English Reading Comprehension

Here we shall gather the manifestation, the declaration, the account of the sowing and the dawning by the Framer and the Shaper, She Who Has Borne Children and He Who Has Begotten Sons, as they are called Creator of the Green Earth and Creator of the Blue Sky, as they are called. These collectively are evoked and given expression as the Midwife and the Patriarch, whose names are Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, the Protector and the Shelterer, Twice Midwife and Twice Patriarch, as they are called in Quich traditions. They gave voice to all things and accomplished their purpose in purity of being and in truth.
All then was measured and staked out into four divisions, doubling over and stretching the measuring cords of the womb of sky and the womb of earth. Thus were established the four corners, the four sides, as it is said, by the Framer and the Shaper, the Mother and the Father of life and all creation, the giver of breath and the giver of heart, they who give birth and give heart to the light everlasting, the child of light born of woman and the son of light born of man, they who are compassionate and wise in all thingsall that exists in the sky and on the earth, in the lakes and in the sea.

Based on this excerpt from the Popol Vuh, a sacred Mayan text, what can be inferred about gender relationships in Mayan society?

Read the following 'Notice' and answer the question that follow:
What is missing in the notice?

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

Miss Prism.  Lady Bracknell, I admit with shame that I do not know.  I only wish I did.  The plain facts of the case are these.  On the morning of the day you mention, a day that is forever branded on my memory, I prepared, as usual, to take the baby out in its perambulator.  I had also with me a somewhat old, but capacious handbag in which I had intended to place the manuscript of a work of fiction that I had written during my few unoccupied hours.  In a moment of mental abstraction, for which I never can forgive myself, I deposited the manuscript in the bassinette and placed the baby in the handbag.

Jack.  [Who has been listening attentively.] 

But where did you deposit the handbag?

Miss Prism.  Do not ask me, Mr. Worthing.

Jack.  Miss Prism, this is a matter of no small importance to me.  I insist on knowing where you deposited the handbag that contained that infant.

Miss Prism.  I left it in the cloak-room of one of the larger railway stations in London.

Jack.  What railway station?

Miss Prism.  [Quite crushed.] 

Victoria.  The Brighton line.  [Sinks into a hair.]

Jack.  I must retire to my room for a moment.  Gwendolen, wait here for me.

Gwendolen.  If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.  [Exit Jack in great excitement.]

....

Gwendolen.  This suspense is terrible.  I hope it will last.  [Enter Jack with a handbag of black leather in his hand.]

Jack.  [Rushing over to Miss Prism.] 
Is this the hand-bag, Miss Prism?  Examine it carefully before you speak.  The happiness of more than one life depends on your answer.

Miss Prism.  [Calmly.]  It seems to be mine.  Yes, here is the injury it received through the upsetting of a Gower Street omnibus in younger and happier

days.  Here is the stain on the lining caused by the explosion of a temperance beverage, an incident that occurred at Leamington.  And here, on the lock, are my initials.  I had forgotten that in an extravagant mood I had had them placed there.  The bag is undoubtedly mine.  I am delighted to have it so unexpectedly restored to me.  It has been a great inconvenience being without it all these years.

Jack.  [In a pathetic voice.]  Miss Prism, more is restored to you than this handbag.  I was the baby you placed in it.

The passage above is taken from a __________.

Read the passage and answer the following questions:
Six pairs of bald vulture were released into the wild in Germany. Four of the pairs of birds successfully nested and raised young. Two of the pairs nested near an industrial complex that released waste products (PCBs) into a nearby lake. These birds laid eggs, but the embryos failed to develop.
Which of the following is the least likely reason for the failure of the embryos to develop?

Read the poems carefully, and accordingly, fill in the blank:
The Old Man's Comforts
"You are old, father William," the young man cried,
"The few locks which are left you are grey;
You are hale, father William, a hearty old man;
Now tell me the reason, I pray."

"In the days of my youth," father William replied,
"I remember'd that youth would fly fast,
And abus'd not my health and my vigour at first,
That I never might need them at last."

You are Old, Father William
You are old, Father William, the young man said,
And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head
Do you think, at your age, it is right?

In my youth, Father William replied to his son,
I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.

The second poem takes inspiration from the first poem. The second poem may be said to be a ________________.

Identify the literary device in the following passage:
   

Identify the genre of the following passage:

In a field one summers day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its hearts content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"
"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have got plenty of
food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
   When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: "it is best to prepare for the days of necessity."

   This was early in March. During the next three months, there was much secret activity. Majors speech had given to the more intelligent animals on the farm a completely new outlook on life. They did not know when the Rebellion predicted by Major would take place, they had no reason for thinking that it would be within their own lifetime, but they saw clearly that it was their duty to prepare for it. The work of teaching and organizing the others fell naturally upon the pigs, who were generally recognized as being the cleverest of the animals.  

Identify the literary device used in the following passage:

Jesus said: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. Look after him, he said, and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.