Reading Comprehension - 15

The word ‘leonine’ in the passage means

PASSAGE-I
Gandhi was not born great. He was a blundering boy, a mediocre student. a poor lawyer, an ordinary individual until he remade himself. He was a self-remade man. He had faith in himself. But above all, he had a deep, touching faith in the peasants, miners, labourers, and young unformed men and women whom he drew into his work. He fed them all an elixir of growth which often transformed nameless, un-educated people into leonine heroes. The elixir was fearlessness.

Consider the following assumptions:

1. Gandhi was a great man throughout his life.
2. Men are not born great, but they are made great by self effort.
3. Gandhi liked the ordinary people and neglected the rich.
4. Gandhi transformed the ordinary masses into great heroes.
   Which of the above assumptions can be drawn from the above passage?

PASSAGE-I
Gandhi was not born great. He was a blundering boy, a mediocre student. a poor lawyer, an ordinary individual until he remade himself. He was a self-remade man. He had faith in himself. But above all, he had a deep, touching faith in the peasants, miners, labourers, and young unformed men and women whom he drew into his work. He fed them all an elixir of growth which often transformed nameless, un-educated people into leonine heroes. The elixir was fearlessness.

If it was not so cold the author would have

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

It was a very cold evening and so few people were seen out on the streets. I did not go out myself although it was my habit not to keep indoors after sunset. So I closed all the doors and windows of my room, took the book which had been lying opened on the table, and tried to read it. The cold was getting so severe that I started shivering, so I wrapped myself up with a bigger blanket. But I could not continue reading the book because I was nearly rendered incapable of turning the pages.

The author could not continue reading the book because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

It was a very cold evening and so few people were seen out on the streets. I did not go out myself although it was my habit not to keep indoors after sunset. So I closed all the doors and windows of my room, took the book which had been lying opened on the table, and tried to read it. The cold was getting so severe that I started shivering, so I wrapped myself up with a bigger blanket. But I could not continue reading the book because I was nearly rendered incapable of turning the pages.

The strength of bones can be increased by exercise, because it

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

The functional declines of advancing age are depressing. The heart’s ability to pump blood drops about one per cent: blood flow to arms and legs decreases by thirty to forty per cent in old age. The amount of air a person can exhale after a deep breath lessens and the chest wall stiffens with age. However, recent studies have shown that most of these age associated declines can be delayed by exercise. Exercise lowers the resting heart - rate and increases the amount of blood pumped with each beat in older people. When stress is placed on bones through exercise, calcium content rises, with the result that resistance to fracture is improved.

The chest wall becomes stiff in old age, because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

The functional declines of advancing age are depressing. The heart’s ability to pump blood drops about one per cent: blood flow to arms and legs decreases by thirty to forty per cent in old age. The amount of air a person can exhale after a deep breath lessens and the chest wall stiffens with age. However, recent studies have shown that most of these age associated declines can be delayed by exercise. Exercise lowers the resting heart - rate and increases the amount of blood pumped with each beat in older people. When stress is placed on bones through exercise, calcium content rises, with the result that resistance to fracture is improved.

The mule - drawn carts staggered up because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

An old man with steel-rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule - drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping to push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks wound up and away heading out of it all. The peasants plodded along in the ankle-deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving.

The soldiers were “helping to push against the spokes of the wheels” because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

An old man with steel-rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule - drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping to push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks wound up and away heading out of it all. The peasants plodded along in the ankle-deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving.

Polar ice caps develop huge cracks because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

When vegetation sprouts in the desert, it is a good sign but when the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic begins to turn green, there is something terribly wrong. Reports say that an iceberg, approximately the size of New York city, has broken off from the icy continent. An Argentine team discovered huge cracks in the polar ice caps. These developments can have serious implications. If polar ice fields melt, our coastal cities might be submerged, and sea levels across the world could rise between 3. 65 and 6. 09 metres in different parts of the earth. This is probably due to global warming.

