Reading Comprehension

The advantages of the scheme were many. Pick out the disadvantage from the list given below.

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. This was one of the Old Man's pet schemes; and one about which he would brook no interference. Each child would review the events of his school week in his own words, in his own way; he was free to comment, to criticize, to agree or disagree, with any person, subject or method, as long as it was in-some way associated with the school. No one and nothing was sacred, from the Headmaster down, and the child, moreover, was safe from any form of reprisal.

2. "Look at it this way," Mr. Florian had said. "It is of advantage to both pupil and teacher. If a child wants to write about something which matters to him, he will take some pains to set it down as carefully and with as much detail as possible; that must in some way improve his written English in terms of spelling, construction and style. Week by week we are able, through his reviews, to follow and observe his progress in such things. As for the teachers, we soon get a pretty good idea what the children think of us and whether or not we are getting close to them. It may sometimes be rather deflating to discover that a well-prepared lesson did not really excite Johnny Smith's interest, but, after all, the lesson was intended to benefit Johnny Smith, not his teacher.

'Sacred' in the context of the Headmaster means

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. This was one of the Old Man's pet schemes; and one about which he would brook no interference. Each child would review the events of his school week in his own words, in his own way; he was free to comment, to criticize, to agree or disagree, with any person, subject or method, as long as it was in-some way associated with the school. No one and nothing was sacred, from the Headmaster down, and the child, moreover, was safe from any form of reprisal.

2. "Look at it this way," Mr. Florian had said. "It is of advantage to both pupil and teacher. If a child wants to write about something which matters to him, he will take some pains to set it down as carefully and with as much detail as possible; that must in some way improve his written English in terms of spelling, construction and style. Week by week we are able, through his reviews, to follow and observe his progress in such things. As for the teachers, we soon get a pretty good idea what the children think of us and whether or not we are getting close to them. It may sometimes be rather deflating to discover that a well-prepared lesson did not really excite Johnny Smith's interest, but, after all, the lesson was intended to benefit Johnny Smith, not his teacher.

' Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act.' In this sentence, what does the term 'balancing act' imply?

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)

'As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families ............ . In this sentence, what does 'their families' refer to?

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)

' ... parents working in sync' means

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)

Karuna's parents and her husband's parents probably lived

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)

Karuna Verma is bewildered at

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)

According to the author, people living in which part are more prone to snake bites?

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

Surviving a Snakebite

1 Annually, there are a million cases of snakebite in India and of these, close to 50,000 succumb to the bites.

2 When you look around the countryside, where most bites occur, and notice people's habits and lifestyles, these figures aren't surprising. People walk barefoot without a torch at night when they are most likely to step on a foraging venomous snake.

3 We encourage rodents by disposing waste food out in the open, or by storing foodgrains in the house. Attracted by the smell of rats, snakes enter houses and when one crawls over someone asleep on the floor and the person twitches or rolls over, it may bite in defence.

4 Once bitten, we don't rush to the hospital. Instead, we seek out the nearest conman, tie tourniquets, eat vile tasting herbal chutneys, apply poultices or spurious stones, cut/slice/suck the bitten spot, and other ghastly time-consuming deadly "remedies".

5 As Rom cattily remarks : "If the snake hasn't injected enough venom, even popping an aspirin can save your life." That's the key - snakes inject venom voluntarily and we have no way of knowing if it has injected venom, and if it is a lethal dose. The only first aid is to immobilise the bitten limb like you would a fracture, and get to a hospital for anti-venom serum without wasting time.

Storing foodgrains in the house is one of the causes for snake bites because

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

Surviving a Snakebite

1 Annually, there are a million cases of snakebite in India and of these, close to 50,000 succumb to the bites.

2 When you look around the countryside, where most bites occur, and notice people's habits and lifestyles, these figures aren't surprising. People walk barefoot without a torch at night when they are most likely to step on a foraging venomous snake.

3 We encourage rodents by disposing waste food out in the open, or by storing foodgrains in the house. Attracted by the smell of rats, snakes enter houses and when one crawls over someone asleep on the floor and the person twitches or rolls over, it may bite in defence.

4 Once bitten, we don't rush to the hospital. Instead, we seek out the nearest conman, tie tourniquets, eat vile tasting herbal chutneys, apply poultices or spurious stones, cut/slice/suck the bitten spot, and other ghastly time-consuming deadly "remedies".

5 As Rom cattily remarks : "If the snake hasn't injected enough venom, even popping an aspirin can save your life." That's the key - snakes inject venom voluntarily and we have no way of knowing if it has injected venom, and if it is a lethal dose. The only first aid is to immobilise the bitten limb like you would a fracture, and get to a hospital for anti-venom serum without wasting time.

