English Reading Comprehension

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the following question.

Once, a beggar found a wallet on the road. He opened the wallet and found that there were one hundred gold coins in it. Just then, the beggar heard the cries of a merchant saying, "I have lost my wallet. Whosoever finds it and gives it to me, he will be given a reward.” The beggar was very honest. Handing over the wallet to the merchant, he said, "Will you give me the reward?" "Reward!' said the merchant, counting the coins, "This wallet had 200 gold coins. You have stolen half the coins. Now, you are asking for a reward. Be off or I will call the police.” The beggar could not bear the insulting words and said, "I have not stolen anything. I am ready to go to the court." In the court, the judge listened to both of them and said, "I trust both of you. I shall do justice. Merchant, you say that there were 200 gold coins in the wallet but the wallet which the beggar found had only 100 coins. This means that this wallet is not yours. Since there is no claimant to this wallet, I shall deposit half the coins to the treasury and half will be given to the beggar." The dishonest merchant could do nothing but lick his own feet. Now, he could not claim the wallet. The beggar got the reward for his honesty.

After the beggar had counted the gold coins, he heard the cries of

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the following question.

Once, a beggar found a wallet on the road. He opened the wallet and found that there were one hundred gold coins in it. Just then, the beggar heard the cries of a merchant saying, "I have lost my wallet. Whosoever finds it and gives it to me, he will be given a reward.” The beggar was very honest. Handing on the wallet to the merchant, he said, "Will you give me the reward?" "Reward!' said the merchant, counting the coins, "This wallet had 200 gold coins. You have stolen half the coins. Now, you are asking for reward. Be off or I will call the police.” The beggar could not bear the insulting words and said, "I have not stolen anything. I am ready to go to the court." In the court, the judge listened to both of them and said, "I trust both of you. I shall do justice. Merchant, you say that there were 200 gold coins in the wallet but the wallet which the beggar found had only 100 coins. This means that this wallet is not yours. Since there is no claimant to this wallet, I shall deposit half the coins to the treasury and half will be given to the beggar." The dishonest merchant could do nothing but lick his own feet. Now, he could not claim the wallet. The beggar got the reward for his honesty.

What was the reaction of the merchant when the beggar asked for the reward?

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the following question.

Once, a beggar found a wallet on the road. He opened the wallet and found that there were one hundred gold coins in it. Just then, the beggar heard the cries of a merchant saying, "I have lost my wallet. Whosoever finds it and gives it to me, he will be given a reward.” The beggar was very honest. Handing over the wallet to the merchant, he said, "Will you give me the reward?" "Reward!' said the merchant, counting the coins, "This wallet had 200 gold coins. You have stolen half the coins. Now, you are asking for a reward. Be off or I will call the police.” The beggar could not bear the insulting words and said, "I have not stolen anything. I am ready to go to the court." In the court, the judge listened to both of them and said, "I trust both of you. I shall do justice. Merchant, you say that there were 200 gold coins in the wallet but the wallet which the beggar found had only 100 coins. This means that this wallet is not yours. Since there is no claimant to this wallet, I shall deposit half the coins to the treasury and half will be given to the beggar." The dishonest merchant could do nothing but lick his own feet. Now, he could not claim the wallet. The beggar got the reward for his honesty.

What did the beggar choose to do on being called a thief?

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the following question.

Once, a beggar found a wallet on the road. He opened the wallet and found that there were one hundred gold coins in it. Just then, the beggar heard the cries of a merchant saying, "I have lost my wallet. Whosoever finds it and gives it to me, he will be given a reward.” The beggar was very honest. Handing over the wallet to the merchant, he said, "Will you give me the reward?" "Reward!' said the merchant, counting the coins, "This wallet had 200 gold coins. You have stolen half the coins. Now, you are asking for a reward. Be off or I will call the police.” The beggar could not bear the insulting words and said, "I have not stolen anything. I am ready to go to the court." In the court, the judge listened to both of them and said, "I trust both of you. I shall do justice. Merchant, you say that there were 200 gold coins in the wallet but the wallet which the beggar found had only 100 coins. This means that this wallet is not yours. Since there is no claimant to this wallet, I shall deposit half the coins to the treasury and half will be given to the beggar." The dishonest merchant could do nothing but lick his own feet. Now, he could not claim the wallet. The beggar got the reward for his honesty.

