Factual Based Questions - 1 | English for CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
When the shadow of the sash appeared on the curtains it was between seven and eight oclock and then I was in time again, hearing the watch. It was Grandfather’s and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; it’s rather excruciating-ly1 apt that you will use it to gain the reducto absurdum2 of all human experience which can fit your individual needs no better than it fitted his or his father’s.
I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools. It was propped against the collar box and I lay listening to it. Hearing it, that is. I dont suppose anybody ever deliberately listens to a watch or a clock. You dont have to. You can be oblivious to the sound for a long while, then in a second of ticking it can create in the mind unbroken the long diminishing parade of time you didn’t hear.
Like Father said down the long and lonely light-rays you might see Jesus walking, like. And the good Saint Francis that said Little Sister Death, that never had a sister. Through the wall I heard Shreve’s bed-springs and then his slippers on the floor hishing. I got up and went to the dresser and slid my hand along it and touched the watch and turned it face-down and went back to bed. But the shadow of the sash was still there and I had learned to tell almost to the minute, so I’d have to turn my back to it, feeling the eyes animals used to have in the back of their heads when it was on top, itching. It’s always the idle habits you acquire which you will regret. Father said that.
That Christ was not crucified: he was worn away by a minute clicking of little wheels. That had no sister. And so as soon as I knew I couldn’t see it, I began to wonder what time it was. Father said that constant speculation regarding the position of mechanical hands on an arbitrary dial which is a symptom of mind function. Excrement Father said like sweating.
And I saying All right. Wonder. Go on and wonder. If it had been cloudy I could have looked at the window, thinking what he said about idle habits. Thinking it would be nice for them down at New London4 if the weather held up like this. Why shouldn’t it? The month of brides, the voice that breathed. She ran right out of the mirror, out of the banked scent.
[Extracted from The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner]
Q1: What object did the narrator's father give to him?
(a) A collar box
(b) A watch
(c) A dresser
(d) A mirror
Ans: (b)
Sol: The passage clearly states, "It was Grandfather’s and when Father gave it to me he said I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire." This refers to the watch that was previously owned by the narrator's grandfather and then given to him by his father.

Q2: According to the narrator's father, why is victory an illusion?
(a) Because it is a creation of philosophers and fools.
(b) Because it signifies the end of time.
(c) Because it is based on mechanical hands.
(d) Because it is an arbitrary concept.
Ans: (a)
Sol: The father's statement, "victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools," suggests that he believes victory is a misguided or unrealistic concept, created by those who either overthink or do not understand reality.

Q3: What did the narrator do after touching the watch?
(a) He went back to bed.
(b) He listened to it.
(c) He looked at the window.
(d) He spoke to his father.
Ans: (a)
Sol: The passage describes the narrator's actions as follows: "I got up and went to the dresser and slid my hand along it and touched the watch and turned it face-down and went back to bed."

Q4: What comparison does the narrator's father make about Christ?
(a) Christ was like Saint Francis.
(b) Christ was crucified.
(c) Christ was worn away by the clicking of little wheels.
(d) Christ had a sister.
Ans: (c)
Sol: The narrator's father makes an allegorical statement, "That Christ was not crucified: he was worn away by a minute clicking of little wheels," which implies a metaphorical erosion of Christ's being, rather than a literal crucifixion.

Q5: What does the narrator speculate about at the end of the passage?
(a) The time shown on the watch.
(b) The weather in New London.
(c) The meaning of his father's words.
(d) The presence of Saint Francis.
Ans: (a)
Sol: Towards the end, the narrator says, "And so as soon as I knew I couldn’t see it, I began to wonder what time it was," indicating his speculation about the time as shown on the watch.