English Reading Comprehension

Which one of the following is correct ?

When big waves struck the raft the six people in it.

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:

“Westward Ho!” we shouted as the sail of our crudely constructed raft, the Kon-Tiki caught the wind. The sail quickly filled and the Kon-Tiki began to move. The six of us were off to our great adventure.
As night fell, the troughs of the sea grew gradually deeper and our first duel with the elements began. Each time we heard the sudden deafening hiss of a roller closeby and saw a white crest come towards us out of the darkness, we held on tight and waited for the worst. But invariably the Kon-Tiki calmly swung up her stern and rose skyward unperturbed.

How was the Kon-Tiki’s performance on the high seas?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:

“Westward Ho!” we shouted as the sail of our crudely constructed raft, the Kon-Tiki caught the wind. The sail quickly filled and the Kon-Tiki began to move. The six of us were off to our great adventure.
As night fell, the troughs of the sea grew gradually deeper and our first duel with the elements began. Each time we heard the sudden deafening hiss of a roller closeby and saw a white crest come towards us out of the darkness, we held on tight and waited for the worst. But invariably the Kon-Tiki calmly swung up her stern and rose skyward unperturbed.

Why did nobody come forward to save the drowning boy,though there were many swimmers?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:

What does the word 'duel' in the passage mean ?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:

“Westward Ho!” we shouted as the sail of our crudely constructed raft, the Kon-Tiki caught the wind. The sail quickly filled and the Kon-Tiki began to move. The six of us were off to our great adventure.
As night fell, the troughs of the sea grew gradually deeper and our first duel with the elements began. Each time we heard the sudden deafening hiss of a roller closeby and saw a white crest come towards us out of the darkness, we held on tight and waited for the worst. But invariably the Kon-Tiki calmly swung up her stern and rose skyward unperturbed.

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

The King of Basna in Zulu was a proud and stern man, feared by all his subjects. One day while sitting in his mud palace surrounded by fawning courtiers and watched by a multitude of people, who had come to see him, he was suddenly overcome by a sense of grandeur and loudly declared that he was master of the world and that all men were his servants. But, a frail voice said that he was mistaken. It said, “All men are servants of one another.” A deathly silence followed the remark. The blood froze in the veins of the people assembled there. The king exploded with anger and demanded, "Who has dared to suggest that I am a servant!" The frail voice again said that he dared, and the people parted to reveal a white-­haired old man, leaning heavily on a stout stick. “Who are you?” asked the king. “I am Boubakar,” said the man. “We have no water in our village. I have come to ask for a well to be dug there.” The king roared whether he was a beggar, striding down to where the man stood. Boubakar was fearless and he said, "I will prove before nightfall that all people are here to serve each other."

What did the frail voice suggest?

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

The King of Basna in Zulu was a proud and stern man, feared by all his subjects. One day while sitting in his mud palace surrounded by fawning courtiers and watched by a multitude of people, who had come to see him, he was suddenly overcome by a sense of grandeur and loudly declared that he was master of the world and that all men were his servants. But, a frail voice said that he was mistaken. It said, “All men are servants of one another.” A deathly silence followed the remark. The blood froze in the veins of the people assembled there. The king exploded with anger and demanded, "Who has dared to suggest that I am a servant!" The frail voice again said that he dared, and the people parted to reveal a white-­haired old man, leaning heavily on a stout stick. “Who are you?” asked the king. “I am Boubakar,” said the man. “We have no water in our village. I have come to ask for a well to be dug there.” The king roared whether he was a beggar, striding down to where the man stood. Boubakar was fearless and he said, "I will prove before nightfall that all people are here to serve each other."

The king declared that he was the master of the world because

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

The King of Basna in Zulu was a proud and stern man, feared by all his subjects. One day while sitting in his mud palace surrounded by fawning courtiers and watched by a multitude of people, who had come to see him, he was suddenly overcome by a sense of grandeur and loudly declared that he was master of the world and that all men were his servants. But, a frail voice said that he was mistaken. It said, “All men are servants of one another.” A deathly silence followed the remark. The blood froze in the veins of the people assembled there. The king exploded with anger and demanded, "Who has dared to suggest that I am a servant!" The frail voice again said that he dared, and the people parted to reveal a white-­haired old man, leaning heavily on a stout stick. “Who are you?” asked the king. “I am Boubakar,” said the man. “We have no water in our village. I have come to ask for a well to be dug there.” The king roared whether he was a beggar, striding down to where the man stood. Boubakar was fearless and he said, "I will prove before nightfall that all people are here to serve each other.

People were scared because

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

The King of Basna in Zulu was a proud and stern man, feared by all his subjects. One day while sitting in his mud palace surrounded by fawning courtiers and watched by a multitude of people, who had come to see him, he was suddenly overcome by a sense of grandeur and loudly declared that he was master of the world and that all men were his servants. But, a frail voice said that he was mistaken. It said, “All men are servants of one another.” A deathly silence followed the remark. The blood froze in the veins of the people assembled there. The king exploded with anger and demanded, "Who has dared to suggest that I am a servant!" The frail voice again said that he dared, and the people parted to reveal a white-­haired old man, leaning heavily on a stout stick. “Who are you?” asked the king. “I am Boubakar,” said the man. “We have no water in our village. I have come to ask for a well to be dug there.” The king roared whether he was a beggar, striding down to where the man stood. Boubakar was fearless and he said, "I will prove before nightfall that all people are here to serve each other.

