Passage 1
In front of us was walking a bare-headed old man in tattered clothes. He was driving his beasts. They were all laden with heavy loads of clay from the hills and looked tired. The man carried a long whip which perhaps he himself had made. As he berries that grew on bushes along the uneven road. When he the seeds, the bold birds Sometimes a stray dog watched the procession philosophically and then began to bark. When this happened, my two little sons would stand still holding my hands firmly. A dog can some cons be dangerous indeed. (2014)
Q1. The author’s children held his hands firmly because
(a) they were scared of the barking dogs
(b) they wanted him to pluck berries
(c) they saw the whip in the old man’s hand
(d) the road was uneven
Ans. (a)
Exp. Children were indeed scared of the barking dog as the dog barked abruptly every now and then. (A dog can sometimes be dangerous.) So, according to the above description option (a) is right.
Q2. The expression ‘a stray dog watched the procession philosophically’ means that
(a) the dog was restless and ferocious
(b) the dog stood aloof, looking at the procession with seriousness
(c) the dog looked at the procession with big, wondering eyes
(d) the dog stood there with his eyes closed
Ans. (c)
Exp. The dog was looking at the procession with big eyes as his attention was attracted by old man’s action of stopping again and again. Also, the left-over thrown by the man was of no use to him but to the birds.
Passage 2
Cynthia was a shy girl. She believed that she was plain and untalented. One day her teacher ordered the entire class show up for audition for the school play. Cynthia nearly died of fright when she was told that she would have to stand on stage in front of the entire class and deliver dialogues. The mere thought of it made her feel sick. But a remarkable transformation occurred during the audition. A thin, shy girl, her knees quaking, her stomach churning in terror, began to stun everyone with her excellent performance. Her bored classmates suddenly stopped their noisy chat to stare at her slender figure on the stage. At the end of her audition, the entire room erupted in thunderous applause.
Q3. Cynthia was afraid to stand on stage because
(a) she felt her classmates may laugh at her
(b) her stomach was churning (c) she lacked self-confidence
(d) she did not like school plays
Ans. (c)
Exp. It is clearly mentioned in the passage that she was a shy girl who perhaps had a stage fear. This option completely answer the question.
Q4. Cynthia’s classmates were chatting because
(a) it was their turn to act next
(b) they were bored of the performances
(c) Cynthia did not act well
(d) the teacher had no control over them
Ans. (b)
Exp. This statement appropriately answer the question as “Her bored classmates” clearly hints the correct answer.
Q5. Cynthia’s knees were quaking because
(a) she felt nervous and shy
(b) the teacher scolded her
(c) she was very thin and weak
(d) she was afraid of her classmates
Ans. (a)
Exp. ‘Cynthia nearly died of fright’ clearly states the reason for her quaking knees. So, option (a) is the best answer. The teacher ordered the class but not scolded anyone. So, she was not afraid of her teacher.
Q6. The transformation that occurred during the audition refers to
(a) the nervousness of Cynthia
(b) the eruption of the entire room in thunderous applause
(c) the surprise on the faces of her classmates
(d) the stunning performance of Cynthia
Ans. (d)
Exp. The statement is the sole reason for the transformation So, it provides the correct answer to the question. Mostly everybody feels nervous while giving audition, so it could not be the reason for the transformation. The statement occurred after Cynthia’s audition, so clearly it is not the reason for the transformation. The statement does not appropriately hint the reason for transformation.
Passage 3
Seven year-old Jim came home from the park without his new bicycle. “An old man and a little boy borrowed it,” he explained. “They are going to bring it back at four o’clock.” His parents were upset that he had given his expensive new bicycle but were secretly proud of his kindness and faith. Came four Je’clock, no bicycle. The parents were anxious. But at 4:30, the door bell rang and there stood a happy-man and a boy, with the bicycle and a box of chocolates. Jim suddenly disappeared into his bedroom and then came running out. “All right,” he said, after examining the bicycle. “You can have your watch back!” (2013)
Q7. When Jim came home without his bicycle his parents
(a) were angry with him
(b) were worried
(c) did not felt concerned
(d) were eager to meet the old man and the little boy
Ans. (a)
Exp. His parents were angry gives the answer.
Q8. Jim returned the watch to the old man and the little boy because
(a) they gave him chocolates
(b) his father was proud of him
(c) he was satisfied with the condition of his bicycle
(d) they were late only by 30 min
Ans. (c)
Exp. The last two sentences of the passage give the answer.
Passage 4
It was already late when we set out for the next town, which according to the map was about fifteen kilometres away on the other side of the hills. There we felt that we would find a bed for the night. Darkness fell soon after we left the village but luckily we met no one as we drove swiftly along the narrow winding road that led to the hills. As we climbed higher, it became colder and rain began to fall, making it difficult at times to see the road. I asked John, my companion, to drive more slowly. After we had travelled for about twenty kilmoetres, there was still no sign of the town which was marked on the map. We were beginning to get worried. Then without warning, the car stopped and we found we had run out of petrol. (2013)
Q9. The author asked John to drive more slowly because
(a) the road led to the hills
(b) John was an inexperienced driver volanet adTa
(c) the road was not clearly visible
(d) they were in wilderness
Ans. (c)
Q10. Exp. When they climbed higher. It became colder and rain begun to fall. Making it difficult at times to see the road.
