English Reading Comprehension

The author came to know of his friend’s illness

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

One dull, dark day in autumn, I was traveling on horseback through a dreary stretch of the countryside. At nightfall, I came in sight of the House of Usher. This was the house of Roderick Usher, who had been my childhood pal. It had been umpteen years since he and I had seen each other. I lived in a distant part of the country during my childhood. However, he had recently corresponded with me telling me at length of a serious illness and a mental disturbance that was troubling him. Beleaguered by his problems, Roderick was leading the existence of a hermit.

To the child, there is no glory in handling a spoon because

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

Those of us who already possess knives and use them as a matter of course at our meals can hardly understand the longing of an infant to be given the freedom of so perilous an instrument. Man has been defined as a tool-using animal, and there is no other tool that appeals to the imagination as strongly as a knife. It is through long months and years, a forbidden thing, and all the more fascinating on that count. There is no glory in using a spoon. There is no honour in holding a fork in the right hand and in taking up on it little squares of meat that have been cut with a knife by some more privileged hand. Fork and spoon are little more than an extension of the fingers, and a spoon, at least, is so safe that it can be left in the hands of an infant in the cradle. But a knife is a danger against which constant warning is necessary — something out of reach and waiting as a prize at the end of a long avenue of years.

The idea that what one eats has an effect on one’s susceptibility to a disease like cancer is

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

Recent research indicates that proper diet may help to reduce the risk of cancer. Since cancer develops over a long-time, typically decades, one has time to hinder or promote it. Certain foods can block the chemicals that initiate cancer. Anti-oxidants found in some vitamins and minerals can snuff out oxygen-free radicals, which are thought to make cells susceptible to cancer. They can even repair some of the cellular damage that has been done. Wheat bran, for example has been shown to shrink preconscious cells. One of the most studied anti-oxidants in vegetables and a fruit is beta-carotene concentrated in deep green, yellow and orange vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes and spinach, fruits such as apricots and muskmelons. Betacarotene has a direct toxic effect on cells that form malignant tumors. Inside the body, it changes to retinoic acid used in the treatment of cancer. A simple rule is that darker the vegetable more is the anti-oxidant within. Vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli reduce the risk of breast cancer. Soybeans contain at least five compounds believed to inhibit cancer. Wheat bran lowers the risk of colon cancer. The ideal diet is low in fat and calories, high in fibre and includes a variety of nutrients—rich foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts.

The child

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

Those of us who already possess knives and use them as a matter of course at our meals can hardly understand the longing of an infant to be given the freedom of so perilous an instrument. Man has been defined as a tool-using animal, and there is no other tool that appeals to the imagination as strongly as a knife. It is through long months and years, a forbidden thing, and all the more fascinating on that count. There is no glory in using a spoon. There is no honour in holding a fork in the right hand and in taking up on it little squares of meat that have been cut with a knife by some more privileged hand. Fork and spoon are little more than an extension of the fingers, and a spoon, at least, is so safe that it can be left in the hands of an infant in the cradle. But a knife is a danger against which constant warning is necessary — something out of reach and waiting as a prize at the end of a long avenue of years.

The House of Usher was the home of

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

One dull, dark day in autumn, I was traveling on horseback through a dreary stretch of the countryside. At nightfall, I came in sight of the House of Usher. This was the house of Roderick Usher, who had been my childhood pal. It had been umpteen years since he and I had seen each other. I lived in a distant part of the country during my childhood. However, he had recently corresponded with me telling me at length of a serious illness and a mental disturbance that was troubling him. Beleaguered by his problems, Roderick was leading the existence of a hermit.

Roderick

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

One dull, dark day in autumn, I was traveling on horseback through a dreary stretch of the countryside. At nightfall, I came in sight of the House of Usher. This was the house of Roderick Usher, who had been my childhood pal. It had been umpteen years since he and I had seen each other. I lived in a distant part of the country during my childhood. However, he had recently corresponded with me telling me at length of a serious illness and a mental disturbance that was troubling him. Beleaguered by his problems, Roderick was leading the existence of a hermit.

Meenakshi failed to realise that

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

Ravi Shankar has a large circle of friends and is very popular at parties. Everybody admires him for his fine sense of humour—everybody, that is except his six-year old daughter, Meenakshi. Recently one of Ravi’s friends asked him to make a speech at a reception. This is the sort of thing that Ravi loves. He prepared the speech carefully and went to the party with Meenakshi. He had included a large number of funny stories in the speech and, of course it was a great success. As soon as he had finished, Meenakshi told him she wanted to go home. Ravi was a little disappointed by this but he did as his daughter asked. On the way home, he asked Meenakshi if she had enjoyed the speech. To his surprise, she said she had not. Ravi asked why this was so and she told him that she did not like to see so many people laughing at him.

Community participation will result in

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

However romantic the concept of self government might be, the reality is as grim as it was a decade ago. Power to the people has been a lip service, a mere slogan. If anything, the Panchayat System has virtually legitimised the exploitation of the rural elite, barring, of course, in a few states like West Bengal and Karnataka.

No one is blind to the fact that the scheduled caste members are made to sit separately in panchayat meetings, that the poorest of the poor is never identified and the benefits go to the preferred ones. So vicious is the trap that no law from Delhi can undo it overnight. Instead of mere legislation, however well-intentioned it may be, what is needed is political education and general awareness. The villager must be given scope for critical thinking on his environment. This is possible through his initiation into the understanding of the system he is a victim of.

The concept of community control must be replaced by community participation which would free the villager of unnecessary political and bureaucratic interference and give him a sense of belonging to the village property. Unless the Panchayati Raj builds up into a truly people’s movement backed by a willing community, the vested interests will stifle the rare lone voice of resistance.

To whom do the benefits of the Panchayati Raj go?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

However romantic the concept of self government might be, the reality is as grim as it was a decade ago. Power to the people has been a lip service, a mere slogan. If anything, the Panchayat System has virtually legitimised the exploitation of the rural elite, barring, of course, in a few states like West Bengal and Karnataka.

No one is blind to the fact that the scheduled caste members are made to sit separately in panchayat meetings, that the poorest of the poor is never identified and the benefits go to the preferred ones. So vicious is the trap that no law from Delhi can undo it overnight. Instead of mere legislation, however well-intentioned it may be, what is needed is political education and general awareness. The villager must be given scope for critical thinking on his environment. This is possible through his initiation into the understanding of the system he is a victim of.

The concept of community control must be replaced by community participation which would free the villager of unnecessary political and bureaucratic interference and give him a sense of belonging to the village property. Unless the Panchayati Raj builds up into a truly people’s movement backed by a willing community, the vested interests will stifle the rare lone voice of resistance.

Does the author welcome community control?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

However romantic the concept of self government might be, the reality is as grim as it was a decade ago. Power to the people has been a lip service, a mere slogan. If anything, the Panchayat System has virtually legitimised the exploitation of the rural elite, barring, of course, in a few states like West Bengal and Karnataka.

No one is blind to the fact that the scheduled caste members are made to sit separately in panchayat meetings, that the poorest of the poor is never identified and the benefits go to the preferred ones. So vicious is the trap that no law from Delhi can undo it overnight. Instead of mere legislation, however well-intentioned it may be, what is needed is political education and general awareness. The villager must be given scope for critical thinking on his environment. This is possible through his initiation into the understanding of the system he is a victim of.

The concept of community control must be replaced by community participation which would free the villager of unnecessary political and bureaucratic interference and give him a sense of belonging to the village property. Unless the Panchayati Raj builds up into a truly people’s movement backed by a willing community, the vested interests will stifle the rare lone voice of resistance.

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 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.

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.