Q.1-10.Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some questions.
“Good luck, Tiger!” local hawkers selling tiger embossed T-shirts and caps called out to tourists - most of them foreigners - when we were about to enter the Ranthambore National Park last week. It was shivering cold at 6 am in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district, where Ranthambore is located.
They meant us to see the tiger, but malapropisms can sometimes be laden with an undercurrent of irony, even if unintended. Laughing, we - our companions in the jeep were four visitors from the US - joked and hoped the tiger got lucky enough to see us. We were neither hugely inclined towards nor experienced in forest safaris. We simply wanted to watch the beauty of the lush green forests - it is truly breathtaking -amidst the fort built in the 9th century. Had we seen a tiger, it would have been a bonus for us - that’s how we had started off.
Visiting Ranthambore but missing out on tiger sighting can be quite an embarrassment. Not only is it common to watch the big cat even in winter (though April-June is the perfect time), one hears stories of tigers preying in front of a jeep full of visitors. You just don’t want to consider yourself the rare, unlucky one. Yet, the fact remains that thousands of Ranthambore visitors never get to see tigers. And funnily, those missing out on the big treat realise why tigers may not after all be in the mood to “sight” human beings.
Our possibility of safaris remained uncertain as a case was on in the Supreme Court for months. But luckily, clearance was given days before we started off. We booked safaris online, but a day before we reached, T-24, a male tiger, killed an assistant forest officer, leaving Sawai Madhopur jittery.
In the first safari, our companions were two middle aged couples from the US, and post-lunch, we were with a young couple from Belgium and an elderly couple from the UK. We watched sambar deer, spotted deer, monkeys (langurs), Indian wild boars, rufous treepie, green pigeon, woodpeckers, parakeets, peacocks, lots of cormorants, a marsh crocodile and a black sloth bear. We watched the bear for nearly ten minutes feasting on termites, a rare sight, I was told much later by a friend.
Each jeep had a guide, and they told visitors about “warning calls” from other animals - a telltale sign that a tiger was lurking around. Only, unfamiliar and unqualified to the ways of the forests, we weren’t sure how “real” these were, especially since we heard one guide telling another that he had mimicked one such call. They joked about it, leaving us - who understand Hindi - shocked.
We found jeeps and Canters often moving in groups. Our guides constantly exchanged notes, and whenever one heard a “warning call”, he signalled it to his colleagues. At one point, there were at least three Canters and five jeeps within 300 metres of each other. This preceded the dramatic build-up to guides “being sure” there was a tiger around.
Q.1. The author saw the bear-
(1) Dancing around the trees (2) Relishing the feast of termites
(3) Taking rest near the pond (4) Attacking another bear
(5) Grazing in the forest
Q.2. Why were jeeps and Canters moving in groups?
(1) To have fun together (2) To guide each other through the park
(3) To prevent any animal attack (4) It was just a coincidence
(5) None of these
Q.3. Which of the following was killed by T-24, the male tiger?
A. Another tiger
B. A local resident
C. An assistant forest officer
(1) Only A (2) A and C (3) Only C (4) Only B (5) None of these
Q.4. Which of the following were author’s companion before lunch, in the first safari?
(1) An elderly couple from the UK (2) A young couple from Belgium
(3) An old couple from US (4) Two middle aged couples from the US
(5) All of these
Q.5. Which of the following is FALSE according to the passage?
(1) The author had the knowledge of Hindi
(2) Ranthambore is located in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district
(3) The author and his companions wanted to watch the beauty of the lush green forests
(4) The author watched Indian wild boars, woodpeckers, parakeets, and a black sloth bear
(5) The hawkers were selling tiger embossed shirts and socks
Q.6. What did the guide in each jeep tell visitors?
(1) Warning calls from other animals about the approach of an elephant
(2) Other worth visiting places around the park
(3) Incidences of past tiger attacks
(4) He share his own experiences with the visitors
(5) None of these
Q.7-8.Choose the word most SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold, as used in the passage.
Q.7. Sight
(1) Scene (2) Appearance (3) Observe (4) Distinguish (5) See
Q.8. Hoped
(1) Awaited (2) Suspected (3) Stayed (4) Attended (5) Regarded
Q.9-10.Choose the word which is most nearly the OPPOSITE in meaning as the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
Q.9. Funnily
(1) Comically (2) Playfully (3) Seriously
(4) Systematically (5) Agreeably
Q.10. Preceded
(1) Followed (2) Guided (3) Advanced (4) Dominated (5) Delayed
ANSWERS
Q.1.(2) Q.2.(3)
Q.3.(3)
Q.4.(4)
Q.5.(5)
Q.6.(5)
Q.7.(5)
Q.8.(1)
Q.9.(3)
Q.10.(1)
