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.
An old tailor and his wife lived on the outskirts of a city. They had a daughter whom they both loved very much and as she was about to be married they took great pains to save money. The man toiled for long hours and his wife worked too. With the money they saved they purchased a few ornaments and kept them in a small wooded box for safekeeping. One day their hut caught fire. The man and his wife escaped just in time but the fire spread rapidly and soon engulfed the whole house. The neighbours soon gathered around and would not allow the man to risk his life and enter the house to save the precious ornaments. They drew water from nearby wells to pour onto the fire. A young traveller saw the poor man in tears and said, " Why are you so upset? Your house can soon be rebuilt". "It is not my house that I am shedding tears for", the tailor replied, "But the ornaments that we have bought for our daughter. Now we shall not be able to give her the wedding gift we worked so hard for!" The traveller thought for a while and seeing the plight of the poor man decide to help, but for a price. "I will help you on condition that I will give you only what I like." The poor man was so desperate to salvage a few of the ornaments at least that he agreed.
The young man entered the house carefully and located the box hidden exactly where the old man had said it would be. He came out of the house with the box, opened it, removed the ornaments and returned the box to the tailor. The old man was bewildered. "But the ornaments are mine. Why have you done this?" the tailor asked. "I agreed to give you what I liked and so I have given you the box", the young man retorted cheekily. The neighbours were annoyed with the young man but could think of no solution. The old man had agreed to the condition after all. But his wife intervened. "Let us go to the magistrate. He is a just man. Surely he will find a solution. "The young man was not willing to go to the magistrate but the neighbours insisted. When he heard the story the magistrate realized the young man had taken advantage of the poor tailor. "You told the tailor that you would give him what you liked and he agreed, is that correct?" he asked. "Yes, I will give you what I like were my exact words", the young man replied. "do you like the ornaments?" the magistrate questioned. "Yes of course!" Well as you like the ornaments you have to give them back to the old man as was agreed between you. "The young man realized that he had been outwitted.
Q.1. Which of the following can be said about the tailor?
(1) He was greedy and cared only about saving the ornaments he owned.
(2) He was cheated by the traveller.
(3) He was dishonest because he had no intention of honouring the agreement he had made with the young man.
(4) He had a poor memory and could not remember exactly where he had kept the ornaments.
(5) He did not want to risk his own life to save the ornaments.
Q.2. Why did the tailor agree to the condition that the young man had laid down?
A. His neighbours denied to save the ornaments for him.
B. His wife advised him to do so.
C. It was important for him to save the ornaments.
(1) All A,B and C (2) Both A and B (3) Only A
(4) Only C (5) Only B
Q.3. How was the dispute resolved?
(1) The magistrate confiscated the ornaments and did not give them to either the tailor or the traveller.
(2) The magistrate took the tailor's side and sent the young man to jail.
(3) The neighbours requested the young man to return the ornaments to the tailor.
(4) The young man felt sorry for the tailor and returned the ornaments.
(5) None of these
Q.4. Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the passage?
(1) The young man had difficulty locating the ornaments inside the hut.
(2) The neighbours support the young man's claim
(3) The young man was the rightful owner of the ornaments.
(4) The tailor and his wife were badly hurt in the fire.
(5) The young man wanted a reward for helping the tailor.
Q.5. What did the young man do with the box that he recovered from the burning house?
(1) He emptied the contents and gave the empty box to the tailor
(2) He kept the box and refused to hand it over.
(3) He hid the box.
(4) He handed the box over to the magistrate.
(5) He ran away with the box
Q.6. What was the magistrate's opinion about the young man?
A. He was a helpful person who had risked his life for the tailor.
B. He was a cheat.
C. He deserved to be punished and sent to jail.
(1) Only A (2) Both B and C (3) Only B
(4) Only C (5) Not mentioned in the passage
Q.7-8. Choose the word most SIMILAR in meaning to the word printed in bold, as used in the passage.
Q.7. plight
(1) sight (2) nature (3) health (4) purpose (5) difficulty
Q.8. pains
(1) sadness (2) efforts (3) aches (4) insults (5) cramps
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. desperate
(1) hopeful (2) careful (3) unimportant (4) critical (5) hopeless
Q.10. annoyed
(1) agreed (2) enjoyed (3) patient (4) happy (5) worried
ANSWERS –
Q.1. (2)
Q.2. (4)
Q.3. (5)
Q.4. (5)
Q.5. (1)
Q.6. (3)
Q.7. (5)
Q.8. (2)
Q.9. (1)
Q.10. (4)
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