Unseen Passage

Passage 1
A newly appointed teacher with a good academic record
has come to take up English classes of class VII. He is
sincere enough and has sound knowledge of the new trends
and approach of teaching English Language, whether
through, functional communicative method or the direct
method. He tries to follow his professional skills acquired
from the handbook or the teacher’s manual and advice
from linguists. In the classroom, he uses only English as the
medium of his instruction. He advises his learners to guess
the meanings. He sincerely tries to improve the standard of
teaching by means of interaction. As a man, he is a sociable
one and within a few days he becomes popular among his
students. But, unfortunately, after a few days he comes to
know from one of his students outside the classroom that
they could understand very little of what he taught. The
teacher asks politely, “Why did you not confess your problem
in the classroom?” The student replies modestly but
hesitatingly, “We could not say anything as you were not
speaking our mother tongue and we cannot speak English”.
1. The teacher is a sociable one, which means he is
(1) friendly (2) gets easily influenced
(3) does not like society (4) very popular
Ans (1) As per the given passage, sociable means ‘friendly’.
2. As a result of his teachings, the students
(1) were able to understand everything
(2) could understand only little of what was taught
(3) found everything very interesting and pleasing
(4) got bored and stressed
Ans (2) After reading the complete passage, we come to know
that the students could understand very little of what was
taught to them as they could not speak English.
3. Modestly means
(1) rude (2) bashful
(3) polite and genuine (4) ashamed
Ans (3) Modestly means ‘politely and genuinely’.
4. If Hindi is our mother tongue, then English is our
(1) first language (2) third language
(3) second language (4) None of these
Ans (3) If Hindi is our mother tongue, English would be our
second language.
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 245
UNSEEN
PASSAGE
CHAPTER 1
5. His teaching skills are aided by
(1) teacher’s manual (2) advice from linguists
(3) website (4) Both (1) and (2)
Ans (4) It is stated in the passage that the teacher was aided
by a teacher’s manual and advice from linguists.
6. What is his method of teaching?
(1) Functional communicative method
(2) Direct method
(3) Both (1) and (2)
(4) Descriptive and elaborate
Ans (3) The passage clearly states that his method of teaching
includes both functional communicative method and direct
method.
7. The word ‘professional’ in (line 6) of the para is
(1) an adjective (2) a noun
(3) an adverb (4) a verb
Ans (2) The word ‘professional’ is a noun which means a
person engaged in a specified activity.
8. The children could not say anything because
(1) they could not speak English
(2) the teacher was not speaking their mother tongue
(3) Both (1) and (2)
(4) they did not like the way he was teaching
Ans (3) It is mentioned in the passage that the students could
not understand what their teacher taught because the
teacher was not using their mother tongue and they could
not understand English.
9. Pick out a word or phrase from 1st para of the
passage that means the same as ‘a specialist in
language’.
(1) Phrasal (2) Biographer
(3) Verbatins (4) Linguist
Ans (4) Linguist is a person who specialises in language.
Passage 2
When I learned that my 71 year old mother was playing
scrabble against herself, I knew I had to do something.
“Who is playing?” I asked one day when I saw a half
finished game on the table. “My right hand versus my
left”. “Excuse me” I said. “ Well your father doesn’t play
and I want to keep my mind sharp.” An admirable
pursuit, but I questioned whether my mother’s solitary
version of scrabble would achieve that goal. My husband
suggested we give her a computer to play against. I wasn’t
sure my mother was ready for a cyber scrabble it had
taken 15 years to persuade her to buy a microwave.
Nevertheless we packed up our old PC, complete with
scrabble and word-processing programmes and delivered
it to my parent’s home. And so began my mother’s
adventure in the world of computers.
It also marked the beginning of an unusual teaching
assignment for me. I’ve taught children and adults of all ages,
but never thought I would be teaching my mother to do
anything. Despite the look of horror on her face when she first
saw our gift, my mother was eager to get started. She sat
mesmerised on the screen lit up and the various icons
presented themselves. Slowly, but surely my mother caught
on, making notes in a little spiral book. I wondered how she’d
fair without me. But thereafter, she only spoke on her game on
the computer to me. She even forgot to ask her stock question,
‘‘What did you have for supper?’’ It was no longer on the
agenda. Instead she talked about RAM, ROM and CPU terms
spilled out effortlessly from her mouth. My mother had
acquired a new mother tongue.