Boubakar had come there because

Directions: Given below is the body of a story with blanks i, ii, iii and iv. Fill in the blanks with the options provided to make it meaningful.

Gurinder was a popular sculptor of his town. His sculptures ____i___ nobody could ever find whether the statue was real or not. One night, Gurinder had a dream that he would die within fifteen days and the Demon of Death would come to take him. To save himself from death, he prepared nine statues of himself. On the fifteenth day, he heard the footsteps of the Demon of Death. He also ____ii_________ so that the Demon could not discover who the real Gurinder was. Exhausted, the Demon of Death went back and narrated the matter to the God of Death, who immediately set out to bring Gurinder himself. In order to find out the real Gurinder, the God of Death played a trick. He glanced ______iii_______ admiringly. Gurinder stood alert and motionless. All of a sudden, the God of Death said, "Gurinder, no doubt, you are an excellent sculptor but I can still notice one fault in your art". This remark made Gurinder restless and he asked, “Where is the fault?” Instantly, the God of Death __iv_______ and said, “Your pride, that cannot tolerate a little criticism”. Gurinder was caught due to his pride.

P. looked so real that Q. at all the statues R. stood like a statue S. caught hold of him

Directions: Given below is the body of a story with blanks. Fill in the blanks with the options provided to make it meaningful.

The March house was situated on a hill and the four March sisters were at home, waiting for their mother. When the clock struck eleven, they (i), Mrs. March was very late from her social club. They waited restlessly and at last, there was a knock at the door. When it was opened, Mrs. March (ii) and hugged her daughters. The eldest daughter Meg laid the table and brought the food to the table. Jo, the second one, fetched slippers for her mother. Beth and Amy sat beside their mother on the sofa. Mrs. March was looking a bit worried and they asked the reason for her sadness. She told them that Mrs. Richard, their neighbour, who had six (iii), was facing starvation and had nothing to feed her children with. This brought tears in the eyes of the girls and they immediately decided to go to Mrs. Richard and share their food with her children. They felt great warmth after doing such a noble deed. They requested their mother that her social club should arrange for food for the poor family everyday. Mrs. March (iv) daughters.

P. children to provide for Q. entered the house R. got worried as their mother S. felt proud of her

Why did the farmer decide to let the donkey die?

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

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours. As the farmer was thinking of something to do, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. He thought that it was just not worth it to save the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help it. They all took a shovel and began to fill the well with soil. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, everyone was surprised when it became quiet. Afterwards, the farmer finally looked down the well and was surprised to see that with every shovel of soil that fell on its back, the animal would shake it off and take a step up on the soil. A little later the donkey came up over the edge of the well and ran away. In life, we should never give up even when everybody else loses hope.

What word in the passage is opposite to 'quietly’?

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

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours. As the farmer was thinking of something to do, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. He thought that it was just not worth it to save the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help it. They all took a shovel and began to fill the well with soil. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, everyone was surprised when it became quiet. Afterwards, the farmer finally looked down the well and was surprised to see that with every shovel of soil that fell on its back, the animal would shake it off and take a step up on the soil. A little later the donkey came up over the edge of the well and ran away. In life, we should never give up even when everybody else loses hope.

What did the farmer and the neighbours do when the donkey fell in the well?

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

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours. As the farmer was thinking of something to do, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. He thought that it was just not worth it to save the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help it. They all took a shovel and began to fill the well with soil. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, everyone was surprised when it became quiet. Afterwards, the farmer finally looked down the well and was surprised to see that with every shovel of soil that fell on its back, the animal would shake it off and take a step up on the soil. A little later the donkey came up over the edge of the well and ran away. In life, we should never give up even when everybody else loses hope.

What did the grasshopper do in the summers?

Directions: Read the passage given below carefully and answer the question that follows:

A lazy grasshopper laughed at a little ant as she was always busy gathering food. “Why are you working so hard?” he asked, “come into the sunshine and listen to my cheerful song.” But the ant went on with her work. She said, “I am lining a store for the winter. Sunny days will not last forever.” “Winter is so far away yet.” laughed back the grasshopper. When the winter came, the ant settled down in her cozy house. She had plenty of food to last the whole winter. The grasshopper had nothing to eat so; he went to the ant and begged her for a little corn. “No”, replied the ant, “you laughed at me when I worked. You yourself sang through the summer. So, you better dance the winter away.” Therefore, idleness is a curse.

What did the farmer decide to do when the donkey fell into the well?

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

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried loudly for hours. As the farmer was thinking of something to do, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway. He thought that it was just not worth it to save the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help it. They all took a shovel and began to fill the well with soil. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, everyone was surprised when it became quiet. Afterwards, the farmer finally looked down the well and was surprised to see that with every shovel of soil that fell on its back, the animal would shake it off and take a step up on the soil. A little later the donkey came up over the edge of the well and ran away. In life, we should never give up even when everybody else loses hope.