SSC CGL Previous Year Questions: Reading Comprehension - 7 - SSC CGL MCQ

DIRECTIONS: You have a passage with questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The cyber–world is ultimately ungovernable. This is alarming as well as convenient; sometimes, convenient because alarming.
Some Indian politicians use this to great advantage. When there is an obvious failure in governance during a crisis they deflect attention from their own incompetence towards the ungovernable. So, having failed to prevent nervous citizens from fleeing their cities of work by assuring them of proper protection, some national leaders are now busy trying to prove to one another, and to panic-prone Indians, that a mischievous neighbour has been using the internet and social networking sites to spread dangerous rumours. And the Centre's automatic reaction is to start blocking these sites and begin elaborate and potentially endless negotiations with Google, Twitter and Facebook about access to information. If this is the official idea of prompt action at a time of crisis among communities, then Indians have more reason to fear their protectors than the nebulous mischief-makers of the cyber world. Wasting time gathering proof, blocking vaguely suspiciopus websites, hurling accusations across the border and worrying about bilateral relations are ways of keeping busy with inessentials because one does not quite know what to do about the essentials of a difficult situation. Besides, only a fifth of the 245 websites blocked by the Centre mention the people of the Northeast or the violence in Assam. And if a few morphed images and spurious texts can unsettle an entire nation, then there is something deeply wrong with the nation and with how it is being governed. This is what its leaders should be addressig immediately, rather than making a wrongheaded display of their powers of censorship.
It is just as absurd, and part of the same syndrome, to try to ban Twitter accounts that parody despatches from the Prime Minister's Office. To describe such forms of humour and dissent as "misrepresenting" the PMO–as if Twitter would take these parodies for genuine despatches from the PMO — makes the PMO look more ridiculous than its parodists manage to. With the precedent for such action set recently by the chief minister of West Bengal, this is yet another proof that what Bengal thinks today India will think tomorrow. Using the cyber–world for flexing the wrong muscles is essentially not funny. It might even prove to be quite danger ously distracting.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The passage suggests different ways of keeping the public busy with 'inessentials'. Pick the odd one out. 

DIRECTIONS: You have a passage with questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The cyber–world is ultimately ungovernable. This is alarming as well as convenient; sometimes, convenient because alarming.
Some Indian politicians use this to great advantage. When there is an obvious failure in governance during a crisis they deflect attention from their own incompetence towards the ungovernable. So, having failed to prevent nervous citizens from fleeing their cities of work by assuring them of proper protection, some national leaders are now busy trying to prove to one another, and to panic-prone Indians, that a mischievous neighbour has been using the internet and social networking sites to spread dangerous rumours. And the Centre's automatic reaction is to start blocking these sites and begin elaborate and potentially endless negotiations with Google, Twitter and Facebook about access to information. If this is the official idea of prompt action at a time of crisis among communities, then Indians have more reason to fear their protectors than the nebulous mischief-makers of the cyber world. Wasting time gathering proof, blocking vaguely suspiciopus websites, hurling accusations across the border and worrying about bilateral relations are ways of keeping busy with inessentials because one does not quite know what to do about the essentials of a difficult situation. Besides, only a fifth of the 245 websites blocked by the Centre mention the people of the Northeast or the violence in Assam. And if a few morphed images and spurious texts can unsettle an entire nation, then there is something deeply wrong with the nation and with how it is being governed. This is what its leaders should be addressig immediately, rather than making a wrongheaded display of their powers of censorship.
It is just as absurd, and part of the same syndrome, to try to ban Twitter accounts that parody despatches from the Prime Minister's Office. To describe such forms of humour and dissent as "misrepresenting" the PMO–as if Twitter would take these parodies for genuine despatches from the PMO — makes the PMO look more ridiculous than its parodists manage to. With the precedent for such action set recently by the chief minister of West Bengal, this is yet another proof that what Bengal thinks today India will think tomorrow. Using the cyber–world for flexing the wrong muscles is essentially not funny. It might even prove to be quite danger ously distracting.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The following is a list of statements made by the author of the above passage. Pick the odd one out. 

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The other name of Baltimore Oriole was _________ . 

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The nest of the Baltimore Oriole _________ . 

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Which of the following is the closest in size to a Baltimore Oriole?

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The Baltimore Oriole spend the winters in the _______ . 

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. What is the colour of the female Baltimore Oriole?

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Which of the following does not attract the Baltimore Oriole?

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The Baltimore Oriole can be found as far west as 

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Which of the following is not true about the Baltimore Oriole? 

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Where would I probably not find a Baltimore Oriole? 

