Solved Examples: Literary Passage | English Language Preparation for CUET UG PDF Download

Example 1

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters, then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash, 'till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said "Bother!" and "O blow!" and also "Hang spring cleaning!" and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gaveled carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun and air. So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, "Up we go! Up we go!" 'till at last, pop! His snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow.

"This is fine!" he said to himself. "This is better than whitewashing!" The sunshine struck hot on his fur, soft breezes caressed his heated brow, and after the seclusion of the cellarage he had lived in so long, the carol of happy birds fell on his dulled hearing almost like a shout. Jumping off all his four legs at once, in the joy of living and the delight of spring without its cleaning, he pursued his way across the meadow 'till he reached the hedge on the further side.

"Hold up!" said an elderly rabbit at the gap. "Sixpence for the privilege of passing by the private road!" He was bowled over in an instant by the impatient and contemptuous Mole, who trotted along the side of the hedge chaffing the other rabbits as they peeped hurriedly from their holes to see what the row was about. "Onion-sauce! Onion-sauce!" he remarked jeeringly, and was gone before they could think of a thoroughly satisfactory reply. Then they all started grumbling at each other. "How STUPID you are! Why didn't you tell him—" "Well, why didn't YOU say—" "You might have reminded him—" and so on, in the usual way; but, of course, it was then much too late, as is always the case.

Q1: What does the Mole's reaction to spring cleaning ("Bother!" and "O blow!") primarily indicate?

A) His dissatisfaction with his work

B) His excitement for the upcoming season

C) His enthusiasm for cleaning

D) His confusion about the task at hand

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Q2: What does the Mole’s decision to leave his home and venture into the meadow symbolize?

A) A desire to escape responsibility

B) A longing for adventure and freedom

C) A need to explore new places

D) A wish to meet other animals

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Q3: What is the significance of the phrase "divine discontent" in the context of the Mole’s experience?

A) It represents his dissatisfaction with his physical state

B) It shows his frustration with the external environment

C) It reflects his emotional longing for something more fulfilling

D) It is used to express his confusion about life

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Q4: What does the Mole’s interaction with the elderly rabbit ("Onion-sauce! Onion-sauce!") reveal about his character?

A) He respects authority and social norms

B) He is indifferent to the rules and impatient with others

C) He is shy and avoids confrontation

D) He enjoys making jokes and teasing others

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Q5: Which of the following best describes the tone of the passage when the Mole exits his home?

A) Melancholic and heavy

B) Joyful and carefree

C) Indifferent and apathetic

D) Tense and anxious

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Example 2

There was no hope for him this time: it was the third stroke. Night after night I had passed the house (it was vacation time) and studied the lighted square of window, and night after night I had found it lighted in the same way, faintly and evenly. If he was dead, I thought, I would see the reflection of candles on the darkened blind, for I knew that two candles must be set at the head of a corpse. He had often said to me, "I am not long for this world," and I had thought his words idle. Now I knew they were true. Every night as I gazed up at the window I said softly to myself the word “paralysis.” It had always sounded strangely in my ears, like the word “gnomon” in the Euclid and the word “simony” in the Catechism. But now it sounded to me like the name of some maleficent and sinful being. It filled me with fear, and yet I longed to be nearer to it and to look upon its deadly work.

Old Cotter was sitting at the fire, smoking, when I came downstairs to supper. While my aunt was ladling out my stirabout he said, as if returning to some former remark of his:

"No, I wouldn't say he was exactly . . . but there was something queer . . . there was something uncanny about him. I'll tell you my opinion . . ."

He began to puff at his pipe, no doubt arranging his opinion in his mind. Tiresome old fool! When we knew him first he used to be rather interesting, talking of faints and worms, but I soon grew tired of him and his endless stories about the distillery.

"I have my own theory about it," he said. "I think it was one of those . . . peculiar cases . . . But it's hard to say . . ."

He began to puff again at his pipe without giving us his theory. My uncle saw me staring and said to me:

"Well, so your old friend is gone, you'll be sorry to hear."

"Who?" said I.

"Father Flynn."

"Is he dead?"

"Mr. Cotter here has just told us. He was passing by the house."

I knew that I was under observation, so I continued eating as if the news had not interested me. My uncle explained to old Cotter.

"The youngster and he were great friends. The old chap taught him a great deal, mind you; and they say he had a great wish for him."

"God have mercy on his soul," said my aunt piously.