Old age is generally a depressing period because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

The functional declines of advancing age are depressing. The heart’s ability to pump blood drops about one per cent: blood flow to arms and legs decreases by thirty to forty per cent in old age. The amount of air a person can exhale after a deep breath lessens and the chest wall stiffens with age. However, recent studies have shown that most of these age associated declines can be delayed by exercise. Exercise lowers the resting heart - rate and increases the amount of blood pumped with each beat in older people. When stress is placed on bones through exercise, calcium content rises, with the result that resistance to fracture is improved.

The term “pontoon bridge” means:

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

An old man with steel-rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule - drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping to push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks wound up and away heading out of it all. The peasants plodded along in the ankle-deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving.

What can be considered as a “good sign” in the desert?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

When vegetation sprouts in the desert, it is a good sign but when the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic begins to turn green, there is something terribly wrong. Reports say that an iceberg, approximately the size of New York city, has broken off from the icy continent. An Argentine team discovered huge cracks in the polar ice caps. These developments can have serious implications. If polar ice fields melt, our coastal cities might be submerged, and sea levels across the world could rise between 3. 65 and 6. 09 metres in different parts of the earth. This is probably due to global warming.

Which one of the following statements is correct?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

The functional declines of advancing age are depressing. The heart’s ability to pump blood drops about one per cent: blood flow to arms and legs decreases by thirty to forty per cent in old age. The amount of air a person can exhale after a deep breath lessens and the chest wall stiffens with age. However, recent studies have shown that most of these age associated declines can be delayed by exercise. Exercise lowers the resting heart - rate and increases the amount of blood pumped with each beat in older people. When stress is placed on bones through exercise, calcium content rises, with the result that resistance to fracture is improved.

What do you think the intention of the author is?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

When vegetation sprouts in the desert, it is a good sign but when the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic begins to turn green, there is something terribly wrong. Reports say that an iceberg, approximately the size of New York city, has broken off from the icy continent. An Argentine team discovered huge cracks in the polar ice caps. These developments can have serious implications. If polar ice fields melt, our coastal cities might be submerged, and sea levels across the world could rise between 3. 65 and 6. 09 metres in different parts of the earth. This is probably due to global warming.

The melting of ice fields in the Arctic and Antarctic regions is dangerous because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

When vegetation sprouts in the desert, it is a good sign but when the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic begins to turn green, there is something terribly wrong. Reports say that an iceberg, approximately the size of New York city, has broken off from the icy continent. An Argentine team discovered huge cracks in the polar ice caps. These developments can have serious implications. If polar ice fields melt, our coastal cities might be submerged, and sea levels across the world could rise between 3. 65 and 6. 09 metres in different parts of the earth. This is probably due to global warming.

There were not many people outside because

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

It was a very cold evening and so few people were seen out on the streets. I did not go out myself although it was my habit not to keep indoors after sunset. So I closed all the doors and windows of my room, took the book which had been lying opened on the table, and tried to read it. The cold was getting so severe that I started shivering, so I wrapped myself up with a bigger blanket. But I could not continue reading the book because I was nearly rendered incapable of turning the pages.

The author’s habit was to

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

It was a very cold evening and so few people were seen out on the streets. I did not go out myself although it was my habit not to keep indoors after sunset. So I closed all the doors and windows of my room, took the book which had been lying opened on the table, and tried to read it. The cold was getting so severe that I started shivering, so I wrapped myself up with a bigger blanket. But I could not continue reading the book because I was nearly rendered incapable of turning the pages.

The word ‘exhale’ means

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

The functional declines of advancing age are depressing. The heart’s ability to pump blood drops about one per cent: blood flow to arms and legs decreases by thirty to forty per cent in old age. The amount of air a person can exhale after a deep breath lessens and the chest wall stiffens with age. However, recent studies have shown that most of these age associated declines can be delayed by exercise. Exercise lowers the resting heart - rate and increases the amount of blood pumped with each beat in older people. When stress is placed on bones through exercise, calcium content rises, with the result that resistance to fracture is improved.