Unseen Passages Type I 6
Read the passages given below and answer the questions that follow each of them :
Passage 1
You never saw such a commotion up and down a house in all your life, as when my Uncle Podger undertook to do a job. A picture would have come home from the frame-maker’s, and be standing in the dining room, waiting to be put up ; and Aunt Podger would ask what was to be done with it, and Uncle Podger would say : “Oh, you leave that to me. Don’t you, any of you, worry yourselves about that. I’ll do all that.”
And then he would take o ff his coat, and begin. He would send the girl out for sixpenny worth of nails, and then one of the boys after her to tell her what size to get ; and from that, he would gradually get the whole house involved.
“Now you go and get me my hammer, Will,” he would shout; “and bring me the rule, Tom ; and I shall want the stepladder, and I had better have a kitchen chair, too ; and Jim ! you run round to Mr Goggles, and tell him, ‘Pa’s Kind regards and hopes his leg’s better ; and will he lend him his spirit-level ?’ And don’t you go, Maria, because I shall want somebody to hold the light; and when the girl comes back she must go out again for a bit of picture cord ; and Tom !—where’s Tom ?—Tom, you come here; and hand me up the picture.”
(234 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
When Uncle Podger decided to hang the picture, the whole house
(i) felt relieved
(ii) was satisfied
(iii) was in a state of confusion
(iv) both (i) and (ii)
Question 2.
Uncle Podger told everyone at home
(i) to do one’s own work
(ii) not to bother
(iii) not to leave him alone
(iv) to do only his work
Question 3.
‘Pa’s kind regards and hopes his leg’s better’ shows Uncle’s emotion
(i) of social concern
(ii) of contempt
(iii) of jealousy
(iv) of revenge
Question 4.
When the girl came back, she was supposed
(i) to go out again for a bit of picture
(ii) to go out again for a bit of picture cord
(iii) to go out again for shopping ‘
(iv) to go out again for ordering things
Question 5.
‘Hold the light’ means
(i) hand him over the light
(ii) show him over the light
(iii) take the light
(iv) release the light
Answers:
1. (iii)
2. (ii)
3. (i)
4. (ii)
5. (ii)
Passage 2
The nail would be found at last, but by that time he would have lost the hammer. “Where’s the hammer ? What did I do with the hammer ? Great heavens! Seven of you, gaping round there, and you don’t know what I did ~ with the hammer !”
We would find the hammer for him, and then he would have lost sight of r the mark he had made on the wall, where the nail was to go in, and each of us , had to get up on the chair beside him, and see if we could find it ; and we ” would each discover it in a different place, and he would call us all fools, one after another, and tell us to get down. And he would take the rule, and re¬measure, and find that he wanted half of thirty-one and three-eighths inches from the comer and would try to do it in his head, and go mad.
Aunt Maria would mildly observe that next time Uncle Podger was going to hammer a nail into the wall, she hoped he’d let her know in time, so that she could make arrangements to go and spend a week with her mother while it – was being done.
“Oh ! you women, you make such a fuss over everything,” Uncle Podger would reply. “Why, I like doing a little job of this sort.”
Finally about midnight, the picture would be up—very crooked and insecure, and everybody dead beat and wretched except a proud Uncle Podger!
(249 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
Uncle was a confused character as
(i) he kept mum
(ii) he had misplaced the hammer
(iii) he did not know anything
(iv) he continued to speak to himself
Question 2.
The number of family members were
(i) six
(ii) seven
(iii) four
(iv) five
Question 3.
All had to climb up the chair
(i) to put up the picture
(ii) to see the lost mark
(iii) to look taller
(iv) to show marks
Question 4.
Uncle shifted his wrong doings
(i) on his wife
(ii) on himself
(iii) on the entire family
(iv) on the maid sevant
Question 5.
The hung picture looked ‘crooked and insecure’
(i) crooked and straight
(ii) unsafe and not aligned
(iii) unsafe and not straight
(iv) unsafe but straight
Answers:
1. (ii)
2. (ii)
3. (ii)
4. (iii)
5. (ii)
Passage 3
The conjuror’s brpw was clouded with a gathering frown. “I will now,” he continued, “show a most amusing trick by which l’menabled to take any number of eggs from a hat. Will some gentleman kindly lend me his hat ? Ah, thank you. Presto!”
He extracted seventeen eggs and for thirty-five seconds the audience began to think that he was wonderful Then the Quick Man whispered along the first bench, “He-has-a-hen-up-his-sleeve,” and all the people whispered, “He-has- a-lot-of-hens-up-his-sleeve.” The egg trick was ruined.
It went on like that all through. It seemed from the whispers of the Quick Man that the conjuror must have concealed up his sleeve, in addition to the rings, hens and fish, several packs of cards, a loaf of bread, a doll’s cradle, a live guinea pig, a fifty-cent piece and a rocking chair.
