Reading Comprehension

The word ‘exhale’ means

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.

Which one of the following is correct? Insects visit flowers because they

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

When a bee, or an ant, beetle, moth or butterfly visits a flower for food, it simultaneously, and without knowing it, performs another vital function by carrying pollen from one plant to another. But not all flowers are visited by insects. A reliable guide to those that are, is their flamboyance. If the petals are large and colourful, if they smell sweet, it is because the plant needs to attract insects. Some plants have flowers which are graceful but not showy and therefore of no interest to insects. In this case the pollen is carried by the wind. Most flowers manufacture these minute grains called pollen which must be transferred to another flower of the same type before they can make seeds.

Which one of the following is correct? Insects carry pollen from one flower to another

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

When a bee, or an ant, beetle, moth or butterfly visits a flower for food, it simultaneously, and without knowing it, performs another vital function by carrying pollen from one plant to another. But not all flowers are visited by insects. A reliable guide to those that are, is their flamboyance. If the petals are large and colourful, if they smell sweet, it is because the plant needs to attract insects. Some plants have flowers which are graceful but not showy and therefore of no interest to insects. In this case the pollen is carried by the wind. Most flowers manufacture these minute grains called pollen which must be transferred to another flower of the same type before they can make seeds.

Which one of the following is correct? The fact that some flowers are flamboyant implies

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

When a bee, or an ant, beetle, moth or butterfly visits a flower for food, it simultaneously, and without knowing it, performs another vital function by carrying pollen from one plant to another. But not all flowers are visited by insects. A reliable guide to those that are, is their flamboyance. If the petals are large and colourful, if they smell sweet, it is because the plant needs to attract insects. Some plants have flowers which are graceful but not showy and therefore of no interest to insects. In this case the pollen is carried by the wind. Most flowers manufacture these minute grains called pollen which must be transferred to another flower of the same type before they can make seeds.

Which one of the following is correct? When insects carry pollen from one flower to another

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

When a bee, or an ant, beetle, moth or butterfly visits a flower for food, it simultaneously, and without knowing it, performs another vital function by carrying pollen from one plant to another. But not all flowers are visited by insects. A reliable guide to those that are, is their flamboyance. If the petals are large and colourful, if they smell sweet, it is because the plant needs to attract insects. Some plants have flowers which are graceful but not showy and therefore of no interest to insects. In this case the pollen is carried by the wind. Most flowers manufacture these minute grains called pollen which must be transferred to another flower of the same type before they can make seeds.

Which one of the following is correct? Extension of the suffrage indicates

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

Perhaps the best political epigram of recent years is the saying that 'this is the century of the common man'. The coming of this century can be seen far back in the extension of the suffrage and later in the development of social legislation. For many years all men have been equal before the law, every adult man and woman has the vote. We are slowly creating economic democracy, that is, such a measure of economic freedom that poverty prevents no one from taking his part in public affairs or enjoying the facilities, educational and other which the state provides for all. It might seem that when this is achieved our work is done. In fact, it is only the beginning.

Which one of the following is correct? An echo will come back if you shout near a

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

Not all sounds made by animals serve for communication, and we have only to turn to that extraordinary discovery of echo - location in bats to see a case in which the voice plays a strictly utilitarian role. To get a full appreciation of what this means we must turn first to some recent human inventions. Everyone knows that if a person shouts in the vicinity of a wall or mountain side, an echo will come back. The further off this solid obstruction, the longer time will elapse for the return of the echo. A sound made by tapping on the hull of a ship will be reflected from the sea bottom, and by measuring the time interval between the taps and the receipt of the echoes, the depth of the sea at that point can be calculated. So was born the echo - sounding apparatus, now in general use in ships. Every solid object will reflect a sound, varying according to the size of and nature of the object. A shoal of fish will do this. So it is a comparatively simple step from locating the sea bottom to locating a shoal of fish. With experience, and with improved apparatus, it is now possible not only to locate a shoal, but to tell if it is herring, cod, or other well - known fish, by the pattern of its echo. A few years ago it was found that certain bats emit squeaks and by receiving the echoes they could locate and steer clear of obstacles or locate flying insects on which they feed. This echo - location in bats is often compared with radar, the principle of which is similar.

Which one of the following is correct? Plants that do not have showy flowers

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

When a bee, or an ant, beetle, moth or butterfly visits a flower for food, it simultaneously, and without knowing it, performs another vital function by carrying pollen from one plant to another. But not all flowers are visited by insects. A reliable guide to those that are, is their flamboyance. If the petals are large and colourful, if they smell sweet, it is because the plant needs to attract insects. Some plants have flowers which are graceful but not showy and therefore of no interest to insects. In this case the pollen is carried by the wind. Most flowers manufacture these minute grains called pollen which must be transferred to another flower of the same type before they can make seeds.