In the instance of a snakebite, what should we do immediately?

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

Surviving a Snakebite

1 Annually, there are a million cases of snakebite in India and of these, close to 50,000 succumb to the bites.

2 When you look around the countryside, where most bites occur, and notice people's habits and lifestyles, these figures aren't surprising. People walk barefoot without a torch at night when they are most likely to step on a foraging venomous snake.

3 We encourage rodents by disposing waste food out in the open, or by storing foodgrains in the house. Attracted by the smell of rats, snakes enter houses and when one crawls over someone asleep on the floor and the person twitches or rolls over, it may bite in defence.

4 Once bitten, we don't rush to the hospital. Instead, we seek out the nearest conman, tie tourniquets, eat vile tasting herbal chutneys, apply poultices or spurious stones, cut/slice/suck the bitten spot, and other ghastly time-consuming deadly "remedies".

5 As Rom cattily remarks : "If the snake hasn't injected enough venom, even popping an aspirin can save your life." That's the key - snakes inject venom voluntarily and we have no way of knowing if it has injected venom, and if it is a lethal dose. The only first aid is to immobilise the bitten limb like you would a fracture, and get to a hospital for anti-venom serum without wasting time.

If the snake hasn't injected enough venom, even popping an aspirin can save your life. This sentence can be rewritten without changing the meaning as

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

Surviving a Snakebite

1 Annually, there are a million cases of snakebite in India and of these, close to 50,000 succumb to the bites.

2 When you look around the countryside, where most bites occur, and notice people's habits and lifestyles, these figures aren't surprising. People walk barefoot without a torch at night when they are most likely to step on a foraging venomous snake.

3 We encourage rodents by disposing waste food out in the open, or by storing foodgrains in the house. Attracted by the smell of rats, snakes enter houses and when one crawls over someone asleep on the floor and the person twitches or rolls over, it may bite in defence.

4 Once bitten, we don't rush to the hospital. Instead, we seek out the nearest conman, tie tourniquets, eat vile tasting herbal chutneys, apply poultices or spurious stones, cut/slice/suck the bitten spot, and other ghastly time-consuming deadly "remedies".

5 As Rom cattily remarks : "If the snake hasn't injected enough venom, even popping an aspirin can save your life." That's the key - snakes inject venom voluntarily and we have no way of knowing if it has injected venom, and if it is a lethal dose. The only first aid is to immobilise the bitten limb like you would a fracture, and get to a hospital for anti-venom serum without wasting time.

Pick out a word from the passage, which means 'to go around in search of food'. (Para 2)

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

Surviving a Snakebite

1 Annually, there are a million cases of snakebite in India and of these, close to 50,000 succumb to the bites.

2 When you look around the countryside, where most bites occur, and notice people's habits and lifestyles, these figures aren't surprising. People walk barefoot without a torch at night when they are most likely to step on a foraging venomous snake.

3 We encourage rodents by disposing waste food out in the open, or by storing foodgrains in the house. Attracted by the smell of rats, snakes enter houses and when one crawls over someone asleep on the floor and the person twitches or rolls over, it may bite in defence.

4 Once bitten, we don't rush to the hospital. Instead, we seek out the nearest conman, tie tourniquets, eat vile tasting herbal chutneys, apply poultices or spurious stones, cut/slice/suck the bitten spot, and other ghastly time-consuming deadly "remedies".

5 As Rom cattily remarks : "If the snake hasn't injected enough venom, even popping an aspirin can save your life." That's the key - snakes inject venom voluntarily and we have no way of knowing if it has injected venom, and if it is a lethal dose. The only first aid is to immobilise the bitten limb like you would a fracture, and get to a hospital for anti-venom serum without wasting time.

After Karuna quit her job

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)

Karuna decided to quit her job because

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)

It was ironical that Karuna's mother should advise her to quit her job and stay at home because

Directions: Read the passage given below and answer the question by selecting the most appropriate option.

1. Karuna Verma is bewildered. "I don't know how she did it," she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna's childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office so that, by then, her mother would be-back from work. Of her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were well taken care of .Of her mother handling kitchen and classroom with ease.

2. When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as it seemed. For starters, her parents' era was different from hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri, Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was away. Her daughter's formative years would be spent with an outsider, a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She quit her teaching job in a school.

3. For a woman who was encouraged to be independent. throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For Karuna, being a housewife is one of the tougher jobs she has had. "I have no time for myself," says Karuna. "I make sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep. Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of time to myself and for my husband then," says Karuna.

4. The routine is quite different now. Karuna has taken to cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies by, pandering to two-year-old Avni's needs.

Source: The Week, March 13, 2011 (Adapted)