The reputation of the conjuror was rapidly sinking below zero. At the close of the evening, he made a final effort.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “I will present to you, in conclusion, the famous Japanese trick recently invented by the people of Tipperary. Will you, Sir,” he continued, turning towards the Quick Man, “will you kindly hand me your gold watch ?” It was passed to him.
(218 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
The conjuror was displeased as
(i) he was feeling uncomfortable
(ii) he came to disrepute
(iii) he was sinking below zero
(iv) the audience was shouting
Question 2.
His reputation was sinking because
(i) of his insanity
(ii) he was talkative
(iii) of his thoughtless comments
(iv) he did blunders
Question 3.
His final effort in the evening was
(i) to present people of Tipperary
(ii) to be handed over a gold watch
(iii) to convince the audience
(iv) to show his trick
Question 4.
The word ‘concealed’ means
(i) to hide
(ii) to show
(iii) to keep secret
(iv) to close
Question 5.
The Quick Man had
(i) full faith in the conjuror and his tricks
(ii) only a gold watch
(iii) many gold objects
(iv) no sense
Passage 4
“Have I your permission to put it into this mortar and pound it to pieces ?” He asked savagely. The Quick Man nodded and smiled.
The conjuror threw the watch into the mortar and grasped a sledge¬hammer from the table. There was a sound of violent smashing.
“He’s-slipped-it-up-his-sleeve,” whispered the Quick Man.
“Now, Sir,” continued the conjuror, “will you allow me to take your handkerchief and punch holesin it ? Thank you. You see. Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no deception: the holes are visible to the eye.”
The face of the Quick Man beamed. This time the real mystery of the thing fascinated him.
“And now, Sir, will you kindly pass me your silk hat and allow me to dance on it ? Thank you.”
The conjuror made some movements with his feet and exhibited the hat, crushed beyond recognition.
“And will you now Sir, take off your shirt collar and permit me to burn it in the candle ? Thank you, Sir. And will you allow me to smash your spectacles for you with my hammer ? Thank you.”
(183 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
The Quick Man gave his permission
(i) to do only good
(ii) only to put it into the mortar
(iii) to smash the gold watch
(iv) to chant his magic words
Question 2.
The Quick Man thought
(i) that his watch was broken
(ii) that the watch had been hidden
(iii) the magician to be wonderful
(iv) that the audience would help
Question 3.
The Quick Man further handed over
(i) his handkerchief
(ii) his silk hat
(iii) his shirt collar
(iv) his handkerchief, silk hat, shirt collar and spectacles
Question 4.
The conjuror’s main aim to destroy the Quick Man’s belongings was
(i) to please him
(ii) to crush his pride
(iii) to take revenge
(iv) to show his ability
Question 5.
He asked ‘savagely’: Give its antonym
(i) politely
(ii) sadly
(iii) gently
(iv) wildly
Answers:
1. (iii)
2. (ii)
3. (iv)
4. (ii)
5. (i)
Passage 5
Around noon each day, Jay Liesener gets hungiy. But he can’t get his own lunch. Paralysed from the waist down and having limited use of his upper body and forearms, Liesener doesn’t have the strength to pull open the refrigerator door without flopping forward from the waist. So he calls on Teddy.
“Ted, heel,” Liesener says in a gentle, firm tone. He has moved his chair near the fridge. Teddy, a big, square-headed black Labrador, crosses the linoleum and sits next to Liesener’s chair. “Ted, pull strap.”
“The dog pulls on the rope-and-rubber strap attached to the refrigerator’s handle, opens the door, sticks his big head inside and, with his teeth, gently extracts a bag that holds Liesener’s previously prepared lunch. Teddy carefully sets the bag on Liesener’s lap.
As Teddy illustrates, a new breed of dogs has arrived in the world of health care. Once limited only to guiding the blind, trained dogs are being used in many helpful roles.
Hospitals and nursing homes are using animals called “therapy dogs” to comfort, entertain and de-stress and thereby help heal patients battling a variety
of conditions.
(188 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
Liesener was a handicap as he
(i) cannot use his upper body
(ii) cannot use his forearms
(iii) is paralysed from the waist down
(iv) is visually impaired
Question 2.
The part played by Teddy is
(i) to pull the strap
(ii) to bite the door
(iii) to bring out the lunch
(iv) to move the wheel chair
Question 3.
The main effort of the hospitals is to
(i) use animals to help the handicapped
(ii) render help to the handicapped
(iii) heal the people
(iv) clean the premises
Question 4.
The word ‘breed’ means
(i) Labrador
(ii) breed of dogs
(iii) breeding
(iv) species
Question 5.