The judgment was passed in whose favour?

Directions: Read the given passage carefully and answer the following question.

Once, a beggar found a wallet on the road. He opened the wallet and found that there were one hundred gold coins in it. Just then, the beggar heard the cries of a merchant saying, "I have lost my wallet. Whosoever finds it and gives it to me, he will be given a reward.” The beggar was very honest. Handing over the wallet to the merchant, he said, "Will you give me the reward?" "Reward!' said the merchant, counting the coins, "This wallet had 200 gold coins. You have stolen half the coins. Now, you are asking for a reward. Be off or I will call the police.” The beggar could not bear the insulting words and said, "I have not stolen anything. I am ready to go to the court." In the court, the judge listened to both of them and said, "I trust both of you. I shall do justice. Merchant, you say that there were 200 gold coins in the wallet but the wallet which the beggar found had only 100 coins. This means that this wallet is not yours. Since there is no claimant to this wallet, I shall deposit half the coins to the treasury and half will be given to the beggar." The dishonest merchant could do nothing but lick his own feet. Now, he could not claim the wallet. The beggar got the reward for his honesty.

Which word in the passage is similar in meaning to the word corrupt?

Directions: Fill the blanks I, II, III and IV using the phrases P, Q, R and S to make a meaningful story. Diwali is a festival of the Hindus. It is celebrated __I__ the country. It is the __II__ of lights. People say that we celebrate Diwali because on that day God Ram returned from Lanka and the people of Ayodhya welcomed him by lighting __III. Diwali is a symbol of the victory of good __IV____.

P. over evil Q. all over R. festival S. small lamps

Directions: Fill the blanks I, II, III and IV using the phrases P, Q, R and S to make a meaningful story.

There lived an old farmer. He had four sons, who were very lazy. He wanted __I. But the lazy sons did not care for his advice. One day, the farmer fell ill. He was on his death bed. He called his sons and said, "I have buried a treasure __II__. But I do not remember the exact place. Dig it out after my death." After the death of their father, they went to the field. They dug it from end to end. But they found no treasure. _III. In the meantime, an old man passed that way. He understood what their father had meant. He advised them to sow seeds. They acted upon his advice and reaped a rich harvest. They became rich and thus, learnt _IV___.

P. the value of hard work Q. to teach them the value of hard work R. They became sad S. in my field

What impression about Indian attitude towards corruption does the reading of the second paragraph make on the reader?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Corruption in India has become so pervasive that it has seeped into the most revered institutions. No wonder then that Justice Bharucha was compelled to remark in 2001, “about 20 per cent of the judges in the courts are corrupt; corruption among public servants has reached monstrous dimensions in India. Its tentacles have started grappling even the institutions created for the protection of public.” Even a powerful prime minister like Rajiv Gandhi admitted defeat and bemoaned that “out of every 100 crore allocated to an anti-poverty project, I know that only about Rs. 15 crore reach the people. The remainder is gobbled up by middlemen, power brokers, contractors, and the corrupt.” As much as Rs. 37,000 crore or about 1.5 to 2 per cent of the GDP surfaced as part of the Voluntary Disclosure scheme in 1997 alone. It should surprise no one that Transparency International has ranked India among the top fifty-five corrupt countries in the world.
Is corruption the sole prerogative of the politicians and the bureaucracy? I am afraid not. In fact, the biggest corruption cases have been outside the government. The Harshad Mehta scam of around Rs. 10,000 crore and Ketan Parikh’s scam of Rs. 5,000 crore put other scandals to shame. It is estimated that non-banking financial companies have swindled over 30 million small investors. The other day, it was reported that a sizeable number of software professionals in a well-known multinational had fudged their bills. This morning, I received an e-mail from an erstwhile, dismissed colleague of mine arguing why she was not all that wrong in swiping an attendance card on behalf of another colleague! The cricket match-fixing scandal is still fresh in our memories. The list goes on. It is very clear that corruption is now an accepted phenomenon in the psyche of Indians from all walks of life.

