From the beginning, however, I had an aversion to the water when I was in it. This started when I was three or four years old and father took me to the beach in California. He and I stood together in the surf. I hung on to him, yet the waves knocked me down and swept over me. I was buried in water. My breath was gone. I was frightened. Father laughed, but there was terror in my heart at the overpowering force of the waves.My introduction to the Y.M.C.A. swimming pool revived unpleasant memories and stirred childish fears. But in a little while, I gathered confidence. paddled with my new water wings, watching the other boys and trying to learn by aping them. I did this two or three times on different days and was just beginning to feel at ease in the water when the misadventure happened. Q.1. The writer had an intense dislike for water …………………….. . A. since he was three or four. B. when he was in water. C. when he was at some beach. D. Both A’ and ‘B’ Q.2. ………………………….. caused terror to the writer. A. The beach in California B. His father’s pressure on him C. The overpowering force of the waves D. The swimming pool Q.3. What were the unpleasant memories for the writer? A. Those that he had been in the surf with his father in California. B. Those that he had learnt about the dangers of being in water in his school. C. Those stories that he had heard from his friends. D. All of these three Q.4. The meaning of the phrase ‘feel at ease’ means ……………………….. . A. ‘without any effort’. B. ‘quite relaxed’. C. ‘comfortable’. D. Both ‘B’ and ‘C’ Q.5. What was the initial cause of the person's aversion to the water mentioned in the passage? A. Fear of sharks in California B. Experiencing a near-drowning incident with their father C. A traumatic encounter with strong ocean waves D. A negative experience at a swimming pool

1. B. ‘lash out vigorously at the surface of the water in trying to come out. 2. C. ‘My voice could not go outside water’. 3. B. he would spring from the bottom and come back to the surface again. 4. B. The water there was dark yellow 5. B. Experiencing a near-drowning incident with their father

From the beginning, however, I had an aversion to the water when …

My acquaintance with the barefoot ragpickers leads me to Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically. Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. Saheb’s family is among them. Seemapuri was then a wilderness. It still is, but it is no longer empty. In structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water, live 10,000 ragpickers.They have lived here for more than thirty years without an identity, without permits but with ration cards that get their names on voters’ lists and enable them to buy grain. Food is more important for survival than an identity. “If at the end of the day we can feed our families and go to bed without an aching stomach, we would rather live here than in the fields that gave us no grain,” say a group of women in tattered saris when I ask them why they left their beautiful land of green fields and rivers. Wherever they find food, they pitch their tents that become transit homes.Children grow up in them, becoming partners in survival. And survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking. Through the years, it has acquired the proportions of a fine art. Garbage to them is gold. It is their daily bread, a roof over their heads, even if it is a leaking roof. But for a child, it is even more.
Q.1. “Seemapuri is yet miles away from Delhi, metaphorically”. One of the following sentences explains this briefly. Pick it out.
A. Seemapuri is quite distant from Delhi.
B. Seemapuri is underdeveloped, uncultured in comparison to Delhi.
C. Seemapuri is a home-place for ragpickers only.
D. None of these three
Q.2. The phrase ‘without an aching stomach’ here means ………………… .
A. ‘without any physical disorder’. B. ‘without any trouble’.
C. ‘with stomach full’. D. ‘without taking sleeping pills.
Q.3. The words ‘land of green fields and rivers’ refer to the land of …………………………. .
A. Kolkata. B. Bangladesh. C. Delhi. D. Pakistan.
Q.4. ‘Garbage is gold’ for the residents of Seemapuri because it gives them ……………………… .
A. food to eat. B. a shelter to live in.
C. money to start their own industry. D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Q.5. Why did the squatters, including Saheb's family, come to Seemapuri from Bangladesh in 1971?
A. To escape from a natural disaster in Bangladesh
B. To find better job opportunities in the city
C. To obtain ration cards and voting rights
D. To seek food and better living conditions