The title of the passage can be
(i) Dogs
(ii) Service Dogs
(iii) Hospital Dogs
(iv) Good Dogs
Answers
1. (iii)
2. (iii)
3. (i)
4. (iv)
5. (ii)
Passage 6
A big alligator floated in the greenish water of a canal in Florida. Only its bulging eyes and bumpy nostrils stuck up above the surface.
Under the water the alligator’s stubby legs paddled slowly. Its long, powerful tail swished gently back and forth, pushing the ten-foot (3m) gator silently forward.
Then with a burst of power, the gator rose up in the water. Its tail whipped hard to the right. This threw its body into a curve and made a big wave in the water. The gator’s mouth opened wide as the wave swept an empty soft drink can into it.
As its teeth crunched down on the metal, the alligator sank back down into the water. Still crunching, it paddled towards the shore.
“There goes old Trash Masher,” said Forest Ranger George White as he lifted his canoe paddle out of the water. His new helper Ranger Glenn Carlson also stopped Paddling. Both men were on patrol for the US Forest Service in southern Florida. They watched the alligator crawling up onto the muddy bank.
Ranger George knew alligators well. It wasn’t unusual for an alligator to eat chunks of drifting wood, floating cans and bottles and even rocks. He knew that junk helped grind up an alligator’s food, which it swallows nearly whole. But this old female never seemed to get enough trash. She attacked floating garbage with the same hunting skill that she would use on a turtle, flesh or water bird.
(245 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
Above the surface of the canal could be seen
(i) just the bumpy nostrils
(ii) only the bulging eyes
(iii) a big alligator
(iv) only the alligator’s eyes and nostrils
Question 2.
The alligator was pushed forward due to
(i) his body
(ii) his legs
(iii) his powerful tail
(iv) his hind legs
Question 3.
His teeth ‘crunched’ means
(i) clattered
(ii) he chewed
(iii) movement of teeth
(iv) ate.
Question 4.
The junk helps the alligator to
(i) push the prey inside
(ii) grind up his food
(iii) be comfortable
(iv) get digestive power
Question 5.
The old female never seemed to
(i) get sufficient trash
(ii) save herself
(iii) get her food
(iv) feed on drifting wood
Answers:
1. (iv)
2. (iii)
3. (ii)
4. (ii)
5. (i)
Passage 7
One of his first memories was of his father bending down from his great height to sweep him up into the air. Up he went, gasping and laughing with delight. He could look down on his mother’s upturned face as she watched, laughing with them, and at the thick stock of his father’s black hair and at his white teeth.
Then he would come down, shrieking happily, but he was never afraid, not with his father’s hand holding him. No one in the world was as big, or as wise, as his father.
His father moved the heavy wooden cupboard across the room. He watched while they guided it into its new position, and he saw the difference in their hands as they rested, side by side, his mother’s hands were white and slim and delicate, his father’s large and square and strong. And then he went to school.
And on the playground he learned how to wrestle and shout, how to hold back tears.
And still he grew-taller, slimmer, stronger.
(172 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
The author recalls his
(i) infancy
(ii) childhood
(iii) young age
(iv) old-age
Question 2.
The sweep-up in the air him
(i) delighted
(ii) scared
(iii) confused
(iv) drowned
Question 3.
The lasting impression about the father was that he was
(i) big and wise
(ii) a giant
(iii) huge and heavy
(iv) handsome
Question 4.
While shifting the cupboard, the author used to observe
(i) the heavy cupboard
(ii) the difference in the hands of his parents.
(iii) the clothes
(iv) the mother’s beauty
Question 5.
The author continued to grow
(i) as he played well
(ii) as he could take life with its ups and downs
(iii) as he could wrestle, shout and hold back tears
(iv) to a handsome young boy
Answers:
1. (i)
2. (i)
3. (i)
4. (ii)
5. (iii)
Passage 8
For the mobility-impaired, highly trained canines called “service dogs” can pick up dropped keys, open and close drawers, retrieve prepared meals, help a person in and out of a bathtub, dial 911 (really!), push and pull wheelchairs, help operate a car or van, and pull off gloves, shoes, socks and jackets. Other dogs provide specific assistance to those who suffer seizures (sudden attacks of illness) and require special medication. And, of course, the helping dogs provide companionship, play and give unconditional love to the people they assist.
It is thirty odd years now since the placement of the first assistance-dog. But only in recent years, with the rising independence movement among disabled people, has the idea begun to spread widely.
While most service dogs are trained to work with people who rely on wheelchairs, other categories of helping dogs include hearing dogs (they alert their owners to sounds-doorbells, phones, cooking timers, alarm clocks, smoke alarms) and seizure dogs (they carry medications in their packs and are trained to dial 911 on large-keyed phones).
(177 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
Service dogs are popular today as
(i) they can help people
(ii) they can bark loudly
(iii) they provide help to the disabled
(iv) they are domesticated
Question 2.
Sendee dogs can
(i) bring prepared meals, etc.
