Passages from Book

 

 

1.    Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :

“Because we are born into this community, we are never given any honour or dignity or respect; we are stripped of all that. But if we study and make progress, we can throw away these indignities. So study with care, learn all you can. If you are always ahead in your lessons, people will come to you of their own accord and attach themselves to you. Work hard and learn.”

(i) Who is the speaker? Who is he speaking to?

(a) Appa; Bama

(b) Bama; Amma

(c) Bama; The Zamindar

(d) Annan; Bama

(ii) Select the option that best describes the speaker in the above extract:

I. marginalized

II. Practical

III. Idealistic

IV. Curious

V. aggressive

Select the most appropriate option:

(a) I and II

(b) III and IV

(c) II and IV

(d) IV and V

 

(iii) Complete the following statement with reference to the community:

The treatment meted out to the community was _________.

(iv) Which of the following summarizes the author’s opinion about study?

(a) Childhood should be spent in experiential learning.

(b) Studying is better than playing.

(c) Study is essential to the nation’s development

(d) Studying leads to social reforms and progress.

 

2.     Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:                                       6 * 1=6

The make-up department was first headed by a Bengali who became too big for a studio and left. He was succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the usual local Tamils. All this shows that there was a great deal of national integration long before A.I.R. and Doordarshan began broadcasting programmes on national integration.. This gang of nationally integrated make-up men could turn any decent-looking person into a hideous crimson hued monster with the help of truck-loads of pancake and a number of other locally made potions and lotions.

(i) How was there national integration long before A.I.R. and Doordarshan in the make-up department?

(a) The staff consisted of a Bengali, a Maharashtrian, a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian

      Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and Tamils.

(b) They recited slogans of national integration.

(c) The staff studied make-up techniques of various states.

(d) Their clients were from various states.

(ii) Select a suitable word from the extract to complete the analogy:

Front: rear:: ravishing : ________

(iii) Select the correct option to fill in the blanks:

The make-up artists could turn _________ looking people into_________ looking men and women.

(a) ordinary; pleasant

(b) ugly; good

(c) pleasant; ugly

(d) monstrous; beautiful

(iv) The word pancake in the extract mostly near means

(a) brand name            (b) lemon cake

(c) savoury      (d) preservative

(v) Based on the above extract, choose the statement that is true for the make-up department.

(a) The make-up artists were welcomed by the actors.

(b) The make-up artists were poorly paid.

(c) The work done by the make-up artists was not     appreciated.

(d) The department exhibited national integration.

(vi) Bring out the irony in the above given extract.

 3.    Or an actress. Now there’s real money in that. Yes, and I could may be have the boutique on the side. Actresses don’t work full time, do they ? Anyway, that or a fashion designer. You know –something a bit sophisticated”. And she turned in through the open street door leaving Jansie standing in the rain. “If I ever come into money I’ll buy a boutique”. “Huh, if you ever come into money … if you ever come into money you’ll buy us a blessed decent house to live in, thank you very much.” Sophie’s father was scooping shepherd’s pie into his mouth as hard as he could go, his plump face still grimy and sweat – marked from the day. “She thinks money grows on trees, don’t she Dad ? Said little Derek, hanging on the back of his father’s chair. Their mother sighed.

(i) Sophie wants to become an actress to

(a) become famous (b) to earn money (c) to support her father (d) to compete with Jansie

(ii) Jansie wanted Sophie to spend her money on

(a)    her marriage (b) her career (c) to open a boutique (d) buying a house

(iii) Sophie is daydreaming about _______.

(iv) The phrase ‘money grows on trees’ indicates that Sophie _____.

v) Sophie’s mother’s sigh is one of

(a) regret (b) delight (c) relief (d) helplessness

(vi) From the extract Jansie comes across as a _____ person.

