English Reading Comprehension

Humans can never be snakes’ target for their food because

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

All snakes are hunters and predators, feeding on the animals and sometimes their eggs. Having no limbs, snakes cannot hold their preys down to bite; hence, they usually swallow them whole. Poisonous snakes sometimes do immobilise their preys with their venom to make consumption easier. It is truly a myth that poisonous snakes attack humans for food. Humans can never be their targets for food as we are normally too big for them to swallow. In cases where snakes do bite, these attacks are usually defensive ones and the venom injected is normally little or sometimes even none. The full fatal dose of the venom is only released on smaller animals which the snakes can swallow easily. Besides helping in the killing and immobilising of their preys, the poison also acts as digestive agents for snakes.

Directions: The following question consists of six sentences. The first sentence (S1) and final sentence (S6) are given in the beginning. The middle four sentences in each have been jumbled up. They are labeled P, Q, R and S. You are to find the correct sequence of the four sentences.S1: Nowadays we pay a great deal of attention to pure air, open windows and garden cities. S6: Pasteurised milk is milk which has been treated in this way. P: Another useful discovery of Pasteur's was the process, now called, pasteurization. Q: Pasteur was one of the first to show how necessary all these are if we are to fight against germs and disease. R: Pasteur helped them by showing that by heating win or milk to a temperature of 60 degree Centrigrade, the germs were made harmless. S: Some wine-growers were troubled by a germ which has turned their win sour.

Directions: The question is a logical sequence of statements with a missing link, the location of which is shown parenthetically. From the five choices available you are required to choose the one which best fits the sequence logically.

Jose Arcadio did not dare leave the house for several days. It was enough for him to hear the rocking laughter of Pilar in the kitchen to run and take refuge in the laboratory, where the artifacts of alchemy had come alive again with Ursula's blessing. (__________) One afternoon the boy grew enthusiastic over the flying carpet that went swiftly by the laboratory at window level carrying the gypsy who was driving it and several children from the village who were merrily waving their hands, but Jose Arcadio Buendia did not even look at it.

Directions: The last sentence in the following passage has been deleted. Select the sentence, out of the available options, that best suits the end of the passage

Readers are familiar with the concept of jobless growth. But India is now demonstrating a less familiar phenomenon, which, for want of a better phrase, can be called industry-less growth. This was unsurprising last year, when the global recession forced down industrial growth everywhere, including India. Industry typically grows more slowly, or falls faster, than GDP in a business downswing. But in 2002 the world has swung up out of the recession, notwithstanding some fears of a second downward dip in coming months. Many of our Asian neighbours have recorded big jumps in industrial growth, with Singapore leading the pack at 18.9 per cent. But in India Industrial growth continues to lag behind GDP growth even in a global recovery.

Directions: The last sentence in the following passage has been deleted. Select the sentence, out of the available options, that best suits the end of the passage

Elephants have joined a small, elite group of species, including humans, great apes and dolphins that have the ability to recognize themselves in the mirror, according to a new finding by researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York. This newly found presence of mirror self-recognition in elephants, previously predicted due to their well-known social complexity, is thought to relate to empathetic tendencies and the ability to distinguish oneself from others, a characteristic that evolved independently in several branches of animals, including primates such as humans.

Dolphins can probably ____________ with each other.

Directions: Read the given passage carefully.

Dolphins live in saltwater but they can also live in freshwater locations. Only a handful of the species though are known to thrive in freshwater regions. They tend to stick to the shallow areas of the water found along the continental shelves.
Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we realise that their society is more complex than people previously imagined. They look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the weakest in the community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a language but it is much more probable that they communicate with each other without needing words. Could any of these mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the most common argument in favour of man's superiority over them that we can kill them more easily than they can kill us is the least satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we appear superior when we destroy them.

The dolphins can live in

Directions: Read the given passage carefully.

Dolphins live in saltwater but they can also live in freshwater locations. Only a handful of the species though are known to thrive in freshwater regions. They tend to stick to the shallow areas of the water found along the continental shelves.
Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we realise that their society is more complex than people previously imagined. They look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the weakest in the community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a language but it is much more probable that they communicate with each other without needing words. Could any of these mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the most common argument in favour of man's superiority over them that we can kill them more easily than they can kill us is the least satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we appear superior when we destroy them.

Dolphins have a __________ like the humans.

Directions: Read the given passage carefully.

