Long ago in Mongolia there lived an emperor who feared growing old. One day, he saw an old man in the street. Upset at being reminded that someday, he too, would age, he ordered all the old people to leave his land. One day, a violent storm swept the kingdom. Nothing was safe from its fury. It roared into the palace and blew away the emperor’s belongings, including his priceless golden pitcher.
When the storm ended, the emperor ordered that the pitcher be found and brought back to him. People went in search of the pitcher. They saw it in a lake nearby. But no matter who tried, no one could get a grip on the pitcher. All they got was a handful of water. Yet it could be plainly seen, glittering and just below the water’s surface!
Q i. The emperor was upset to see the old man because
(a) it reminded him that he would grow old too.
(b) it reminded him that he had to colour his hair.
(c) it reminded him that he might fall ill.
(d) it reminded him of his grandfather.
Q ii. The people saw the golden pitcher
(a) in a pit nearby. (b) inside the palace. (c) in a lake nearby. (d) in a river nearby.
Q iii. The emperor’s orders were that all the
(a) old men should live in his land.
(b) young men should stay in his land.
(c) old men should leave his land.
(d) children should leave his land.
Q iv. What did the people who went to bring the pitcher get?
(a) A handful of air. (b) The pitcher’s handle. (c) A handful of water. (d) Nothing at all.
Q v. The emperor feared
(a) getting weak. (b) getting ill. (c) getting young. (d) getting old.
Passage-4
A flock of birds flew into an IndiGo Airbus about to take off at Patna this morning and damaged the plane’s engine before the captain slammed the emergency brakes. The close shave has again forced the glare on the airport already under the scanner for obstacles in its landing approach path. The Airbus A320, carrying 89 passengers and six crew members, had started taxiing when the birds, possibly attracted by the waste pile-up near the airport, crashed into the plane on the left around 8.05 am.
The pilot hit the brakes, bringing the plane to a screeching halt seconds before take-off. Sources said the plane would have been running at a speed of about 40 nautical miles (74 kmph) at the time. Flight 6E 385 was scheduled to take off at 8.10 am for Delhi and onward to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Visakhapatnam. “The left-hand side engine of the aircraft got damaged after it was hit by the birds.
There were no casualties fortunately and all passengers were taken out of the aircraft immediately after the pilot took it to the parking bay. The aircraft has been grounded and it will operate only after the safety engineers of IndiGo give a fit-to-fly certificate,” an IndiGo source at Patna airport said. All passengers were accommodated on other Indigo flight: the source added.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS fly into: hit against something take off: ready to fly slammed: push with a lot of force close-shave: narrow escape glare: a long, angry look scanner: a devise for examining something obstacles: hindrance screeching: a loud, high, unpleasant sound halt: stop scheduled: fixed (according to the time-table) causalities: victims bay: a marked section of ground, inside/outside a building (for parking/storing things) grounded: to prevent an aircraft from taking off
Q i. Close shave means
(a) danger (b) a narrow escape (c) emergency (d) to shave carefully
Q ii. Why did the birds fly into the plane?
(a) As it was taking off slowly.
(b) As the captain slammed the brakes.
(c) As the birds were attracted to the plane.
(d) As the birds were attracted to the waste pile-up near the airport.
Q iii. The passengers were allowed to get off the plane
(a) immediately. (b) after many hours.
(c) after the plane was taken to the parking bay.
(d) the next day.
Q iv. The Airbus is a
(a) small plane (b) large plane (c) a large bus (d) a small bus
Q v. What happened to the plane after the passengers were taken off?
(a) It was grounded. (b) It was discarded.
(c) It was given a fitness certificate. (d) It was inspected and allowed to fly.