reading 1

Directions: Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct. The coastal wetlands have environmental and economic importance. Wetlands provide natural wealth. They have important filtering capabilities. As the run off water passes, they retain excess nutrients and some pollutants. They maintain water flow during dry periods. Thousands of people depend on groundwater for drinking. They act as natural sponges of flood waters and contain soil erosion. They control floods and save the buildings from collapsing during heavy rains. The hardwood-riparian wetlands along the Mississippi River can store sixty days of floodwater. 1 Which of the following could be a suitable heading for the paragraph? a. b. c. d.

The Filtering Mechanism of Wetlands Riparian Wetlands along the Mississippi Wetlands- A Great Source of Water During the Dry Summer Days The Ecological Functions and Economic Values of Coastal Wetlands

Directions: Read the text and answer the multiple-choice question by selecting the correct response. Only one response is correct. IT may well change the way you live, yet again. Welcome to the world of mobile commerce, where your hand–held device, be it a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or any other wireless application will soon be used for commercial transactions. Skeptical? Consider these facts. In Japan, mobile phones are used for location based services where the mobile service provider ties up with a host of other players such as restaurants, car rental companies etc. When the mobile user enters that zone, messages from all these players are flashed on the mobile device. Location based services are provided in several other countries as well. 2 Which of the following most accurately summarises the opinion of the author in the text? A Location based services are the new craze in technology savvy Japan. B Service providers in Japan are networking to squeeze the client. C Mobile commerce is the next big thing on the technology block. D Location based services are becoming fashionable these days. English as a Medium

In the past, learning English as a separate subject seemed relatively easy. The textbook selected and graded items of language which were put into context and then practised intensively. New items were carefully controlled so that the student could cope quite easily. Now that English is used as a medium of instruction, however, all this has changed. Unknown items of grammar and vocabulary appear in texts which attempt to explain new and often difficult information. Difficulties with the language interact with difficulties as regards the subject matter. The student's reading in his own subject slows down, and his comprehension becomes less secure. He expresses himself slowly and often fails to convey his ideas exactly. He is disappointed to find that under pressure he makes a lot of unnecessary mistakes in areas where he knows the correct language forms. His social relations are difficult as he cannot find the right phrase quickly enough to keep a conversation going, so his language often betrays him into dullness, coldness, or worst of all, rudeness. Instead of the student being in control of the language, the language seems now to be in control of the student.All this can be very depressing and the student can start to feel anxious. Working in a foreign language is also very tiring, and the concentration and self-discipline required to correct one's mistake is very great indeed. Read the text and answer the question by selecting all the correct responses. More than one response is correct. 3 Which of the following statements about learning English can be supported from the text? 1. 2. 3. 4.

Learning of English as a subject is the more difficult part. Learning of English as a medium of instruction is the more difficult part. Language may hinder understanding of the subject. Learning of English as a medium of instruction is the easier part.

5. Learning of English as a subject is the easier part. Early Rising The great advantage of early rising is the head start it gives us in our day’s work. The early riser has done a large amount of hard work before other

men even get out of bed. In the early morning, the mind is fresh, and there are few sounds or other distractions. In many cases, the early riser also finds time to take some exercise in the fresh morning air. By beginning so early, he knows that he has plenty of time to do thoroughly all the work he can be expected to do. All his work having been finished in good time, he has a long interval of rest in the evening before the timely hour when he goes to bed. After a sound night’s rest, he rises early next morning in good health and spirits for the labours of a new day. Late Rising The person who lies in bed late, if he wishes to do a full day’s work, goes on working to a corresponding late hour and denies himself the hour or two of evening exercise that he ought to take for the benefit of his health. He gets ready for sleep very late in the night.

Read the text and answer the question by selecting all the correct responses. More than one response is correct. Which of the following statements are not true in accordance with the information given in the above passage? 1. 2. 3. 4.

5.