The travellers set, out for the town although it was getting dark because
(a) they were in a hurry
(b) the next town was a short distance away and was a hill-resort
(c) they were in wilderness
(d) the next town was a short distance away and promised a good rest for the night
Ans. (d)
Exp. They felt that they would find a bed for the night.
Q11. The travellers were worried after twenty kilometres because
(a) it was a lonely countryside
(b) they probably feared of having lost; their way
(c) the rain began to fall
(d) it was getting colder as they drove
Ans. (b)
Exp. According to the map, the town was about fifteen kilometres away on the other side of the hills.
Passage 5
A stout old lady was walking with her basket down the middle of a street in Petrograd to the great confusion of the traffic and no small peril to herself. It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for foot-passengers but she replied, “I’m going to walk where I like. We’ve got liberty now.” It did not occur to the dear lady that if liberty entitled the foot-passenger to walk down the middle of the road it also entitled the taxidriver to drive on the pavement and that the end of such liberty would be universal chaos. Everything would be getting in everybody else’s way and nobody would get anywhere. Individual liberty would have become social anarchy. (2013)
Q12. The lady refused to move from the middle of the street because
(a) she was not afraid of being killed
(b) she felt that she is entitled to do whatever she liked
(c) she did not like walking on the pavement
(d) she was confused
Ans. (b)
Exp. It occurred to the lady that liberty entitled her to do whatever she liked.
Q13. It was pointed out to the lady that she should walk on the pavement because she was
(a) a pedestrian (b) carrying, a basket
(c) stout
(d) an old lady
Ans. (a)
Exp. The answer is clear from the sentence ‘It was pointed out to her that the pavement was the place for foot-passengers
Q14. The old lady failed to realise that
(a) she was not really free (b) her liberty was not unlimited
(c) she was an old person
(d) roads are made for motor vehicles only
Ans. (b)
Exp. Her liberty was limited.
Passage 6
For fourteen and a half months I lived in my little cell or room in the Dehradun jail and I began to feel as if I was almost a part of it. I was familiar with every bit of it, I knew every mark and dent on the whitewashed walls and on the uneven floor and the ceiling with its moth-eaten rafters. In the little yard outside I greeted little tufts of grass and odd bits of stone as old friends. I was not alone in my cell. for several colonies of wasp and somets lived there and many lizards found a home behind the emerging in the evenings in search of prey. Which of the following explains best the sentence rafters, (2012)
Q15. in the passage “I was almost
(a) I was not alone in the cell familiar with every bit a part of it”?
(b) I was familiar with every bit of the cell (c) I greeted little tufts of grass like old friends (d) I felt quite at home in the cell
Ans. (b)
Exp. I was familiar with every bit of the cell explains best the sentence in the passage ‘I was almost a part of it’
Q16. The passage attempts to describe
(a) the general conditions of the country’s jails
(b) the prisoner’s capacity to notice the minute details of his surroundings
(c) the prisoner’s conscious efforts to overcome the loneliness (d) the prisoner’s ability to live happily with other creatures
Ans. (c)
Exp. Options (a) and (b) are too general. Option (d) is not correct. Passage indicates that prisoner made a conscious effort to not only notice things around him but to use his time constructively. So, option (c) is correct.
Q17. The author of the passage seems to suggest that
(a) it is possible to adjust oneself to uncongenial surroundings
(b) the conditions in Indian prisons are not badanA
(c) it is not difficult to spend one’s time in a prison
(d) there is a need to improve the conditions in our jails
Ans. (a)
Exp. Options (b) and (d) do not capture the essence of the passage. The passage indicates that how author has acclimatised to the surroundings as a means of survival and to set apart his loneliness. Options (a) comes closest to what is tried to be conveyed in the passage.
Passage 7
We started pitching the highest camp that has ever been made. Everything took five times as long as it would have taken in a place where there was enough air to breathe but at last we got the tent up and when we crawled in, it was not too bad. There was only a light wind and inside it was not too cold for us to take off our gloves. At night most climbers take off their boots but I prefer to keep them on. Hillary, on the other hand, took his off and laid them next to his sleeping bag.
(2012)
Q18. What does the expression “pitching the highest camp” imply?
(a) They reached the summit of the highest mountain in the world
(b) Those who climbed that far earlier did not pitch any camp (c) So far nobody has ever climbed that high
(d) They were too many climbers and needed to pitch a big camp
Ans. (c)
Exp. According to the passage, “Pitching the highest cao, implies that so far nobody has ever climbed that high. So, option (c) is correct.
Q19. They took a long time to finish the work because
(a) they were very tired
(b) there was not enough air to breathe
(c) it was very cold
(d) it was very dark
Ans. (b)
Exp. Option (b) is clearly mentioned in the passage.
Q20. When they crawled into the tent
(a) they took off their gloves because it was not very cold
(b) they could not take off their gloves because it was very cold (c) they took off their gloves though it was very cold
(d) they did not take off their gloves though it was not cold
Ans. (a)
Exp. “It was not too cold for us to take off our gloves.” This means that it was not very cold and so they could take off their gloves. So, option (a) is correct.
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