Old Cotter looked at me for a while. I felt that his little beady black eyes were examining me, but I would not satisfy him by looking up from my plate. He returned to his pipe and finally spat rudely into the grate.

Q1: The phrase "Night after night I had passed the house" suggests that the narrator:

A) Was secretly visiting the house at night

B) Felt a growing sense of dread and anticipation

C) Had a habitual routine of walking past the house

D) Was trying to avoid confronting the reality of the situation

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Q2: The narrator's reflection on the word "paralysis" indicates:

A) A deeper understanding of his own physical limitations

B) An intellectual interest in medical terminology

C) A growing fear and emotional response to the situation

D) A fascination with the word’s historical significance

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Q3: The phrase "tiresome old fool!" reveals the narrator’s:

A) Respect for Old Cotter’s wisdom

B) Frustration with Old Cotter’s rambling

C) Admiration for Old Cotter’s insight

D) Anxiety about the conversation

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Q4: What does the phrase "peculiar cases" imply about Old Cotter's perspective?

A) He believes Father Flynn's death is part of a strange pattern.

B) He is uncertain but hints at something unusual about Father Flynn's condition.

C) He has medical expertise and is diagnosing Father Flynn's condition.

D) He is merely passing time with irrelevant speculation.

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Q5: The narrator's attempt to remain indifferent ("I continued eating as if the news had not interested me") reveals:

A) His desire to avoid conflict with his relatives

B) His emotional detachment from Father Flynn’s death

C) His need to conceal his true feelings about the situation

D) His attempt to show respect for Father Flynn’s memory

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Example 3

Peyton Farquhar was a well to do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family. Being a planter and like other planters a politician, he was naturally an original secessionist and ardently devoted to the Southern cause. Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with that gallant army which had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth, and he chafed under the inglorious restraint, longing for the release of his energies, the larger life of the soldier, the opportunity for distinction. That opportunity, he felt, would come, as it comes to all in wartime. Meanwhile he did what he could. No service was too humble for him to perform in the aid of the South, no adventure too perilous for him to undertake if consistent with the character of a civilian who was at heart a soldier, and who in good faith and without too much qualification assented to at least a part of the frankly villainous dictum that all is fair in love and war.

One evening while Farquhar and his wife were sitting on a rustic bench near the entrance to his grounds, a gray-clad soldier rode up to the gate and asked for a drink of water. Mrs. Farquhar was only too happy to serve him with her own white hands. While she was fetching the water her husband approached the dusty horseman and inquired eagerly for news from the front.

"The Yanks are repairing the railroads," said the man, "and are getting ready for another advance. They have reached the Owl Creek bridge, put it in order and built a stockade on the north bank. The commandant has issued an order, which is posted everywhere, declaring that any civilian caught interfering with the railroad, its bridges, tunnels, or trains will be summarily hanged. I saw the order."

"How far is it to the Owl Creek bridge?" Farquhar asked.

"About thirty miles."

"Is there no force on this side of the creek?"

"Only a picket post half a mile out, on the railroad, and a single sentinel at this end of the bridge."

"Suppose a man—a civilian and student of hanging—should elude the picket post and perhaps get the better of the sentinel," said Farquhar, smiling, "what could he accomplish?"

The soldier reflected. "I was there a month ago," he replied. "I observed that the flood of last winter had lodged a great quantity of driftwood against the wooden pier at this end of the bridge. It is now dry and would burn like tinder."

The lady had now brought the water, which the soldier drank. He thanked her ceremoniously, bowed to her husband and rode away. An hour later, after nightfall, he repassed the plantation, going northward in the direction from which he had come. He was a Federal scout.

Q1: Peyton Farquhar's desire to join the Southern cause primarily stems from:

A) His belief in the economic stability of the South

B) His need to maintain his social status as a politician

C) His devotion to the Southern cause and the opportunity for distinction in war

D) His personal animosity toward the Northern states

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Q2: The phrase "no service was too humble for him to perform" reveals that Peyton Farquhar:

A) Is willing to sacrifice his personal safety for the Southern cause

B) Believes in the importance of small contributions in the larger effort of war

C) Is interested in receiving praise for his actions

D) Is focused solely on leadership positions and large-scale battles

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Q3: When the soldier mentions the "order, which is posted everywhere," what does this reveal about the military context of the story?

A) The soldier is a deserter trying to avoid punishment.

B) The Southern forces are well-organized and maintain strict control over civilians.

C) The Northern forces are weak and ineffective in maintaining order.

D) There is a strict order against all civilians interfering with military operations.

