Discursive Passage - 9 | English Grammar Advanced - Class 10 PDF Download

Read the following passage carefully:

1. In 1924, two brothers inherited their father’s craft and opened Dassler Brothers’ Shoes Factory in the town. Very soon, by virtue of learning from their father’s outstanding shoe making craft over years, a different style sole was invented by them. They nailed some pegs into soles so as to keep from slip. Despite of being odd, they did more than most when people wore slippery shoes. With this kind of shoes being popular in the town, some of the residents from surrounding towns began to come to order these shoes.
2. For the bigger market, the little brother Adolf came up with a marketing idea that let customers try for free. This kind of commercial sales had never been heard at that moment. After a month, with the experience of trying, the customers all flooded into the factory: Some of them bought the shoes at once and some continued to order. Since that, Dassler Brothers’ Shoes Factory won the big market.

3. At that time, the German people were very fond of soccer, even though sports were not popular at all. Their mania to soccer was matchless in the world or even could be described as demonic. Consequently, a good pair of soccer shoes became almost all the German people’s dreams. Dassler brothers had a keen business sense even when they were only children, and they began to study again in the factory and design football shoes at once. The very simple design may seem outdated today, but at the time they were totally new and advanced design.

4. Several years later, the brothers built a bigger shoes factory and began to sell to the whole Germany. The new factory was named as Adidas Factory which was the predecessor of today’s famous Adidas. In the third and fourth decade of the 20th century, the brothers’ shoes became well known in larger areas and they kept enlarging their business. Especially, the track and field star Jesse Owens wore the spiked shoes made by Dassler brothers and got four championships in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. This set the whole sporting world on fire and Dassler brothers’ name was known by more and more people.

9.1. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer the following questions in 30–40 words each:
(a) How did the brothers improve upon their father’s design?

The brothers invented a new sole. They nailed some pegs to it. This was done to prevent the shoe from slipping. So they became popular and people from other towns came to buy them.

(b) Adolf came up with an innovative idea. What was it?

Adolf for the first time came up with a marketing idea of letting people try shoes for free and then deciding whether they want to buy it. This kind of commercial sale had never been heard at that time.

(c) How were the brothers different from other businessmen?

The brothers had a keen sense of business and understood that people in Germany love the game of football. They studied the design and then came up with their own shoes for football players.

(d) How did the Adidas factory come into existence?

As their popularity grew tie brothers built a bigger factory and entire Germany was buying shoes from them. Slowly their shoes became very popular and they expanded their business. Most of the track and field event participants including Jesse Owens wore Adidas shoes for the Berlin Olympics.

9.2. On the basis of your reading of the passage, answer of the following:
(a) The antonym of ‘reducing’ in para 4 is __________.
(i) increasing
(ii) sharing
(iii) spreading
(iv) enlarging

Correct Option is (iv) enlarging

(b) The synonym of ‘obsolete’ in para 3 is __________.
(i) outdated
(ii) simple
(iii) demonic
(iv) matchless

Correct Option is (i) outdated

(c) This was Adolf’s father who came up with a marketing idea of letting people try shoes for free. (True/False)

False

(d) The brothers soon understood that people in Germany were __________.

very fond of soccer.