Passage- 1
I was lying on a ridge scanning, with field glasses, a rock cliff opposite me for tahr, the most sure footed of all Himalayan goats. On a ledge halfway up the cliff, a tahr and her kid were lying asleep. Then, the tahr got to her feet, stretched herself, and the kid immediately began to feed. After a minute the mother freed herself, took a few steps along the ledge, poised for a moment, then jumped down on to another but a narrower ledge some twelve to fifteen feet below her. As soon as it was left alone the kid started running backward and forwards, stopping every now and then to peer down at its mother, but unable to summon the courage to jump down to her, for below the narrow ledge was a sheer drop of a thousand feet. I was too far away to hear whether the mother was encouraging her young, but from the way her head was turned, I believe she was doing so. The kid was getting more and more agitated and, possibly fearing that it would do something foolish, the mother went to what looked like a mere crack in the vertical rock face and, climbing it, rejoined her young. Immediately on doing so she lay down, presumably to prevent the kid from feeding.
After a while, she got to her feet again, allowed the kid to drink for a minute, poised carefully on the brink, and jumped down while the kid again ran backward and forwards above her. Seven times in the course of the next half-hour this procedure was repeated until finally the kid, abandoning itself to its face, jumped, and landing safely beside its mother was rewarded by being allowed to drink its fill. The lesson for her young, that it was safe to follow where she led, was over for that day.
Q1. Which of the following excerpts from the passage best bears out the description of the tahr as a sure-footed mountain goat?
(a) “Seven times in the course of the next half-hour this procedure was repeated.”
(b) “The lesson for her young __________ was over for that day.”
(c) “__________ the mother went to what looked like a mere crack in the vertical rock face __________ rejoined her young.”
(d) “I was too far away to hear whether the mother was encouraging her young __________ I believe
she was doing so.”
Q2. The mother goat feared that the kid “would do something foolish” like
(a) drink more than its share of milk
(b) throw itself off the cliff
(c) follow her down the vertical rock face
(d) continue to pace up and down indefinitely
Q3. Which of the following phrases can replace “abandoning itself to its fate”, used in the second paragraph?
(a) Making the most of the situation
(b) Taking the bull by the horns
(c) Facing the music
(d) Accepting consequences
Q4. One way in which the kid was encouraged to follow its mother was by
(a) not being allowed to have its fill of milk until it had jumped
(b) running backward and forwards on the ledge before it jumped
(c) getting very agitated before it jumped
(d) being rejoined by its mother several times
Q5. The mother goat taught her kid the lesson through
(a) agility and sure-footedness
(b) severity and punishment
(c) patience and perseverance
(d) praise and reward
Passage- 2
I felt the wall of the tunnel shiver. The master alarm squealed through my earphones. Almost simultaneously, Jack yelled down to me that there was a warning light on. Fleeting but spectacular sights snapped out of view, the snow, the shower of debris, the moon, looming close and big, the dazzling sunshine for once unfiltered by layers of air. The last twelve hours before re-entry were particularly bone-chilling. During this period, I had to go up to the command module. Even after the fiery re-entry splashing down in 81o water in south pacific, we could still see our frosty breath inside the command module.
6. Which one of the following reasons would one consider as more as possible for the warning lights to be on?
A: There was a shower of debris.
B: Jack was yelling.
C: A catastrophe was imminent.
D: The moon was looming close and big.
7. The statement that the dazzling sunshine was "for once unfiltered by layers of air" means
A: that the sun was very hot
B: that there was no strong wind
C: that the air was unpolluted
D: none of the above
Passage- 3
But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch of grass against his knees, with the preoccupied grandmotherly air that elephants have. It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him. I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill a large animal. Besides, there was the beast's owner to be considered. But I had got to act quickly. I turned to some experienced-looking Burmans who had been there when we arrived and asked them how the elephants had been behaving. They all said the same thing; he took no notice of you if you left him alone, but he might charge if you went too close to him.
8. The phrase 'Preoccupied grandmotherly air' signifies
A: being totally unconcerned
B: pretending to be very busy
C: a very superior attitude
D: calm, dignified and affectionate disposition
9. From the passage it appears that the author was
A: an inexperienced hunter
B: kind and considerate
C: possessed with fear
D: a worried man
10. The author did not want to shoot the elephant because he
A: was afraid of it
B: did not have the experience of shooting big animals
C: did not wish to kill animal which was not doing anybody any harm
D: did not find the elephant to be ferocious