Reading Comprehension (Part-3) (CDS-Solved Paper)

Total Questions: 50

1. Directions (Q.Nos. 1-5) Read a passage carefully and answer the items based on it. [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Passage 22

Vacationing on a motorcycle, you see things in a way that is completely different from any other. In a car, you are always in a compartment, and because you are used to it you do not realise that through that car window everything you see is just more TV.

You are a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. On a motorcycle, however, the frame is gone. You are completely in contact with it all. You are in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.

The writer likes travelling on the motorcycle. What is the most likely reason for this?

Correct Answer: (d) Travelling by motorcycle, the writer feels that he is part of the scenery
Solution:

The answer can be found in the line you are in the scene, not just watching it anymore .......’ .

2. Which of the following statements is closest to the truth? [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Correct Answer: (c) The writer does not like TV because the picture is in a frame
Solution:

The answer can be found in the line ‘You are a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame’.

3. “In a car you are always in a compartment, and because you are used to it, you do not realise that ……… .” In this sentence, ‘it’ refers to [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Correct Answer: (a) travelling in a car
Solution:

Here, ‘it’ refers to travelling in a car.

4. In the last sentence, the writer talks of a ‘sense of presence’. He is referring to the presence of [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Correct Answer: (a) his own self as part of the scene
Solution:

Here, the writer is referring to the presence of his own self as a part of the scene.

5. The word ‘overwhelming’ means [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Correct Answer: (a) very strong
Solution:

‘Overwhelming’ as used in the passage means very strong.

6. Directions (Q.Nos. 6-8) Read a passage carefully and answer the items based on it. [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Passage 23

I was lying down in a dark, lonely compartment of the speeding train, trying to sleep. But, quite unusually, sleep eluded me. A vague uneasiness gripped me. It was pitch dark outside.

A few points of light flashed by as we sped through a small station and in the dim light I thought I saw a hand gripping the bars of my window. Once again the train was swallowed up by the impenetrable darkness.

My heart pounded. My mouth was parched. I could not get up. I do not know how long I remained thus before the train began to slow down. The reassuring bright lights of the station we were entering revealed no intruder. I breathed again.

 The narrator could not sleep because

Correct Answer: (c) he was disturbed by some unspecified thoughts
Solution:

The line ‘A vague uneasiness gripped me’ gives the answer.

7. In the dim light he saw [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Correct Answer: (b) someone clinging to the bars of the window
Solution:

The line ‘............... in the dim light I thought I saw a hand gripping the bars of my window’ provides the answer.

8. Which of the following words best describes the condition of the traveller? [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Correct Answer: (d) Nervous
Solution:

The lines ‘My heart pounded’, ‘My mouth was parched’ and the narrator’s inability to sleep show that he was nervous and frightened.

9. Directions (Q.Nos. 9-11) Read a passage carefully and answer the items based on it. [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Passage 24

I was abruptly awakened by a noisy scuffle. The sun, a mere fringe over the horizon, immediately chased away the grey half-darkness. I was too sleepy to notice what was happening.

Yuri was rolling over on the ground. I ran up to him but was struck dumb. With his right hand he was holding a cobra by the neck. Two sharp fangs showed from its jaws. The battle was over in a few minutes.

A hollow hissing and convulsive jerks were then only reminders of a just-ended tussle. The catcher half-opened the lid of the box and calmly put the quarry in.

When the writer saw Yuri holding a cobra by the neck, he was ‘struck dumb’. This means that he was

Correct Answer: (d) absolutely shocked
Solution:

The expression ‘struck dumb’ means to be unable to speak because of great surprise or shock.

10. From the passage, Yuri appears to be a man who is [Morning Shift-2017 (I)]

Correct Answer: (a) calm and courageous
Solution:

Yuri’s calm and courageous nature is reflected in the passage.