(ii) bark
(iii) heal the handicapped
(iv) pull off gloves
Question 3.
The hearing dogs
(i) hear sounds from a great length
(ii) can activate the sound sense of their owners .
(iii) can hear minutely
(iv) can help the mobility impaired
Question 4.
The seizure dogs are trained
(i) to help the sick people
(ii) to help the mentally retarded
(iii) to help the hurt dogs
(iv) to seize property
Question 5.
Service dogs have revolutionized
(i) the lifestyle of the disabled
(ii) the lifestyle of the commoner
(iii) the lifestyle of the rich
(iv) the lifestyle of the dogs
Answers:
1. (iii)
2. (i)
3. (ii)
4. (i)
5. (i)
Passage 9
My father made no answer, but we were loud in protest.
“He must bring it. It’s not big enough to live by itself. It would die,” we shouted.
“Yes, and it will die now. And then there’ll be another outcry.”
My mother set her face against the tragedy of dead pets. Our hearts sank.
“It won’t die, Father, will it ? Why will it ? It won’t.”
“I should think not,” said my father.
“You know well enough it will. Haven’t we had it all before!” said my mother.
“They don’t always pine” replied my father testily.
But my mother reminded him of other little wild animals he had brought, which had sulked and refused to live, and brought storms of tears and trouble in our house of lunatics.
Trouble fell on us. The little rabbit sat on our lap, unmoving, its eyes wide and dark. We brought it milk, warm milk, and held it to its nose. It sat as still as if it was far away, retreated down some deep burrow, hidden, oblivious. We wetted its mouth and whiskers with drops of milk. It gave no sign, did not even shake off the wet white drops. Somebody began to shed a Jfew secret tears.
“What did I say ?” cried my mother. “Take it and put it down in the field.”
(120 words)
Read, the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
The opposition to bring a rabbit was from
(i) the father
(ii) the mother
(iii) the child
(iv) both (ill and (iii)
Question 2.
The common fear was that
(i) it was very tiny
(ii) it will also fall sick
(iii) it would die
(iv) it would spread disease
Question 3.
The mother remarked that the rabbit would
(i) meet the same fate as that of other animals brought at home
(ii) become very sick
(iii) trouble them to take it outdoors
(iv) not be a good companion
Question 4.
The tragedy was
(i) the rabbit became well
(ii) the rabbit too died
(iii) the doctor was not available
(iv) all other animals died
Question 5.
The mother ordered
(i) to let the rabbit rest
(ii) to buiy the rabbit
(iii) to send the rabbit away
(iv) to put ready the ground
Answers:
1. (iv)
2. (iii)
3. (i)
4. (ii)
5. (ii)
Passage 10
You imagined mysterious figures in the night, the crack of pistols, drugs in the wine.
“Instead, you have spent a dull evening in a French music hall with a sloppy fat man who, instead of having messages slipped into his hand by dark-eyed beauties, gets only an ordinary telephone call making an appointment in his room. You have been bored!” The fat man chuckled to himself as he unlocked the door of his room and stood aside to let his frustrated*guest enter.
“You are disillusioned,” Ausable told him. “But take cheer, my young friend. Presently you will see a paper, quite an important paper for which several men and women have risked their lives, come to me in the next-to-last step of its journey into official hands Some day soon that paper may well affect the course of history. In that thought is drama, is there not ?” As he spoke, Ausable closed the door behind him. Then he switched on the light.
And as the light came on, Fowler had his first authentic thrill of the day. For halfway across the room, a small automatic pistol in his hand, stood a man.
Ausable blinked a few times.
“Max,” he wheezed. “You gave me quite a start. I thought you were in Berlin. What are you doing in my room ?”
Max was slender, not tall, and with a face that suggested the look of a fox. Except for the gun, he did not look veiy dangerous.
(249 words)
Read the statements given below and tick the correct option :
Question 1.
Being in the company of Ausable Fowler felt
(i) thrilled to see mysterious persons
(ii) thrilled to experience mysterious situations
(iii) scared of the bullet-shots
(iv) scared of the pistol-man
Question 2.
Ausable cheered his young friend
(i) about his bright future
(ii) about the future of the paper
(iii) to see an important paper
(iv) by telling that the important paper will make his life better
Question 3.
Ausable was surprised to see
(i) Max. in his room
(ii) Max in Berlin
(iii) his business partner
(iv) Max fire at him
Question 4.
The appearance of Max suggested
(i) him to be bold
(ii) him to be a hooligan
(iii) that he could not be dangerous
(iv) that he was fox-like
Question 5.
Fowler’s dream was now
(i) to kill Max
(ii) to convert Max into a friend
(iii) fulfilled to see Max with an automatic pistol
(iv) to conquer deceit
Answers:
1. (ii)
2. (iv)
3. (i)
4. (iii)
S. (iii)