Is there a solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem? Is there any hope at all? Will we ever see a corruption-free society? Can we at least work towards creating a corruption-free society for our children and grandchildren? I am an optimist and I believe that every problem can be solved. It requires leadership that is inspirational, selfless and courageous. We do have a few such people in India among our politicians, bureaucrats and corporate leaders. They have to come together to fight this scourge. Let me detail a few steps needed to fight corruption.
Fairness, transparency and accountability displayed by leaders are what instil confidence in a government, a community and society. Unfortunately, in our society, the government rarely practises these attributes when it comes to the elite. Only when we practise these attributes in fighting corruption among the elite and the powerful, will we succeed in rooting it out.

Directions: In the following passage, there are some numbered blanks. Fill in the blanks by selecting the most appropriate word for each blank from the given options.

Many people have sacrificed their lives to (1) the thirst for knowledge and to satisfy their (2). In the olden days people used to worship sun and moon thinking them to be (3) celestial bodies. But the scientific investigation had 4) that sun is an ordinary star and earth is a planet like other planets. After this, man entered the age of the space travel. The invention of rocket was the first step in space travel. Scientists had already (5) that there was neither air nor water on the moon. The moon was the first (6) of man. A spaceship travelling at a speed of 4000 km per hour can (7) this distance in 10 hours. The scientists had (8) discovered that the surface of moon was rough and full of craters, rocks and mountains.

Fill in the blanks (1)

Directions: In the following passage, there are some numbered blanks. Fill in the blanks by selecting the most appropriate word for each blank from the given options.

Many people have sacrificed their lives to (1) the thirst for knowledge and to satisfy their (2). In the olden days people used to worship sun and moon thinking them to be (3) celestial bodies. But the scientific investigation had 4) that sun is an ordinary star and earth is a planet like other planets. After this, man entered the age of the space travel. The invention of rocket was the first step in space travel. Scientists had already (5) that there was neither air nor water on the moon. The moon was the first (6) of man. A spaceship travelling at a speed of 4000 km per hour can (7) this distance in 10 hours. The scientists had (8) discovered that the surface of moon was rough and full of craters, rocks and mountains.

Fill in the blanks (2)

Directions: In the following passage, there are some numbered blanks. Fill in the blanks by selecting the most appropriate word for each blank from the given options.

Many people have sacrificed their lives to (1) the thirst for knowledge and to satisfy their (2). In the olden days people used to worship sun and moon thinking them to be (3) celestial bodies. But the scientific investigation had 4) that sun is an ordinary star and earth is a planet like other planets. After this, man entered the age of the space travel. The invention of rocket was the first step in space travel. Scientists had already (5) that there was neither air nor water on the moon. The moon was the first (6) of man. A spaceship travelling at a speed of 4000 km per hour can (7) this distance in 10 hours. The scientists had (8) discovered that the surface of moon was rough and full of craters, rocks and mountains.

Fill in the blanks (3)

Directions: In the following passage, there are some numbered blanks. Fill in the blanks by selecting the most appropriate word for each blank from the given options.

Many people have sacrificed their lives to (1) the thirst for knowledge and to satisfy their (2). In the olden days people used to worship sun and moon thinking them to be (3) celestial bodies. But the scientific investigation had 4) that sun is an ordinary star and earth is a planet like other planets. After this, man entered the age of the space travel. The invention of rocket was the first step in space travel. Scientists had already (5) that there was neither air nor water on the moon. The moon was the first (6) of man. A spaceship travelling at a speed of 4000 km per hour can (7) this distance in 10 hours. The scientists had (8) discovered that the surface of moon was rough and full of craters, rocks and mountains.

Fill in the blanks (4)

Directions: In the following passage, there are some numbered blanks. Fill in the blanks by selecting the most appropriate word for each blank from the given options.

Many people have sacrificed their lives to (1) the thirst for knowledge and to satisfy their (2). In the olden days people used to worship sun and moon thinking them to be (3) celestial bodies. But the scientific investigation had 4) that sun is an ordinary star and earth is a planet like other planets. After this, man entered the age of the space travel. The invention of rocket was the first step in space travel. Scientists had already (5) that there was neither air nor water on the moon. The moon was the first (6) of man. A spaceship travelling at a speed of 4000 km per hour can (7) this distance in 10 hours. The scientists had (8) discovered that the surface of moon was rough and full of craters, rocks and mountains.

Fill in the blanks (5)