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The great prose-writers of the world may not admit it, but my conviction grows stronger day after day that prose-writing is not and cannot be the true pursuit of a genius. It is for the patient, persistent, persevering drudge with a heart so shrunken that nothing can break it; rejection slips don’t mean a thing to him; he at once sets about making a fresh copy of the long prose piece and sends it on to another editor enclosing postage for the return of the manuscript.It was for such people that The Hindu had published a tiny announcement in an insignificant corner of an unimportant page – a short story contest organised by a British periodical by the name The Encounter Of course, The Encounter wasn’t a known commodity among the Gemini literati.I wanted to get an idea of the periodical before I spent a considerable sum in postage sending a manuscript to England. In those days, the British Council Library had an entrance with no long-winded signboards and notices to make you feel you were sneaking into a forbidden area. And there were copies of The Encounter lying about in various degrees of freshness, almost untouched by readers.When I read the editor’s name, I heard a bell ringing in my shrunken heart. It was the poet who had visited the Gemini Studios-I felt like I had found a long lost brother and I sang as I sealed the envelope and wrote out his address.I felt that he too would be singing the same song at the same time-long lost brothers of Indian films discover each other by singing the same song in the first reel and in the final reel of the film. Stephen Spender. Stephen-that was his name.
Q.1. Who is mentioned as ‘drudge’ in this prose extract?
A. A genius B. A prose writer C. An editor D. A heart-shrunk person
Q.2. Here ‘Gemini literati’ means ………………………………….. of Gemini Studios.
A. ‘Versatile actors’ B. ‘Painters’ C. ‘intellectuals’ or ‘master minds’ D. ‘Spot boys’
Q.3. ‘I heard a bell ringing in my shrunken heart’. Another expression for these words is:
A. ‘It was a warning for him. B. ‘He was completely disappointed’.
C. ‘A hope enlivened in his disappointment’. D. ‘His last hope also disappeared’.
Q.4. ‘Stephen Spender. Stephen’ is the name of ……………………… .
A. An editor B. A song C. The composer of a song D. The poet
Q.5. Why did the author visit the British Council Library in relation to The Encounter?
A. To check if there was a short story contest announced
B. To read copies of The Encounter and learn more about it
C.To inquire about the British Council's literary activities
D. To meet the editor of The Encounter in person

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Health conditions were miserable. Gandhi got a doctor to volunteer his services for six months. Three medicines were available – castor oil, quinine and sulphur ointment. Anybody who showed a coated tongue was given a dose of castor oil; anybody with malaria fever received quinine plus castor oil; anybody with skin eruptions received ointment plus castor oil.Gandhi noticed the filthy state of women’s clothes. He asked Kasturbai to talk to them about it. One woman took Kasturbai into her hut and said, “Look, there is no box or cupboard here for clothes. The sari I am wearing is the only one I have.” During his long stay in Champaran, Gandhi kept a long-distance watch on the ashram. He sent regular instructions by mail and asked for financial accounts. Once he wrote to the residents that it was time to fill in the old latrine trenches and dig new ones otherwise the old ones would begin to smell bad.
Q.1. Castor oil was given to the patient who …
A. was suffering from Malaria.
B. had some gastric problem.
C. had some skin problem.
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’
Q.2. The clothes of the women in Champaran kept filthy because ……………………. .
A. they were illiterate.
B. they did not have the sense of cleanliness.
C. they had only one sari to wear.
D. they had no time to wash the clothes.
Q.3. One of the following sentences is not true: During his long stay in Champaran, Gandhiji ………………….. .
A. lived in the Ashram.
B. kept on travelling all through region.
C. sent regular instructions to Ashram by mail.
D. kept on demanding financial accounts.
Q.4. At the Ashram, new latrine trenches were to be made because …………………………… .
A. old latrine trenches were overflowing.
B. old latrine trenches would start smelling bad.
C. old latrine trenches were not in enough number.
D. Both ‘A’ and ‘B’.
Q.5. What steps did Gandhi take to address the health conditions in Champaran?
A. He brought in a team of doctors and nurses.
B. He provided a variety of medicines, including castor oil, quinine, and sulphur ointment.
C. He initiated a campaign to improve sanitation and hygiene.
D. He organized a series of health awareness lectures.

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I used every way I knew to overcome this fear, but it held me firmly in its grip. Finally, one October, I decided to get an instructor and learn to swim. I went to a pool and practised five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt around me. A rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that, ran on an overhead cable. He held on to the end of the rope, and we went back and forth, back and forth across the pool, hour after hour, day after day, week after week. On each trip across the pool, a bit of the panic seized me. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and I went under, some of the old terror returned and my legs froze. It was three months before the tension began to slack. Then he taught me to put my face underwater and exhale, and to raise my nose and inhale. I repeated the exercise hundreds of times. Bit by bit I shed part of the panic that seized me when my head went underwater.
Q.1. What held the writer firmly in its grip?
A. Instructor B. Pool C. His own fear D. None of these three
Q.2. The rope was connected with …………………. .
A. a pulley on an overhead cable. B. the railing of the pool.
C. a hook studded in the pool wall. D. None of these three
Q.3. What happened to the writer on each trip across the pool?
A. He had great pain. B. Fear seized him.
C. He had to go back and forth. D. His legs froze.
Q.4. What exercise did the writer repeat?
A. He had to put his face underwater and exhale.
B. He had to raise his nose and inhale.
C. He had to relax his hold on the rope.
D. Both A’ and ‘ ‘B’
Q.5. What did the instructor do to help the person overcome their fear of swimming?
A. Provided them with a flotation device
B. Gave them swimming lessons in a pool
C. Encouraged them to hold their breath
D. Used overhead cables and a pulley system