Dolphins live in saltwater but they can also live in freshwater locations. Only a handful of the species though are known to thrive in freshwater regions. They tend to stick to the shallow areas of the water found along the continental shelves.
Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we realise that their society is more complex than people previously imagined. They look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the weakest in the community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a language but it is much more probable that they communicate with each other without needing words. Could any of these mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the most common argument in favour of man's superiority over them that we can kill them more easily than they can kill us is the least satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we appear superior when we destroy them.

The meaning of the word thrive is

Directions: Read the given passage carefully.

Dolphins live in saltwater but they can also live in freshwater locations. Only a handful of the species though are known to thrive in freshwater regions. They tend to stick to the shallow areas of the water found along the continental shelves.
Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping drowning sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we realise that their society is more complex than people previously imagined. They look after other dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the weakest in the community, as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a language but it is much more probable that they communicate with each other without needing words. Could any of these mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the most common argument in favour of man's superiority over them that we can kill them more easily than they can kill us is the least satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we appear superior when we destroy them.

Where did most of the trading take place on the silk route?

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

Though first reserved for Chinese royalty, silk spread gradually through the Chinese culture both geographically and socially. From there, silk garments began to reach regions throughout Asia. Silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants, because of its texture and luster.
Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wools to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most valuable commodity – silk, considered even more precious than gold! Clearly, a basic understanding of silk history would not be complete without understanding the crucial role played by the Silk Road in its global trade and introduction to the world outside of China.
The Silk Road was some 4,000 miles long stretching from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea. A caravan tract, the Silk Road followed the Great Wall of China to the north-west, bypassing the Takla Makan desert, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Levant, with a major trading market in Damascus. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean sea. Few people travelled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.

How were the goods handled during the trade on the silk route?

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

Though first reserved for Chinese royalty, silk spread gradually through the Chinese culture both geographically and socially. From there, silk garments began to reach regions throughout Asia. Silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the many areas accessible to Chinese merchants, because of its texture and luster.
Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wools to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most valuable commodity – silk, considered even more precious than gold! Clearly, a basic understanding of silk history would not be complete without understanding the crucial role played by the Silk Road in its global trade and introduction to the world outside of China.
The Silk Road was some 4,000 miles long stretching from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea. A caravan tract, the Silk Road followed the Great Wall of China to the north-west, bypassing the Takla Makan desert, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Levant, with a major trading market in Damascus. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean sea. Few people travelled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.

The girl laughed at

Directions: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to the given question out of the four alternatives.

It was not the first or the second time; I found that the two had met. The Cabuliwallah had overcome the child's first terror by a judicious bribery of nuts and almonds and the two were now good friends. They had many quaint jokes which afforded them much amusement. Seated in front of him, looking down on his gigantic frame in all her tiny dignity, Mini would ripple her face with laughter and begin, “Oh, Cabuliwallah! Cabuliwallah! What have you got in your bag?”

Bribe in the passage has been used by the Cabuliwallah

Directions: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to the given question out of the four alternatives.

It was not the first or the second time; I found that the two had met. The Cabuliwallah had overcome the child's first terror by a judicious bribery of nuts and almonds and the two were now good friends. They had many quaint jokes which afforded them much amusement. Seated in front of him, looking down on his gigantic frame in all her tiny dignity, Mini would ripple her face with laughter and begin, “Oh, Cabuliwallah! Cabuliwallah! What have you got in your bag?”

According to the narrator, the child and the Cabuliwallah had met

Directions: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to the given question out of the four alternatives.

It was not the first or the second time; I found that the two had met. The Cabuliwallah had overcome the child's first terror by a judicious bribery of nuts and almonds and the two were now good friends. They had many quaint jokes which afforded them much amusement. Seated in front of him, looking down on his gigantic frame in all her tiny dignity, Mini would ripple her face with laughter and begin, “Oh, Cabuliwallah! Cabuliwallah! What have you got in your bag?”

'Quaint jokes' mean

Directions: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to the given question out of the four alternatives.

It was not the first or the second time; I found that the two had met. The Cabuliwallah had overcome the child's first terror by a judicious bribery of nuts and almonds and the two were now good friends. They had many quaint jokes which afforded them much amusement. Seated in front of him, looking down on his gigantic frame in all her tiny dignity, Mini would ripple her face with laughter and begin, “Oh, Cabuliwallah! Cabuliwallah! What have you got in your bag?”