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Q4: What does Farquhar's question, "Suppose a man—a civilian and student of hanging—should elude the picket post and perhaps get the better of the sentinel, what could he accomplish?" suggest about his character?

A) He is casually discussing military strategy.

B) He is unaware of the dangers of interfering with the enemy’s operations.

C) He is contemplating a dangerous and daring act of sabotage.

D) He is interested in learning about the conditions of war from the soldier.

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Q5: The soldier's statement about the driftwood lodged against the wooden pier of the bridge suggests:

A) The bridge is in poor condition and needs repair.

B) The soldier is knowledgeable about the area and is providing useful information.

C) The soldier is unaware of the vulnerabilities of the bridge.

D) The driftwood can be used for building a new bridge.

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Example 4

There was a great bustle in Bishopsgate Street Within, as they drew up, and (it being a windy day) half-a-dozen men were tacking across the road under a press of paper, bearing gigantic announcements that a Public Meeting would be held at one o'clock precisely, to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning Parliament in favour of the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company, capital five millions, in five hundred thousand shares of ten pounds each; which sums were duly set forth in fat black figures of considerable size. Mr. Bonney elbowed his way briskly upstairs, receiving in his progress many low bows from the waiters who stood on the landings to show the way; and, followed by Mr. Nickleby, dived into a suite of apartments behind the great public room: in the second of which was a business-looking table, and several business-looking people.

"Hear!" cried a gentleman with a double chin, as Mr. Bonney presented himself. "Chair, gentlemen, chair!"

The new-comers were received with universal approbation, and Mr. Bonney bustled up to the top of the table, took off his hat, ran his fingers through his hair, and knocked a hackney-coachman's knock on the table with a little hammer: whereat several gentlemen cried "Hear!" and nodded slightly to each other, as much as to say what spirited conduct that was. Just at this moment, a waiter, feverish with agitation, tore into the room, and throwing the door open with a crash, shouted "Sir Matthew Pupker!"

The committee stood up and clapped their hands for joy, and while they were clapping them, in came Sir Matthew Pupker, attended by two live members of Parliament, one Irish and one Scotch, all smiling and bowing, and looking so pleasant that it seemed a perfect marvel how any man could have the heart to vote against them. Sir Matthew Pupker especially, who had a little round head with a flaxen wig on the top of it, fell into such a paroxysm of bows, that the wig threatened to be jerked off, every instant. When these symptoms had in some degree subsided, the gentlemen who were on speaking terms with Sir Matthew Pupker, or the two other members, crowded round them in three little groups, near one or other of which the gentlemen who were NOT on speaking terms with Sir Matthew Pupker or the two other members, stood lingering, and smiling, and rubbing their hands, in the desperate hope of something turning up which might bring them into notice. All this time, Sir Matthew Pupker and the two other members were relating to their separate circles what the intentions of government were, about taking up the bill; with a full account of what the government had said in a whisper the last time they dined with it, and how the government had been observed to wink when it said so; from which premises they were at no loss to draw the conclusion, that if the government had one object more at heart than another, that one object was the welfare and advantage of the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company.

Meanwhile, and pending the arrangement of the proceedings, and a fair division of the speechifying, the public in the large room were eyeing, by turns, the empty platform, and the ladies in the Music Gallery. In these amusements the greater portion of them had been occupied for a couple of hours before, and as the most agreeable diversions pall upon the taste on a too protracted enjoyment of them, the sterner spirits now began to hammer the floor with their boot-heels, and to express their dissatisfaction by various hoots and cries. These vocal exertions, emanating from the people who had been there longest, naturally proceeded from those who were nearest to the platform and furthest from the policemen in attendance, who having no great mind to fight their way through the crowd, but entertaining nevertheless a praiseworthy desire to do something to quell the disturbance, immediately began to drag forth, by the coat tails and collars, all the quiet people near the door; at the same time dealing out various smart and tingling blows with their truncheons, after the manner of that ingenious actor, Mr. Punch: whose brilliant example, both in the fashion of his weapons and their use, this branch of the executive occasionally follows.

Several very exciting skirmishes were in progress, when a loud shout attracted the attention even of the belligerents, and then there poured on to the platform, from a door at the side, a long line of gentlemen with their hats off, all looking behind them, and uttering vociferous cheers; the cause whereof was sufficiently explained when Sir Matthew Pupker and the two other real members of Parliament came to the front, amidst deafening shouts, and testified to each other in dumb motions that they had never seen such a glorious sight as that, in the whole course of their public career.