Work done early in the morning is generally well done. The early riser does not have to hurry over any part of his day’s work. Sleep is most refreshing before midnight. The life of an early riser is more conducive to health than that of the man who rises late. The morning exercise supplies the early riser with a reserve of energy that will last until the evening

5 The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in a random order. Restore the original order by dragging the text boxes from the left panel to the right panel. 1. It also will give him something worthwhile to live for. 2. If he fails, it may have been due to troubles in his home, his school or unsympathetic and hostile relative. 3. The finest asset any child can have is a happy home. 4. If he exhibits good judgement in later years, much of the credit must go to those who trained him. 5. Such environment will enable him to develop strength and stability of character thereby teaching him to face the future without fear or undue anxiety

6 The text boxes in the left panel have been placed in a random order. Restore the original order by dragging the text boxes from the left panel to the right panel. 1. During this time, I succeeded in learning to read and write. 2. I lived in Master Hugh’s’ family for seven years. 3. I had no regular teacher. 4. Mrs. Hugh, who had kindly consented to instruct me, had, in compliance with the advice and direction of her husband, not only ceased to instruct, but had set her face against my being instructed by any one else. 5. In accomplishing this, I was compelled to resort to various stratagems.

7 Directions: In the text below, some words are missing. From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text.

Dreams are Blank 1 of body, mind and spirit in the environmental state of being. Our brains are in Blank 2 activity. Different states of consciousness cause different brain wave activity. Our conscious mind only takes up a very small Blank 3 of our brain activity. fulfillment, communications, sleeping, constant, portion, regular struggle 8 Directions: In the text below, some words are missing. From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text. Avoiding exercise could be bad for our mental health too, pushing us into the pit of depression and causing Blank 1 at work. Management experts have discovered that employees who Blank 2 in physical activity are less likely to experience a Blank 3 of their mental health, including Blank 4 of burnout and depression. symptoms,expertise,Impulse,burnout,boost,result,engage,deterioration 9 Directions: In the text below, some words are missing. From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text. Solar technologies are Blank 1 characterized as either passive or active depending on the way they capture, Blank 2 and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques use photo voltaic panels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials with Blank 3 thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of a building towards the Sun.. guard, favourable, succinctly, broadly ,convert, absorb

10 EM Forster was highly disgusted to Blank 1 the decline of human values during the days of World War I. Being a pacifist; he believed that Blank 2 even in self defence is unjust under any conditions. Forster refused to fight in the First World War; the war which Blank 3 untold miseries to people. Andre Breton was a French writer and theBlank 4 of Surrealism and he believed that the cultural sensibility of Europe was at Blank 5 Options-reflect, crossroads, observe, philosopher, violence, shown, brought, founder, anger

11 Directions: Below is a text with blanks. From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text. The sleep cycle Blank 1 of four stages and lasts about 90 to 120 minutes. Dreams can occur in any of the four stages of sleep. In 5 percent cases, dreams occur in the last stage of sleep Blank 2 to as REM sleep stage. Often the sleep cycle repeats after an hour and the process continues. That is how a person has several different dreams in one night. Most people remember dreams that occur in the morning when they are about to wake up. But, some persons can’t remember their dreams. The stages in the sleep cycle are Blank 3 by the changes in the specific brain activity. In stage one, man is in NREM when muscle relaxation, lowered body temperature and slowed heart rate is observed. In the dreaming process, adrenaline is secreted, blood pressure increases and heart beats become faster. People with a weak heart may die in sleep. Researches have shown that people who are deprived from REM, exhibit symptoms of Blank 4 and anxiety. Deprivation of REM sleep causes over-senility, lack of concentration and memory loss. So, dreaming helps tackle stress, the mind is recharged and the body is revitalized. Dreaming transcends the mere unconscious aspects of social, emotional and personal awareness. Blank 1-comprises,formalizes,initiates,speaks Blank 2-differed,addressed,referred,given Blank 3-organised,recognised,stirred,linked Blank 4-emotions,irritability,desirability,love 12 Directions: Below is a text with blanks. From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text. By the standards of the 70s, when the Blank 1 climbing routes were littered with Blank 2 tents and food packets, Everest is a lot cleaner, with just a smattering of plastic bottles and sweet wrappers on the rocky plateau that is the base camp. But, a Nepali environmental coalition is Blank 3 the government in Kathmandu to adopt a new management Blank 4 to safeguard the Himalayas in the Blank 5 of mass tourism – and to make amends for the Blank 6 sins of the past. Blank 1-main,real,true,minor,firm Blank 2-huge,discarded,exhausted,damaged,small Blank 3-encouraging,discouraging,manipulating,pressing,stimulating Blank 4-method,role,technology,plan,plot