(a)    practical (b) dominating (c) immature (d) starstruck

4.    “I sometimes find a rupee, even a ten rupee note”, Saheb says, his eyes lighting up when you can find a silver coin in a heap of garbage, you don’t stop scrounging, for there is hope of finding more. It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to their parents. For the children it is wrapped in wonder, for the elders it is a means of survival. One winter morning I see Saheb standing by the fenced gate of the neighbourhood club, watching two young men dressed in white, playing tennis. “I like the game”, he hums, content to watch it standing behind the fence. “I go inside when no one is around” he admits. “The gate keeper lets me use the swing.”

(i) Saheb found a rupee

(a) on the street (b) in the garbage dump (c) in Firozabad (d) on the tennis court

(ii) Which emotion of Saheb is revealed in the phrase ‘his eyes lighting up’ ?

(a)    anxiety (b) envy (c) happiness (d) greed

(iii) For the elders garbage is _______ and for children it is _______.

(iv) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to I and II given below : I. Saheb watches the game from outside. II. Saheb had lost the previous match.

(a) I is true but II is not (b) II is true but I is not (c) Both I and II are true (d) Both I and II are untrue

(v) ‘Scrounging’ in the passage most nearly means.

(a) digging (b) searching (c) flinging (d) burying

(vi) ‘There is hope for finding more’. Explain with reference to the above extract.

5.    When I was studying in the third class, I hadn’t yet heard people speak openly of untouchability. But I had already seen, felt, experienced and been humiliated by what it is. I was walking home from school one day, an old bag hanging from my shoulder. It was actually possible to walk the distance in ten minutes. But usually it would take me from half an hour to an hour to dawdle along watching all the fun and games that were going on, all the entertaining novelties and oddities in the streets, the shops and the bazaar.

(i)                 The narrator was humiliated because _____.

(ii)               The narrator ‘dawdled along’ as she _____.

(a) enjoyed looking at the various sights

(b) was getting late for school (c) she didn’t like going home (d) she enjoyed haggling and shopping

 (iii) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below :

(I)                 The distance from school to home was very short.

(II)              She was feeling upset and so dawdling her way home.

(a) (I) can be inferred from the extract but (II) cannot

(b) (II) can be inferred from the extract but (I) cannot

(c) Both (I) and (II) cannot be inferred from the extract

(d) Both (I) and (II) can be inferred from the extract

(iv) The word ‘novelties’ in the passage most nearly means

(a)    colourful trinkets (b) wooden toys (c) unique and interesting items (d) expensive souvenirs

6.    To make sure, I walked over the newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers at his feet. It was The World and The World hasn’t been published for years. The lead story said something about President Cleveland. I’ve found that front page since, in the Public library files, and it was printed June 11, 1894. I turned toward the ticket windows knowing that here – on the third level at Grand Central – I could buy tickets that would take Louisa and me anywhere in the United States we wanted to go. In the year 1894. And I wanted two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois.

(i) The newspaper that covered the lead story about President Cleveland was

(a) The Pioneer (b) The New York Times (c) The World (d) The Times

(ii) The narrator wanted to buy tickets to _______.

(iii) Which of the following in the extract most nearly means the opposite of ‘stare’ ?

(a)    glance (b) peek (c) ignore (d) examine

(iv) Charley wanted two tickets because he wanted to go with

(a)    Sam (b) Cleveland (c) Louisa (d) the Psychiatrist

7.    A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases, it will never

pass into nothingness: but will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of sweet dreams, and health and quiet and breathing.

Therefore, on every morrow are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth;

 Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

 Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o’er darkened ways

Made for our searching.

(i) Keats defines beauty as

(a) transient (b) eternal (c) illusionary (d) short lived

(ii) ‘will keep a bower quiet for us’ means all of the following EXCEPT

(a)    create a peaceful, shady place (b) provide a shelter (c) will decrease noise pollution (d) nature’s canopy

(iii) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below :

1. Beautiful things uplift the soul. 2. Beauty is everchanging.

(a) 1 can be inferred from the extract but 2 cannot.

(b) 2 can be inferred from the extract but 1 cannot.

(c) both 1 and 2 can be inferred from the extract.

(d) both 1 and 2 cannot be inferred from the extract.