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Once upon a time there was a man who went around selling small rattraps of wire. He made them himself at odd moments, from the material he got by begging in the stores or at the big farms. But even so, the business was not especially profitable, so he had to resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul together. Even so, his clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
Q.1. What was the man’s profession ?
(A) masonry (B) carpentry (C) making carpets (D) making rattraps
Q.2. The man occupied himself during
(A) wee hours (B) short period of free time (C) at dawn (D) at dusk
Q.3. The man had to resort to begging and petty thievery as .
(A) he could not earn enough profit from his business
(B) he was interested in it
(C) he was habituated in doing so
(D) he got fun by doing that
Q.4. To keep body and soul together means ____________.
(a) to merge body and soul
(B) to purify body and soul
(C) to stay alive especially in difficult circumstances
(D) to take rest in peace
Q.5. The man’s eyes gleamed due to..
(A) excitement (B) starvation (C) anxiety (D) enthusiasm

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In those days the Ramsjo iron mill was owned by a very prominent ironmaster, whose greatest ambition was to ship out good iron to the market. He watched both night and day to see that the work was done as well as possible, and at this very moment, he came into the forge on one of his nightly rounds of inspection.Naturally, the first thing he saw was the tall ragamuffin who had eased his way so close to the furnace that steam rose from his wet rags. The ironmaster did not follow the example of the blacksmiths, who had hardly deigned to look at the stranger. He walked close up to him, looked him over very carefully, then tore off his slouch hat to get a better view of his face.“But of course it is you, Nils Olof!” he said. “How you do look!” The man with the rattraps had never before seen the ironmaster at Ramsjo and did not even know what his name was. But it occurred to him that if the fine gentleman thought he was an old acquaintance, he might perhaps throw him a couple of kronor. Therefore he did not want to undeceive him all at once.
Q.1. The ambition of the ironmaster was to …
A. start an iron mill on a large scale.
B. work out huge production.
C. send good iron to the market.
D. All of these three
Q.2. Other blacksmiths usually did not pay attention to strangers because…
A. they kept very busy with their work.
B. they considered it below their status.
C. they thought that strangers are not reliable people.
D. they did not want to promote strangers.
Q.3. The rattrap man did not want to reveal his identity because ……………………. .
A. he wanted shelter for that night at someplace where nobody knew him.
B. he did not want to be caught as he had stolen money.
C. he did not want to disclose his occupation as a rattrap maker.
D. Both A’ and ‘B’.
Q.4. The meaning of the word ‘ragamuffin’ is ……………………….. .
A. ‘a rogue’. B.‘a vagabond’. C. ‘a rascal’. D. ‘a ruffian’.
Q.5. Why did the stranger, who had never met the ironmaster before, hesitate to correct him when the ironmaster mistook him for someone else?
A. He was afraid of the ironmaster.
B. He wanted to receive some money from the ironmaster.
C. He genuinely believed he might be mistaken for Nils Olof.
D. He did not want to offend the ironmaster.

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Since its invention a little over 130 years ago, the interview has become a commonplace of journalism. Today, almost everybody who is literate will have read an interview at some point in their lives, while from the other point of view; several thousand celebrities have been interviewed over the years, some of them repeatedly.So it is hardly \surprising that opinions of the interview-of its functions, methods and merits – vary considerably. Some might make quite extravagant claims for it as being, in its highest form, a source of truth, and, in its practice, an art. Others, usually celebrities who see themselves as its victims, might despise the interview as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives, or feel that it somehow diminishes them, just as in some primitive cultures it is believed that if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody then one is stealing that person’s soul.V S. Naipaul ‘feels that some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of themselves,’ Lewis Carroll, the creator of Alice in Wonderland, was said to have had ‘a just horror of the interviewer’ and he never consented to be interviewed – It was his horror of being lionized which made him thus repel would-be acquaintances, interviewers, and the persistent petitioners for his autograph and he would afterwards relate the stories of his success in silencing all such people with much satisfaction and amusement.
Q.1. Another expression for ‘commonplace’ is ………………….. .
A. ‘Public Park’. B. ‘Shopping Centre’ C. ‘Ordinary’ D. ‘Frequently’.
Q.2. Celebrities hate interviews because they feel that they …………………. .
A. are not advantageous to them. B. are an unwarranted intrusion into their lives.
C. bring them dishonour. D. spread wrong messages against them.
Q.3. In primitive culture it was believed that if one takes somebody’s photo, he ………………. .
A. blackmails him. B. takes away his soul too. C. helps him bring glory. D. humiliates him.
Q.4. One of the following had a fear of being interviewed :
A. Lewis Carroll B. V. S. Naipaul C. Celebrities D. Petitioners
Q.5. What is one of the concerns expressed about interviews in the passage?
A. Interviews have a positive impact on people's self-esteem.
B. Some believe interviews are a form of art.
C. Interviews are compared to stealing a person's soul in some cultures.
D. The fear of being lionized by interviewers can make people avoid them.

