Passage 1
2. Aside from taking on the colour of their homes, Aesop prawns also take on the colours of the day. Regularly at nightfall, they change to a deep transparent blue, reverting to their chosen house colour as the sea lightens at dawn.
3. What are these amazing disguise kits? How do Aesop prawns paint themselves? Interestingly, the decision to adopt a particular colour is in no way an act of will on the part of the prawn. Scattered over its body surface are small pigment cells, each containing a central bag of colours – a reservoir of primary pigments: red, yellow and blue – with five branches extending from it. These pigment cells are influenced by the light that falls directly on them or enters through the prawn’s eyes. Different coloured lights activate the hormones that control the flow of pigments, causing them sometimes to flood the intricate network of branches, sometimes to scurry back to the central bag depending on the colour required.
4. To make the animal red, for instance, only red pigments occupy the branches. When a green camouflage is required, the red is withdrawn to allow a free flow of a blue yellow mixture. And after dark, red and yellow are withdrawn to make way for the nocturnal blue ‘night suit’ of the Aesop prawn, a system that provides the animal, at all times, with an enviable cloak of invisibility.
Questions and Answers
(a). The Aesop prawns start their life as ______ infants.
Answer: colourless, almost transparent
Explanation: The first sentence of paragraph 1 describes the infants.
(b). It is difficult to spy Aesop prawns as ______ the seaweeds.
Answer: they colour themselves to blend with
Explanation: Paragraph 1 says they colour themselves to blend with the seaweed and are then safe from the closest scrutiny.
(c). It takes the prawns a ______ to merge with their new homes.
Answer: week
Explanation: Paragraph 1 says “A week zips past” and they merge with their new homes.
(d). What makes for the blue ‘night suit’ of the Aesop prawn?
Answer: After dark, the red and yellow pigments are withdrawn, leaving only the blue to flow through the branches of the pigment cells.
Explanation: Paragraph 4 explains the nocturnal blue ‘night suit’.
(e). The ______ are influenced by the light that falls directly on them.
Answer: pigment cells
Explanation: Paragraph 3 says “These pigment cells are influenced by the light”.
(f). To make the animal red, ______ occupy the branches.
Answer: only red pigments
Explanation: Paragraph 4 states this directly.
(g). The word from the passage which means ‘active at night’ is ______.
Answer: nocturnal
Explanation: Paragraph 4 uses “nocturnal blue ‘night suit’”.
(h). The word from the passage which means ‘desirable’ is ______.
Answer: enviable
Explanation: Paragraph 4 calls the disguise “an enviable cloak of invisibility”.
Passage 2
2. Today in Thailand, according to Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary (BLES), their numbers are between 3,500 to 5,000 and currently ‘the notion of extinction is no longer just a concern; it’s the new reality’.
3. In 1989, the tradition of using elephants in industry ended, mainly due to irresponsible over-logging. The collapse of the industry created huge problems for the mahouts who had to find a way to pay for the care and upkeep of their elephants.
4. Elephants eat upto 200 kilograms a day and on hot days need about 200 litres of water. With the ban on logging, mahouts had to find other ways to support their huge charges. This is why mahouts began begging in the streets and turned to illegal logging and to tourism via trekking rides or entertainment.
5. Along the Thai-Burma border illegal logging still occurs. It is a dangerous environment where landmines are still hidden, the risk of fines is always present and injury or death could be just around the corner. To get the most from the elephants, they are often given amphetamines to reduce their appetite and increase their work output. Not only does this take a horrific toll on the elephant, it cannot continue for long also and many elephants simply die of overwork and starvation.
6. The tourism industry may be a viable alternative but it can be a tricky one, because there is always a risk of exploitation when animals and commercialisation meet.
7. The Elephant Asia Rescue and Survival Foundation says, ‘it believes responsible elephant tourism can help to save the elephants throughout Asia but only if the camps maintain the highest level of elephant care, food requirements, hygiene and environmental enrichment’.
Questions and Answers
(a). Why did the industry stop using elephants?
Answer: In 1989 the tradition of using elephants in industry ended, mainly due to irresponsible over-logging.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 gives the reason.
(b). What problems did it create for the mahouts?
Answer: The mahouts had to find a way to pay for the care and upkeep of their elephants, which eat up to 200 kg a day; many began begging in the streets or turned to illegal logging and tourism.
Explanation: Paragraphs 3 and 4 describe the mahouts’ problems.
(c). Why is illegal logging dangerous along the Thai-Burma border?
Answer: Landmines are still hidden there, the risk of fines is always present and injury or death could be just around the corner.
Explanation: Paragraph 5 describes the dangers.
(d). Why are some elephants given amphetamines?
Answer: They are given amphetamines to reduce their appetite and increase their work output.
Explanation: Paragraph 5 gives the reason.
(e). What is meant by the word ‘revered’? (para 1)
(a) loaded
(b) used
(c) respected
(d) killed
Answer: (c) respected
Explanation: Paragraph 1 says the elephant was once “highly revered”, i.e. deeply respected.
(f). What is meant by the word ‘notion’? (para 2)
(a) idea
(b) game
(c) uproar
(d) writing
Answer: (a) idea
Explanation: In paragraph 2, “the notion of extinction” means the idea of extinction.