(iv) The things that cause unhappiness are

(1) lack of noble nature (2) old tunes (3) dull days (4) calm mind (5) a flowery band (6) strong relationships Choose the most appropriate option :

(a) (1) and (2) (b) (1) and (3)

(c) (4) and (5) (d) (3) and (6)

(v) Complete the analogy. Do not repeat from used example :

 flowery band : metaphor ::                 : alliteration

(vi) According to the poet ‘every morrow’ we are _______.

 

 

8.    Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow :                                            6* 1=6

home to Cochin last Friday morning,

I saw my mother, beside me,

doze, open mouthed,

her face ashen like that of a corpse

and realised with pain

that she was as old as she looked

but soon put that thought away,

and looked out at Young Trees sprinting,

the merry children spilling out of their homes.

(i)                 Choose the option that displays the same poetic device as used in the extract.

(a)    deafening silence (b) swaying softly and slowly (c) pitter-patter rain (d) as white as snow

(ii)               ? (a) guilt (b) anguish (c) wounded (d) revelation

(iii)             The poet describes her mother as

I.                    Old      II. wise            III quick           IV weak          V. strong

Choose the most appropriate option: (a) I and IV (b) II and V (c) III and IV (d) I and V

(iv)             Answer in one word.

On seeing her mother dozing, open mouthed the poet felt ___________.

(v) The merry children symbolize all of the following except

(a) freedom and energy (b) playfulness and cheerfulness (c) vigour and health (d) maturity and innocence (vi) Which of the following is an apt title for the extract ?

(a) Spring and Winter (b) Merry Thoughts (c) Trip to Cochin (d) My Beautiful Mother

9.    A thing of beauty is a joy forever

Its loveliness increases, it will never

           pass into nothingness: but will keep
                    A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
                    Full of sweet dreams, and health and quiet
                    and breathing.
                    Therefore, on every morrow are we wreathing
                    A flowery band to bind us to the earth;
                    Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
                    Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
                    Of all the unhealthy and o’er darkened ways

Made for our searching.

(i) Keats defines beauty as
(a) transient (b) eternal     (c) illusionary (d) short lived
(ii) ‘will keep a bower quiet for us’ means all of the following EXCEPT
(a) create a peaceful, shady place            (b) provide a shelter
(c) will decrease noise pollution               (d) nature’s canopy
(iii) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below :
1. Beautiful things uplift the soul.
2. Beauty is everchanging.
(a) 1 can be inferred from the extract but 2 cannot.
(b) 2 can be inferred from the extract but 1 cannot.
(c) both 1 and 2 can be inferred from the extract.
(d) both 1 and 2 cannot be inferred from the extract.
(iv) The things that cause unhappiness are
(1) lack of noble nature                 (2) old tunes              (3) dull days                                     
(4) calm mind                                   (5) a flowery band   (6) strong relationships
Choose the most appropriate option :
(a) (1) and (2) (b) (1) and (3)
(c) (4) and (5) (d) (3) and (6)
(v) Complete the analogy. Do not repeat from used example:
flowery band : metaphor :: : alliteration
(vi) According to the poet ‘every morrow’ we are _______.
 