What does the term ‘epigram’ mean?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

Perhaps the best political epigram of recent years is the saying that 'this is the century of the common man'. The coming of this century can be seen far back in the extension of the suffrage and later in the development of social legislation. For many years all men have been equal before the law, every adult man and woman has the vote. We are slowly creating economic democracy, that is, such a measure of economic freedom that poverty prevents no one from taking his part in public affairs or enjoying the facilities, educational and other which the state provides for all. It might seem that when this is achieved our work is done. In fact, it is only the beginning.

What does ‘economic democracy’ stand for?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

Perhaps the best political epigram of recent years is the saying that 'this is the century of the common man'. The coming of this century can be seen far back in the extension of the suffrage and later in the development of social legislation. For many years all men have been equal before the law, every adult man and woman has the vote. We are slowly creating economic democracy, that is, such a measure of economic freedom that poverty prevents no one from taking his part in public affairs or enjoying the facilities, educational and other which the state provides for all. It might seem that when this is achieved our work is done. In fact, it is only the beginning.

Which one of the following is correct? In the first paragraph, the writer says that bats use sound for

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

Not all sounds made by animals serve for communication, and we have only to turn to that extraordinary discovery of echo - location in bats to see a case in which the voice plays a strictly utilitarian role. To get a full appreciation of what this means we must turn first to some recent human inventions. Everyone knows that if a person shouts in the vicinity of a wall or mountain side, an echo will come back. The further off this solid obstruction, the longer time will elapse for the return of the echo. A sound made by tapping on the hull of a ship will be reflected from the sea bottom, and by measuring the time interval between the taps and the receipt of the echoes, the depth of the sea at that point can be calculated. So was born the echo - sounding apparatus, now in general use in ships. Every solid object will reflect a sound, varying according to the size of and nature of the object. A shoal of fish will do this. So it is a comparatively simple step from locating the sea bottom to locating a shoal of fish. With experience, and with improved apparatus, it is now possible not only to locate a shoal, but to tell if it is herring, cod, or other well - known fish, by the pattern of its echo. A few years ago it was found that certain bats emit squeaks and by receiving the echoes they could locate and steer clear of obstacles or locate flying insects on which they feed. This echo - location in bats is often compared with radar, the principle of which is similar.

Which one of the following is correct? Echo-location was first discovered in

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

Not all sounds made by animals serve for communication, and we have only to turn to that extraordinary discovery of echo - location in bats to see a case in which the voice plays a strictly utilitarian role. To get a full appreciation of what this means we must turn first to some recent human inventions. Everyone knows that if a person shouts in the vicinity of a wall or mountain side, an echo will come back. The further off this solid obstruction, the longer time will elapse for the return of the echo. A sound made by tapping on the hull of a ship will be reflected from the sea bottom, and by measuring the time interval between the taps and the receipt of the echoes, the depth of the sea at that point can be calculated. So was born the echo - sounding apparatus, now in general use in ships. Every solid object will reflect a sound, varying according to the size of and nature of the object. A shoal of fish will do this. So it is a comparatively simple step from locating the sea bottom to locating a shoal of fish. With experience, and with improved apparatus, it is now possible not only to locate a shoal, but to tell if it is herring, cod, or other well - known fish, by the pattern of its echo. A few years ago it was found that certain bats emit squeaks and by receiving the echoes they could locate and steer clear of obstacles or locate flying insects on which they feed. This echo - location in bats is often compared with radar, the principle of which is similar.

Which one of the following is a correct statement? The paralytic stroke helped the author

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

For more than 3 decades, I achieved great success as a lawyer, till a stroke left my right side totally paralysed. Despite the doctor’s encouragement, I was consumed by rage and self-pity. I yearned to be active again. But what could a middle - aged cripple like me do? One day, glancing at some paintings I owned, I thought suddenly, “What about painting”? In fact, I had always wanted to paint, but had never had the time. Now, I had plenty of time. In the last 25 years, I have completed 300 paintings — one of them appeared on the cover of the Reader’s Digest. The stroke, I realise, has helped me develop a latent talent and enjoy life.

Why did the author consider himself a cripple?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the question.

For more than 3 decades, I achieved great success as a lawyer, till a stroke left my right side totally paralysed. Despite the doctor’s encouragement, I was consumed by rage and self-pity. I yearned to be active again. But what could a middle - aged cripple like me do? One day, glancing at some paintings I owned, I thought suddenly, “What about painting”? In fact, I had always wanted to paint, but had never had the time. Now, I had plenty of time. In the last 25 years, I have completed 300 paintings — one of them appeared on the cover of the Reader’s Digest. The stroke, I realise, has helped me develop a latent talent and enjoy life.

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 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 close by 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.