the author declares that a man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and has done his best. This clearly praises sincere, wholehearted work. Step 5: Compare options. Being contented with the status quo suggests passive acceptance without striving, which conflicts with the emphasis on toil and trying. Step 6: Knowing oneself better is important in the passage, but it is connected to acting and working on one's own ground, not just introspection. Step 7: Working hard and sincerely summarises the repeated stress on toil, putting one's heart into work, and doing one's best to gain peace. Step 8: Waiting for better opportunities contradicts the call to use the plot of ground already given and to rely on present effort rather than waiting. Step 9: Therefore, the author most strongly highlights working hard and sincerely on one's own tasks.

Verification / Alternative check:
If we imagine summarising the passage in one sentence for a friend, we might say: The author is telling us to stop envying others and instead trust our own unique powers, working hard and sincerely on our own tasks, because only our own heart felt effort brings true satisfaction. This paraphrase aligns directly with option C. While self knowledge and uniqueness are themes, they are always tied to action and work, not to mere contemplation or passivity.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Being contented with the status quo is wrong because the passage does not advocate passive contentment; it emphasises toil and effort on one's own ground. Knowing oneself better is incomplete because the passage goes beyond self knowledge to insist on trying, toiling, and putting one's heart into work. Waiting for better opportunities is clearly opposed to the message, since the author says that good can come only through toil on the ground already given, not from external chances arriving later.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to focus on only one attractive phrase, such as the power which resides in him is new in nature, and assume that the passage is mainly about self understanding. However, careful reading shows that this inner power must be expressed through work, and that real relief comes only when one has done one's best. To avoid such errors, always look at repeated ideas and the author's final emphasis when choosing a main theme.

Final Answer:
The author appears to highlight Working hard and sincerely as the central message.