An earthquake comes like a thief in the night, without warning. It was necessary, therefore, to invent instruments that neither slumbered nor slept. Some devices were quite simple. One, for instance, consisted of rods of various lengths and thicknesses which would stand up on end like ninepins. When a shock came it shook the rigid table upon which these stood.
If it were gentle, only the more unstable rods fell. If it were severe, then all fell. Thus the rods, by falling and by the direction in which they fell, recorded for the slumbering scientist the strength of a shock that was too weak to wake him and the direction from which it came. But instruments far more delicate than that were needed if any really serious advance was to be made.
The ideal to be aimed at was to devise an instrument that could record with a pen on paper the movements of the ground or of the table, as the quake passed by. While I write, my pen moves but the paper keeps still. With practice, no doubt, I could, in time, learn to write by holding the pen still while the paper moved. That sounds a silly suggestion, but that was precisely the idea adopted in some of the early instruments (seismometers) for recording earthquake waves.
But when table, penholder and paper are all moving how is it possible to write legibly? The key to a solution of that problem lay in an everyday observation. Why does a person standing in a bus or train tend to fall when a sudden start is made? It is because his feet move on, but his head stays still.
1. The passage says that early instruments for measuring earthquakes were:
(A) faulty in design (B) expensive (C) not sturdy (D) not sensitive enough
2. Why was it necessary to invent instruments to observe an earthquake?
(A) Because an earthquake comes like a thief in the night.
(B) To make people alert about earthquakes during their conscious as well as unconscious
hours.
(C) To prove that we are technically advanced.
(D) To experiment with the control of man over nature.
3. A simple device which consisted of rods that stood up on end like ninepins was replaced by a
more sophisticated one because it
failed:
(A) to measure a gentle earthquake.
(B) to measure a severe earthquake.
(C) to record the direction of the earthquake.
(D) to record the facts with a pen on paper.
4. The everyday observation referred to in the passage relates to:
(A) a moving bus or train.
(B) the sudden start of a bus.
(C) the tendency of a standing person to fall when a bus or train moves suddenly.
(D) people standing in a bus or train.
5. The early seismometers adopted the idea that in order to record the earthquake, it is:
(A) the pen that should move just as it moves when we write on paper.
(B) the pen that should stay still and the paper should move.
(C) both pen and paper that should move.
(D) neither pen nor paper that should move.
It may be asked, ―In what respect do speeches differ from the pamphlet of a magazine article?‖ There is an essential difference. Speech has a human element lacking in the written word, because speech communication happens between the speaker and his audience face to face. This fact should be ever present to the speaker‘s mind both when preparing and delivering the speech.
People addressed each other by word of mouth long before they wrote. Speech therefore, is more primitive and human than written matter. Public speaking not only admits but demands characteristics which would be blemishes in compositions intended to be read. The attention of the audience must be held, arguments repeated, and free use made of analogies and illustrations.
For this reason, good speakers are often bad writers, while good writers are rarely effective speakers. A speech is a transitory, evanescent, episodic production depending on its immediate effect not only upon the matter but upon the delivery which enables the great speaker to sway his hearers.
From their point of view, personality is the thing that counts for most. In written compositions it stands for little or nothing. The quality of the written word is the only thing that matters. The author may be repulsive but he is invisible. He looks at you only through the printed page.
The speaker is judged by what he is or what he appears to be. No man can achieve wide distinction as a speaker unless he can impress an audience face to face. That is the acid test of oratory high or low. That is how the speaker makes his reputation
1.What, according to the author, is the difference between speech and written communication?
(A) Speech is more personalized and human than written communication.
(B) Speech is more persuasive
(C) Written communication is less powerful than speech
(D) Speech came much later than written communication
2. In the context of the passage, what is more important for a successful speech?
(A) Fluency (B) Oratory (C) Personality (D) Articulation
3.Which of the following is the essential characteristic of public speaking?
(A) Repetition of arguments (B) Giving analogies
(C) Holding the attention of the listeners (D) All the above
4.Which of the following statements is not a characteristic of speech?
(A) Speech is face to face communication
(B) Speech is transient
(C) Speech has a human element
(D) Speech has a more long lasting impact than writing.
5.According to the author of the passage, how did primitive people communicate with each other?
(A) By word of mouth (B) By gestures (C) By writing letter (D) Sign language
6. In written communication, what matters most is
(A) Personality of the writer (B) Style (C) Quality of writing (D) Vocabulary used
7. In the printed page, the author remains.
(A) Persuasive (B) Invisible (C) All pervasive (D) Interactive
8.Why are good speakers often bad writers?
(A) They do not know how to write.
(B) They speak too fast
(C) They repeat arguments
(D) They are not precise and to the point
9. Which part of speech is the italicised word ―That is the acid test of oratory‖?
(A) Verb (B) Noun (C) Adjective (D) Adverb
10. Choose the most suitable title for the passage.
(A) Oratory (B) Speech versus Writing (C) The invisible author (D) Face to face communication