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My last French lesson! Why I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn anymore! I must stop there, then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds’ eggs, or going sliding on the Saar! My books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history of the saints, were old friends now that I couldn’t give up. And M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was. Poor man, It was in honour of this last lesson that he had put on his fine Sunday clothes, and now I understood why the old men of the village were sitting there in the back of the room. It was because they were sorry, too, that they had not gone to school more. It was their way of thanking our master for his forty years of faithful service and of showing their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
Q.1. The writer was feeling greatly sorry for ………….. .
A. not learning his French lessons.
B. seeking bird’s eggs.
C. teasing his teacher.
D. Both A and ‘B
Q.2. With the message of the leaving of his teacher M. Hamel, the writer forgot ……………………. .
A. that he punished him with a ruler.
B. that he was idiosyncratic.
C. that he taunted every now and then.
D. Both A and ‘B’
Q.3. This passage reveals the writer’s ……………………… for his teacher, M. Hamel.
A. commitment B. love C. apathy D. dislike
Q.4. The old men of the village were sitting in the back of the room to …………………
A. thank the master for his forty years of faithful service.
B. show their respect for the country that was theirs no more.
C. learn something new from the learned teacher.
D. Both A and ‘B’
Q.5. What made the protagonist feel regret and sorrow in the passage?
A. Not being able to find birds' eggs
B. The heavy weight of books and schoolwork
C. M. Hamel's strict discipline and crankiness
D. The realization that they would never see M. Hamel again

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The world had, of course, never been very kind to him, so it gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it in this way. It became a cherished pastime of his, during many dreary ploddings, to think of people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous snare, and of others who were still circling around the bait.One dark evening as he was trudging along the road he caught sight of a little grey cottage by the roadside, and he knocked on the door to ask shelter for the night. Nor was he refused. Instead of the sour faces which ordinarily met him, the owner, who was an old man without wife or child, was happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness. Immediately he put the porridge pot on the fire and gave him supper; then he carved off such a big slice from his tobacco roll that it was enough both for the stranger’s pipe and his own. Finally, he got out an old pack of cards and played ‘mjolis’ with his guest until bedtime.
Q.1. The writer thought ill of the world because ……………………… .
A. it had become a cherished pastime for him.
B. it had never been kind to him.
C. people had been caught in a dangerous snare.
D. None of these three
Q.2. The meaning of the word ‘unwonted’ is ……………………. .
A. ‘unusual’. B. ‘unexpected’. C. ‘not needed’. D. ‘unnecessary’.
Q.3. Here the words ‘sour faces’ suggest …………………….. .
A. ‘tasteless’. B. ‘not sweet ones’. C. ‘hateful’. D. ‘ungenerous’.
Q.4. One of the following things was not done by the host in the hospitality of his guest:
A. A card game was played. B. A dinner was served.
C. Wine was served. D. Tobacco was served.
Q.5. What gave the stranger an unwonted joy and became a cherished pastime for him during his dreary ploddings?
A. Thinking of the kindness of the world
B. Reflecting on his own good fortune
C. Imagining people caught in dangerous snares
D. Pondering the beauty of the countrysi

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“Don’t go so fast, bub; you’ll get to your school in plenty of time”
I thought he was making fun of me and reached M. Hamel’s little garden all out of breath. Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the street, the opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison, very loud, with our hands over our ears to understand better, and the teacher’s great ruler rapping on the table.But now it was all so still I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning. Through the window, I saw my classmates, already in their places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his Earn. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I blushed and how frightened I was.But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me and said very kindly, “Go to your place quickly, little Franz. We were beginning without you.”
Q.1. The meaning of the phrase ‘out of breath’ is…
A. ‘without fatigue’. B. ‘panting’. C. ‘half-heartedly’. D.‘with great efforts’.
Q.2. Usually one of the following things did not happen when the school began:
A. There was a great bustle.
B. Lessons were repeated simultaneously.
C. All started singing prayer in unison.
D. The teacher’s great ruler started rapping on the table.
Q.3. The writer had depended on ……………………… to steal to his seat unnoticeably.
A. a hubbub. B. a great silence.
C. inattentiveness of the teacher. D. his smartness.
Q.4. M. Hamel used an iron ruler for …………………. .
A. knocking on the table.
B. punishing his students with.
C. taking measurement.
D. Both A’ and ‘B’
Q.5. Why did the protagonist feel embarrassed when entering the classroom on that day, as described in the passage?
A. M. Hamel's strict discipline
B. The absence of classmates
C. Being late for school
D. Noise from the street

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