Blank 5-age,era,eon,year,decade Blank 6-biological,environmental,technological,chronological,factual 13 Directions: Below is a text with blanks.From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text. Legends have been told for many years about the Great Sphinx. These stories tell about the Blank 1 and mysteries of this sphinx. Some people even believe that there are hidden passageways or Blank 2 underneath the Great Sphinx, but nothing has been found yet. The beginning of one Blank 3 about the Great Sphinx is written on a stele between the sphinx's paws.The story reads that one day a young prince fell asleep next to the Great Sphinx. He had been hunting all day, and was very Blank 4. He dreamt that the Great Sphinx promised that he would become the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt if he cleared away the sand covering its body (the Great Sphinx was covered up to its neck). The rest of the story is gone, so you will have to use your Blank 5 to work out the ending. This stele was put up by the pharaoh Thutmosis IV who lived around 1400 B.C. Blank 1-abilities,aptitudes,capabilities,gifts,powers Blank 2-gallery,rooms,corridor,entrance,hall Blank 3-novel,book,story,tale,record Blank 4-angry,rude,jealous,sad,tired Blank 5-intelligence,notion,imagination,creation,cognition 14Directions: Below is a text with blanks. From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text. Circumstantial evidence suggests that if the basic building Blank 1 of life are seen scattered in space, why not life itself? In the sixties, there started inter-disciplinary discussions about Blank 2 life. The astronomers can tell what are the likely sites for life and how many of them are there in our Milky Way Galaxy of stars. Biologists have to decide what is it that Blank 3 the life-mechanism and where among the various astronomical sites it is likely to occur. Then, the evolutionists have to say how a simple living system can develop over what time Blank 4 into a complex intelligent species. Experts in artificial intelligence, communications and information transfer are needed to resolve the problem of contacting such species if they Blank 5. And the social scientists need to assess the lifetime of an advanced civilization.

Blank 1-cells,spans,blocks,designs Blank 2-alien,extra-terrestrial,native,celestial Blank 3-imperils,invokes,stirs,triggers Blank 4-span,gap,test,sequence Blank 5-hold,exist,desire,die 15 Directions: Below is a text with blanks.From the boxes given below, choose the correct word for each blank to complete the text. A zero–ended rationalism about computers is that they only do what they are programmed to. The reasoning goes something like this: If one incorporates into a computer the capability to Blank 1 the meaning and function of the symbols representing 'two', 'multiply' and 'equals to' then it would have no problem solving the equation : 2 x 2 =? But how different is this really from what a child learns in grade school? It's exactly the same. There can definitely be no Blank 2 in certain children to be better in maths than others since arithmetic even at a lowly human level is, after all, only an acquired trait and acquired traits are not inherited. However, what has been missing so far in the environment of a computer is the role of a family and the nurture it provides for a Blank 3 predisposition. This is because genetically, some children could have stronger musculature to become better cricketers or actors but only when given the Blank 4 ambient training. The answer therefore lies not in suddenly blitzing a super computer's hardware memory and logic bank its equivalent of musculature with the rules and Blank 5 of some table game, but to bring it home as a baby. Blank 1-arrange,recognise,explain,discuss Blank 2-force,propensity,compulsion,necessity Blank 3-certain,desirable,potential,necessary Blank 4-necessary,desirable,certain,potential Blank 5-practices,principles,rhymes,strategies