2.    To make sure, I walked over the newsboy and glanced at the stack of papers at his feet. It was The World and The World hasn’t been published for years. The lead story said something about President Cleveland. I’ve found that front page since, in the Public library files, and it was printed June 11, 1894. I turned toward the ticket windows knowing that here – on the third level at Grand Central – I could buy tickets that would take Louisa and me anywhere in the United States we wanted to go. In the year 1894. And I wanted two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois.
(i) The newspaper that covered the lead story about President Cleveland was
(a) The Pioneer        (b) The New York Times
(c) The World           (d) The Times
(ii) The narrator wanted to buy tickets to _______.
(iii) Which of the following in the extract most nearly means the   opposite of ‘stare’ ?
(a) glance (b) peek   (c) ignore (d) examine
(iv) Charley wanted two tickets because he wanted to go with
(a) Sam (b) Cleveland         (c) Louisa (d) the Psychiatrist
      3.   Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:                                       
The next I remember I was lying on my stomach beside the pool, vomiting. The chap that threw me in was saying” But I was only fooling.” Someone said, “The kid nearly died. Be all right now. Let’s carry him to the lockers room.” Several hours later, I walked home. I was weak and trembling. I shook and cried when I lay on my bed. I couldn’t eat that night for days a haunting fear was in my heart. The slightest exertion upset me, making me wobbly in the knees and sick to my stomach. I never went back to the pool. I feared water. I avoided it whenever I could.
(i) With reference to the extract, Douglas was vomiting because
(a) he had got severe food poisoning. (b) he had just been rescued from nearly drowning in the pool.
(c) he was frightened when he saw the big man.        (d) he had gone for a swim on an empty stomach.
(ii) Rewrite the sentence by replacing the underlined phrase with its inference.
For days a haunting fear was in my heart.
(iii) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with reference to the two statements given below:
I. The boy did not know how to swim.
II. The boy took a long time to recover from his fear.
(a) I can be inferred from the extract but II cannot.
(b) I cannot be inferred from the extract but II can.
(c) I is true but II is false.
(d) Both I and II are true.
(iv)  Identify the textual clue that allows the reader to infer that the chap threw the boy into the pool just for fun (clue : a phrase)
(v) Complete the sentence with an appropriate explanation as per the extract.
The slightest exertion upset the boy because ___________ .
(vi) Replace the underlined word with its synonym from the extract.
The boy felt unsteady in the knees.

4. Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer.
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are,

(i) What is the sentiment expressed in the above extract ?
(i) remorse (ii) regret (iii) empathy (iv) disappointment (v) guilt
Choose the correct appropriate option.
(a) (iii) and (iv) (b) (ii) and (iii)
(c) (iv) and (v) (d) (i) and (v)
(ii) Identify the phrase in the extract that suggests ‘innocent desires’.
(iii) The roadside stand owners pray for ______.
(a) a relief from the heat (b) free housing (c) cars stopping (d) benefits from pollution
(iv) Complete the following analogy correctly :
He fought like a lion : Simile :: selfish cars : _____
(v) On the basis of the extract, choose the correct option with
reference to (1) and (2) given below :
(1) The people who have put up the roadside stand keep
waiting for customers.
(2) They become sad when someone turns up.
(a) (1) is true, but (2) is false. (b) (1) is false, but (2) is true.
(c) Both (1) and (2) are true.  (d) Both (1) and (2) are false.
(vi) Fill the blank appropriately with reference to the extract.
‘Squeal of brakes’ implies ________
5. “I am thinking of this stranger here,” said Edla “He walks and walks the whole year long, and there is probably not a single place in the whole country where he is welcome and can feel at home. Wherever he turns he is chased away. Always he is afraid of being arrested and cross-examined. I should like to have him enjoy a day of peace with us here-just one in the whole year.” 6  1 = 6
(i) Complete the following sentence with the most appropriate option :
Edla wished the Pedlar to have a peaceful day because ______
(a) the Pedlar had worked for Edla.  (b) the Pedlar had not been released from jail.
(c) the Pedlar had been staying at the forge.
 (d) the Pedlar had always been looked with suspicion.
(ii) Select the suitable word from the extract to complete analogy.
single : multiple :: abroad : _________
(iii) In the above extract, Edla comes across as
(a) conscientious (b) pretentions (c) compassionate (d) selfless
(iv) Based on the above extract, choose the statement which is true.
(a) relationships are rattraps.          (b) money is important in the world.
(c) criminal is not born but made.   (d) christmas is a time of charity
(v) In the context of the given extract, which day is referred to in the expression ‘just one in the whole year’ ?
(vi) What does the expression ‘he is cross examined’ suggest ?