Q1: What is the primary purpose of the public meeting described in the passage?

A) To discuss the formation of a new political party

B) To consider petitioning Parliament in favor of the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company

C) To celebrate Sir Matthew Pupker's political achievements

D) To organize a protest against government policies

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Q2: What does Sir Matthew Pupker’s exaggerated bowing and the risk of his wig being jerked off symbolize?

A) His humility and modesty in public appearances

B) His nervousness and discomfort in the social setting

C) The absurdity and theatricality of the political scene

D) His genuine respect for the other committee members

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Q3: How does the reaction of the people in the large room reflect their discontent?

A) They express their dissatisfaction through polite applause and cheers.

B) They remain silent and wait for the proceedings to start.

C) They express their dissatisfaction by hooting, crying, and hammering the floor with their boot-heels.

D) They quietly exit the room in protest.

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Q4: What role do the policemen play in the disturbance at the public meeting?

A) They are trying to encourage the crowd to express their opinions freely.

B) They maintain order by physically removing the more disruptive individuals.

C) They join in the protest alongside the crowd.

D) They offer speeches to calm the situation.

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Q5: What effect does the arrival of Sir Matthew Pupker and the two members of Parliament have on the crowd?

A) They are met with indifference by the crowd.

B) The crowd cheers and expresses loud approval, indicating their support.

C) The crowd grows restless and starts booing.

D) The crowd is confused and uncertain about their presence.

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Example 5

Selden paused in surprise. In the afternoon rush of the Grand Central Station his eyes had been refreshed by the sight of Miss Lily Bart.

It was a Monday in early September, and he was returning to his work from a hurried dip into the country; but what was Miss Bart doing in town at that season? If she had appeared to be catching a train, he might have inferred that he had come on her in the act of transition between one and another of the country-houses which disputed her presence after the close of the Newport season; but her desultory air perplexed him. She stood apart from the crowd, letting it drift by her to the platform or the street, and wearing an air of irresolution which might, as he surmised, be the mask of a very definite purpose. It struck him at once that she was waiting for some one, but he hardly knew why the idea arrested him. There was nothing new about Lily Bart, yet he could never see her without a faint movement of interest: it was characteristic of her that she always roused speculation, that her simplest acts seemed the result of far-reaching intentions.

An impulse of curiosity made him turn out of his direct line to the door, and stroll past her. He knew that if she did not wish to be seen she would contrive to elude him; and it amused him to think of putting her skill to the test.

"Mr. Selden—what good luck!"

She came forward smiling, eager almost, in her resolve to intercept him. One or two persons, in brushing past them, lingered to look; for Miss Bart was a figure to arrest even the suburban traveller rushing to his last train.

Selden had never seen her more radiant. Her vivid head, relieved against the dull tints of the crowd, made her more conspicuous than in a ball-room, and under her dark hat and veil she regained the girlish smoothness, the purity of tint, that she was beginning to lose after eleven years of late hours and indefatigable dancing. Was it really eleven years, Selden found himself wondering, and had she indeed reached the nine-and-twentieth birthday with which her rivals credited her?

Q1: What is Selden's initial reaction to seeing Miss Lily Bart at Grand Central Station?

A) He is indifferent to her presence.

B) He is surprised and curious about why she is in town.

C) He is angry at her for being in town at this time.

D) He is happy to see her and decides to speak to her immediately.

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Q2: What is implied by the description of Miss Bart's "desultory air"?

A) She is hurried and eager to leave.

B) She appears to be aimless and uncertain, possibly hiding a clear purpose.

C) She is focused and purposeful in her actions.

D) She is confused about where she needs to go next.

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Q3: What does Selden infer about Miss Bart as he observes her at the station?

A) She is waiting for a train to leave town.

B) She is standing still because she is lost in thought.

C) She is waiting for someone, which intrigues him.

D) She is trying to avoid being seen by others.

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Q4: Why does Selden decide to approach Miss Bart, even though he knows she might avoid him?

A) He wants to confront her about something.

B) He is eager to speak with her and catch up.

C) He is curious to see if she can elude him, testing her skill at avoiding attention.

D) He is trying to offer her help with her current situation.

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Q5: What is notable about the way Miss Bart is described as she greets Selden?

A) She is angry and dismissive toward him.

B) She is excited, eager, and seems genuinely pleased to see him.

C) She is indifferent to him and uninterested in a conversation.

D) She is distant and aloof, pretending not to recognize him.

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