DIRECTIONS: Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
The stunning Baltimore Oriole is a common summer visitor to eastern and mid western deciduous woodlands, neighbourhoods, and gardens. Baltimore Orioles winter in the tropics. About 7 inches in length, the male Baltimore Oriole has a black head, throat, back and wings. Its breast, stomach, and rump are bright orange. It also has an orange patch on the top of each wing and white wing bars. The tail is mostly black with orange fringes. The female is dull orange throughout.
Baltimore Orioles range throughout the eastern and mid western United States, and can be found as far west as the Dakotas. At the western edge of their range, Baltimore Orioles may breed with the Bullock’s Oriole (They were once considered the same species under the name Northern Oriole).
Baltimore Orioles build unusual pouch like nests that hang down from branches. They usually nest high in the trees, but often come down to lower heights, flashing bright orange and black feathers to delighted observers Active and acrobatic by nature, Baltimore Orioles may even feed upside down at time.
Baltimore Orioles eat insects and berries. They can easily be attracted to gardens by nailing orange wedges to tree branches. Baltirmore Orioles are also known to feed at hummingbird feeders and sapsucker wells.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Which of these colours is not found on a Baltimore Oriole? 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The adjective used to describe the postmaster's living-room is 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. What does the phrase 'ill at ease' in the passage mean? 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. What does the phrase 'little company' in the passage mean? 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. At times, the postmaster wrote

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The postmaster wrote on the 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. The word 'genie' means 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Which factory was situated near the village Ulapur?

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. What does the idiom 'fish out of water' suggest? 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Find a word in the passage which is the opposite of 'near'. 

DIRECTIONS: In these questions, you have a passage with 10 questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four.
The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory nearby and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.
Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, silmy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.
The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure, moreover they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers, he appears either proud or ill at ease. At any rate the postmaster had but little company, nor had he much to do.
At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy - such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression. But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.        (SSC CGL 1st Sit. 2013)

Q. Find a word in the passage which means 'the owner of a business'.

There were four of us - George and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking and talking about “how bad were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.
We were all feeling seedy and we were getting quite nervous about it. Harris said he felt such extraordinary fits of giddiness come over him at times, that he hardly knew what he was doing and then George said that he had fits of giddiness too, and hardly knew what he was doing. With me, it was my liver that was out of order. I knew it was my liver that was out of order, because I had just been reading a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed the various symptoms by which a man could tell when his liver was out of order. I had them all.
It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealth with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

Q. The four felt down and out because 

There were four of us - George and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking and talking about “how bad were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.
We were all feeling seedy and we were getting quite nervous about it. Harris said he felt such extraordinary fits of giddiness come over him at times, that he hardly knew what he was doing and then George said that he had fits of giddiness too, and hardly knew what he was doing. With me, it was my liver that was out of order. I knew it was my liver that was out of order, because I had just been reading a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed the various symptoms by which a man could tell when his liver was out of order. I had them all.
It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealth with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

Q. Whenever the speaker read a liver pill circular 

There were four of us - George and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking and talking about “how bad were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.
We were all feeling seedy and we were getting quite nervous about it. Harris said he felt such extraordinary fits of giddiness come over him at times, that he hardly knew what he was doing and then George said that he had fits of giddiness too, and hardly knew what he was doing. With me, it was my liver that was out of order. I knew it was my liver that was out of order, because I had just been reading a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed the various symptoms by which a man could tell when his liver was out of order. I had them all.
It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealth with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

Q. The author of the above passage seems to be suffering from 

There were four of us - George and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking and talking about “how bad were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.
We were all feeling seedy and we were getting quite nervous about it. Harris said he felt such extraordinary fits of giddiness come over him at times, that he hardly knew what he was doing and then George said that he had fits of giddiness too, and hardly knew what he was doing. With me, it was my liver that was out of order. I knew it was my liver that was out of order, because I had just been reading a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed the various symptoms by which a man could tell when his liver was out of order. I had them all.
It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealth with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

Q. Harris was troubled by

There were four of us - George and William Samuel Harris, and myself, and Montmorency. We were sitting in my room, smoking and talking about “how bad were - bad from a medical point of view I mean, of course.
We were all feeling seedy and we were getting quite nervous about it. Harris said he felt such extraordinary fits of giddiness come over him at times, that he hardly knew what he was doing and then George said that he had fits of giddiness too, and hardly knew what he was doing. With me, it was my liver that was out of order. I knew it was my liver that was out of order, because I had just been reading a patent liver-pill circular, in which were detailed the various symptoms by which a man could tell when his liver was out of order. I had them all.
It is a most extraordinary thing, but I never read a patent medicine advertisement without being impelled to the conclusion that I am suffering from the particular disease therein dealth with in its most virulent form. The diagnosis seems in every case to correspond exactly with all the sensations that I have ever felt.

Q. The word which is closest in meaning to virulent is