(g). Which word in para 3 means the same as ‘downfall’?
(a) upkeep
(b) collapse
(c) control
(d) outcome
Answer: (b) collapse
Explanation: Paragraph 3 speaks of “the collapse of the industry”.
(h). Find the word opposite in meaning to ‘safe’. (para 5)
(a) hidden
(b) output
(c) dangerous
(d) overwork
Answer: (c) dangerous
Explanation: Paragraph 5 describes “a dangerous environment”.
Passage 3
2. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles’ influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York’s WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any “pre-Beatles” music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits stuffed with “filler”, and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a “major breakthrough.... a giant step towards reshaping the concert business.” Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion.
3. The Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group’s popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of sociocultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, they became a catalyst for activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements, such as women’s liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the “more popular than Jesus” controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and “began a rigorous effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness.”
Questions and Answers
(a). How did the Beatles become a global phenomenon?
Answer: The Beatles sparked the British Invasion of the US and became a globally influential phenomenon, ending the long US domination of popular entertainment.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 describes how they became a global phenomenon.
(b). How did America dominate the world of music?
Answer: From the 1920s, America dominated through Hollywood movies, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee.
Explanation: Paragraph 1 lists the means of American domination.
(c). What change took place in WABC radio station in 1968?
Answer: The programme director forbade his DJs from playing any “pre-Beatles” music, marking the line of what would be considered oldies.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 describes the change at WABC.
(d). Before the Beatles, what defined the music album?
Answer: Before the Beatles, an album was just a few hits stuffed with “filler”.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 says they redefined the album as more than a few hits stuffed with filler.
(e). How was the Shea Stadium show phenomenal?
Answer: It attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history, and was described as a giant step towards reshaping the concert business.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 describes the Shea Stadium show.
(f). How did the Beatles affect the world of fashion?
Answer: People imitated their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion and had a global impact on fashion.
Explanation: The last sentence of paragraph 2 describes their effect on fashion.
(g). How did the Beatles affect the social and political life?
Answer: As icons of the 1960s counterculture, they became a catalyst for activism, fuelling movements such as women’s liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 describes their social and political impact.
(h). What did the Beatles decide to do after 1966?
Answer: They began a rigorous effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness.
Explanation: The last sentence of paragraph 3 gives the answer.
Passage 4
2. Having tightly and neatly plaited hair is a must for any long haired female rugby player due to the game’s contact. “It has got to the point now when I feel a bit weird if I don’t do someone’s hair before a game,” said Burford. “Some of the girls look really tough with their hair plaited, so it’s also a psychological thing - a victorious thing.” Sadly, victory wasn’t tied up in those braids — the team lost to New Zealand in the September 5 final – but many of the players look fierce, like warrior women going into battle.
3. “Plaits are the earliest of hairstyles before haircutting and hairdressing. People obviously had long hair and plaits were the simplest way of keeping it out of the way,” says fashion historian Caroline Cox. For that reason, she says, we associate plaits with both women and men, and particularly those who were involved in athletic pursuits, such as war. Think of Legolas in ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ or the super strong Obelix in the Asterix cartoons. “For women, Boudicca or Valkyrie plaits seem to enhance their ferocity,” says Cox.
4. “It was a practical hairstyle until we get to the 19th century, when it begins to be associated with female children. Even now, plaits on the whole have the meaning of the youthful schoolgirl.” Not an image you will associate with England’s nearly victorious rugby team.
Questions and Answers
(a). How does Burford spend most of her time?
Answer: She spends most of her time in her room, French-plaiting other girls’ hair.
Explanation: The opening quotation in paragraph 1 answers this.
(b). When does she feel a bit weird?
Answer: She feels a bit weird if she does not do someone’s hair before a game.
Explanation: Paragraph 2 quotes Burford on this.
(c). Why did people plait their hair?
Answer: Plaits were the simplest way of keeping long hair out of the way, especially for those involved in athletic pursuits such as war.
Explanation: Paragraph 3 gives Caroline Cox’s explanation.
(d). What happened in the 19th century?
Answer: In the 19th century, plaits began to be associated with female children.
Explanation: Paragraph 4 explains the change.
(e). What is meant by the word ‘noticed’? (para 1)
(a) seen
(b) criticised
(c) ordered
(d) opened
Answer: (a) seen
Explanation: In paragraph 1, “you will have noticed” means you will have seen.
(f). Which word means the same as ‘strange’? (para 2)
(a) weird
(b) braids
(c) fierce
(d) tough
Answer: (a) weird
Explanation: Paragraph 2 says “I feel a bit weird”, i.e. strange.
(g). Find the word in the passage opposite in meaning to ‘latest’. (para 3)
(a) reason
(b) simplest
(c) earliest
(d) enhance
Answer: (c) earliest
Explanation: Paragraph 3 says plaits are “the earliest of hairstyles”.
(h). Find the word in the passage opposite in meaning to ‘elderly’. (para 4)
(a) female
(b) youthful
(c) begins
(d) schoolgirl
Answer: (b) youthful
Explanation: Paragraph 4 mentions “the youthful schoolgirl”.