READING COMPREHENSION
1. Read the passage given below.
The
choices we make on a daily basis—wearing a seatbelt, lifting heavy objects
correctly or purposely staying out of any dangerous situation—can either ensure
our safety or bring about potentially harmful circumstances.
You and I
need to make a decision that we are going to get our lives in order. Exercising
self-control, self-discipline and establishing boundaries and borders in our
lives are some of the most important things we can do. A life without discipline
is one that’s filled with carelessness.
We can
think it’s kind of exciting to live life on the edge. We like the image of
“Yeah! That’s me! Living on the edge! Woo-hoo!” It’s become a popular way to
look at life. But if you see, even highways have lines, which provide margins
for our safety while we’re driving. If we go over one side, we’ll go into the
ditch. If we cross over the line in the middle, we could get killed. And we
like those lines because they help to keep us safe. Sometimes we don’t even
realize how lines help to keep us safe.
I’m not
proud of this, but for the first 20 years of my life at work, I ignored my
limits. I felt horrible, physically, most of the time. I used to tell myself “I
know I have limits and that I’ve reached them, but I’m going to ignore them and
see if or how long I can get by with it.” I ran to doctors, trying to make myself
feel better through pills, vitamins, natural stuff and any- thing I could get
my hands on. Some of the doctors would tell me, “It’s just stress.” That just
made me mad. I thought stress meant you don’t like what you do or can’t handle
life, and I love what I do. But I kept pushing myself, traveling, doing speaking
engagements and so on— simply exhausting myself.
Finally,
I understood I was living an unsustainable life and needed to make some changes
in my outlook and lifestyle.
You and I don’t have to be like everyone else or keep up with anyone else. Each of us needs to be exactly the way we are, and we don’t have to apologize for it. We’re not all alike and we need to find a comfort zone in which we can enjoy our lives instead of making ourselves sick with an overload of stress and pressure.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer questions from the twelve that follow. (1x12=12)
i. The reason why living on the edge has become popular, is because of the
a)
constant need for something different.
b) population being much younger.
c) exhausting effort to make changes.
d) strong tendency to stay within our limits.
ii. Choose the option that best captures the central idea of the passage from the given quotes.
a) Option (1)
b) Option (2)
c) Option (3)
d) Option (4)
iii. Which of the characteristics are apt about the writer in the following context: “I know I have limits and that I’ve reached them, but I’m going to ignore them and see if or how long I can get by with it.”?
1. negligent
2. indecisive
3. spontaneous
4. reckless
5. purposeless
6. patient
a) 2 and 5
b) 3 and 6
c) 1 and 4
d) 2 and 3
iv. Which of the following will be the most appropriate title for the passage?
a) Much too soon
b) Enough is enough
c) How much is too much?
d) Have enough to do?
v. The phrase “potentially harmful circumstances” refers to circumstances that can
(a) certainly be dangerous.
(b) be fairly dangerous.
(c) be possibly dangerous.
(d) seldom be dangerous.
vi. Select the option that makes the correct use of “unsustainable”, as used in the passage, to fill in the blank space.
a) In the long run, the
_ officials followed emergency procedures.
b) Emergency procedures were
by the officials.
c) Officials reported an set of events during the emergency.
d) Officials admit that the emergency system is in the longer run.
vii. The author attempts to
the readers through this write-up.
a) rebuke
b) question
c) offer aid to
d) offer advice to
viii. The author uses colloquial words such as “yeah”
and “Woo-hoo!”. Which of the following is NOT a colloquial word?
a) hooked
b) guy
c) stuff
d) stress
ix. What does the author mean when he says, “to get our lives in order”?
a) To resume our lives.
b) To organize our lives.
c) To rebuild our lives.
d) To control our lives.
x. Choose the option that correctly states the two meanings of ‘outlook’, as used in the passage.
1. A person’s evaluation of life
2. A person’s experiences in life
3. A person’s point of view towards life
4. A person’s regrets
in life
5. A person’s general attitude to life
a) (1) and (4)
b) (2) and (3)
c) (3) and (5)
d) (4) and (5)
xi. The author explains the importance of discipline and boundaries in our lives using the example of
a) road accidents.
b) traffic rules.
c) lines on the highway.
d) safe driving.
xii. What is the message conveyed in the last paragraph of the passage?
a) Love what you do.
b) Love yourself to love others.
c) Be the best version of yourself.
d) Be yourself.
GRAMMAR
5. Choose the correct options to fill in the blanks to complete the note about the Wangala Festival of Meghalaya. (3x1)
The Wangala -(i)- festival for the Garo in Meghalaya, Assam and Nagaland. It is a post- harvest festival -(ii)- the end of the agricultural year. It is popularly known as ‘The Hundred Drums’ festival. During the signature dance, the leading warrior -(iii)- with synchronised dance steps and specific hand-head movements.
(i) a) is important
b) are an important
c) was the important
d) is an important
(ii) a) being celebrated for marking
b) celebrated to mark
c) celebrated to marking
d) being celebrated for mark
(iii) a) leads the youngsters
b) is lead the youngsters
c) was leading the youngsters
d) had leads the youngsters
6. Choose the correct options to fill in the blanks to complete Venu’s narration.(3x1)
I saw Supanddi standing in the field. When I -(i)- doing there, he -(ii)- he was trying to win a Nobel prize. I was confused and enquired how standing in the rice field would help him do so. He stumped me by saying that he -(iii)- won Nobel prizes had all been out- standing in their fields!
(i) a) exclaimed what he was
b) told him what he was
c) asked him what he was
d) says to him about what
(ii) a) ordered that
b) refused that
c) questioned that
d) replied that
(iii) a) has heard that people who has
b) was hearing that people who were
c)had heard that people who had
d) did hear that people who had
7. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct options for sentences given below. (6x1)
(i) You …………………… consult the Thesaurus if you need groups of synonyms for those words.
a) had to
b) need to
c) used to
d) might
(ii) Everybody …………… keen to participate in the upcoming nukkad natak.
a) are
b) has
c) is
d) were
(iii) The good news is that…………… volunteers dropped out this month than the last two.
a) fewer
b) less
c) few
d) a little
(iv) It was …………… historic day for the organisation when ……………. honour was bestowed upon its employees.
a) a; an
b) an; the
c) the; a
d) an; a
(v) At this time tomorrow we ………………………. our project details to ma’am.
a) are presenting
b) shall be presenting
c) have been presenting
d) will have presenting
(vi) The Komodo dragon …………… follow its prey till it will eventually dies due to its venomous bite.
a) must
b) will
c) could
d) may
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