6. And in dark hutments, next to lines of flames of flickering oil lamps, sit boys and girls with their fathers and mothers, welding pieces of coloured glass into circles of bangles. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside. That is why they often end up losing their eyesight before they become adults.
(i) Complete the sentence with reference to the extract :
Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light outside because ______.
(ii) Which of the following would NOT be true ?
(a) The hutments were shining and inviting.
(b) The children’s lives were as bleak as their surrounding.
(c) There were no electricity connections.
(d) The boys and girls had got used to the dark.
(iii) The bangle workers lose their eyesight before they became adults because
(a) they already have poor eyesight.
(b) they work in dim light.
(c) they are married in childhood.
(d) they are malnourished.
(iv) Which of the following most nearly means ‘adjusted’ in the context of the extract ?
(a) conditioned (b) favoured    (c) accepted (d) reconciled
(v) ‘Flickering oil lamps’ suggests ________.
(vi) What is the antonym from the extract of the word ‘rarely’ ?
7. “I am thinking of this stranger here,” said Edla “He walks and walks the whole year long, and there is probably not a single place in the whole country where he is welcome and can feel at home. Wherever he turns he is chased away. Always he is afraid of being arrested and cross-examined. I should like to have him enjoy a day of peace with us here-just one in the whole year.”       6  1 = 6
(i) Complete the following sentence with the most appropriate option :
Edla wished the Pedlar to have a peaceful day because ______
(a) the Pedlar had worked for Edla.     (b) the Pedlar had not been released from jail.
(c) the Pedlar had been staying at the forge.    
(d) the Pedlar had always been looked with suspicion.
(ii) Select the suitable word from the extract to complete analogy.
single : multiple :: abroad : _________
(iii) In the above extract, Edla comes across as
(a) conscientious (b) pretentions (c) compassionate (d) selfless
(iv) Based on the above extract, choose the statement which is true.
(a) relationships are rattraps.
(b) money is important in the world.
(c) criminal is not born but made.
(d) christmas is a time of charity
(v) In the context of the given extract, which day is referred to in the expression ‘just one in the whole year’ ?
(vi) What does the expression ‘he is cross examined’ suggest ?

8. The clerk figured the fare – he glanced at my fancy hat band, but he figured the fare – and I had enough for two coach tickets, one way. But when I counted out the money and looked up, the clerk was staring at me. He nodded at the bills. “That ain’t money, mister,” he said, “and if you’re trying to skin me, you won’t get very far,” and he glanced at the cash drawer, beside him. Of course the money was old-style bills half again as big as the money we use nowadays and different looking.
(i) Why did Charley ask for two tickets ?
(ii) Complete the sentence by choosing the correct option :
When Charley offered money to the booking clerk, the latter stared at Charley because the booking clerk
(a) thought it wasn’t money .
(b) did not trust Charley.
(c) thought Charley was trying to tease him.
(d) thought that Charley had given him less money.
(iii) Select the option that best describes Charley in this extract. He is
(a) a cheat (b) gullible    (c) an opportunist (d) an escapist
(iv) ‘If you’re trying to skin me’ suggests ________.
9. “I am thinking of this stranger here,” said Edla “He walks and walks  the whole year long, and there is probably not a single place in the whole country where he is welcome and can feel at home. Wherever he turns he is chased away. Always he is afraid of being arrested and cross-examined. I should like to have him enjoy a day of peace with us here-just one in the whole year.” 6  1 = 6
(i) Complete the following sentence with the most appropriate option :
Edla wished the Pedlar to have a peaceful day because ______
(a) the Pedlar had worked for Edla.
(b) the Pedlar had not been released from jail.
(c) the Pedlar had been staying at the forge.
(d) the Pedlar had always been looked with suspicion.
(ii) Select the suitable word from the extract to complete analogy.
single : multiple :: abroad : _________
(iii) In the above extract, Edla comes across as
(a) conscientious (b) pretentions (c) compassionate (d) selfless
(iv) Based on the above extract, choose the statement which is true.
(a) relationships are rattraps.          (b) money is important in the world.
(c) criminal is not born but made.  (d) christmas is a time of charity
(v) In the context of the given extract, which day is referred to in the expression ‘just one in the whole year’ ?
(vi) What does the expression ‘he is cross examined’ suggest ?

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