After a lifetime of being her child, I was finally the one with
knowledge to share with my mum. But even now, I realise
she continues to teach me. I’m learning that no matter how
old you are, a willing spirit is capable of anything.
1. What was the language mother newly acquired?
(1) Language of computer (2) RAM
(3) ROM (4) CPU
Ans (1) The author’s mother acquired the language of computer.
2. What changes were seen in mother?
(1) She started liking the game all the more
(2) She became very proud of herself
(3) She got busy on the computer
(4) She did not like the household work anymore
Ans (3) After reading the passage, we come to know that the
author’s mother got busy on the computer.
3. With whom did the mother used to play earlier?
(1) With her maid (2) With her left hand
(3) With her husband (4) With computer
Ans (2) The author’s mother used to play scrabble with
herself-her right hand versus her left.
4. What did the author learn from her mother?
(1) Will power is not enough to gain target
(2) How to live life better
(3) Positive attitude
(4) A willing spirit is capable of anything
Ans (4) It is mentioned that from the incident, the author learnt
that a willing spirit is capable of doing anything.
5. The author’s mother played scrabble alone because
(1) her husband does not play scrabble
(2) she wants to keep her mind sharp
(3) she is alone at home
(4) Both (1) and (2)
Ans (4) As her husband does not play scrabble and she wanted
to keep her mind sharp, the mother played scrabble alone at
home.
246 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
Directions Read the following passages carefully and answer the
questions that follow.
Passage 1
There was a time when the aged were revered in India as
symbols of tradition, respect, wisdom and experience. They
controlled and guided the destinies of all the members of
joint families. Urbanisation and industrialisation has led to
the breaking up of the joint family system. The
disintegration of joint families has had an adverse impact
on the elderly people. Many elderly people get neglected
because of the nuclear set up of families. The aged are now
viewed as a useless and non-productive entity.
Modernisation has led to the degradation of their status and
authority. Their existence as an integral part of the family is
now uprooted. With the decline in their functional position
as the head of the family, they have lost their authority,
respect and prestige they used to command earlier.
The changing values and the dependence of the aged on
their sons and daughters-in-law has complicated the
problems. The aged are marginalised, alienated and left out
of mainstream. Neglect, lack of respect, verbal taunts, inter
actional stress and increasing gap in communication make
the aged feel unwanted and unpleasant. The only peaceful
place for these weak, sad and depressed people in the
evening of their life are the homes of the aged. Under the
existing circumstances, the need for old age homes has
certainly increased and they have become a must for the
elderly to lead a peaceful and happy life among those who
share and care for them.
1. Urbanisation and industrialisation has led to
(1) neglect and stress
(2) degradation of the families
(3) breakup of joint family set up
(4) non-productive entity
2. The elderly people are getting neglected
(1) because of the joint family system
(2) because of nuclear set up
(3) because of their age
(4) because of their ailing health
3. We should behave more responsibly and revise our
(1) past (2) moral values
(3) behaviour and conduct (4) strengths and weakness
4. The only peaceful place left for the aged is
(1) their native place (2) their parents home
(3) old age home (4) orphanage
5. Who were seen as symbols of tradition, respect and
experience?
(1) The palatial buildings (2) The aged
(3) The new generation (4) Joint families
6. Neglect, lack of respect, verbal taunts,
communication gap make the aged feel
(1) unwanted and unpleasant
(2) cared and concerned
(3) stressed and strained
(4) unavailable and outdated
Passage 2
In spite of all the honours that we heaped upon him,
Pasteur, as has been said, remained simple at heart. Perhaps
the imagery of his boyhood days, when he drew the
familiar scenes of his birthplace and the longing to be a
great artist, never wholly left him. In truth he did become a
great artist, though after his sixteenth year he abandoned
the brush forever.
Like every artist of worth, he put his whole soul and
energy into his work and it was this very energy that in the
end wore him out. For to him, each sufferer was more than
just a case that was to be cured. He looked upon the fight
against hydrophobia as a battle and he was absorbed in his
determination to win. The sight of injured children,
particularly, moved him to an indescribable extent. He
suffered with his patients and yet he would not deny
himself a share in that suffering. His greatest grief was
when sheer physical exhaustion made him give up his active
work.
He retired to the estate at Villeneuve Etang, where he had
his kennels for the study of rabies and there he passed his
last summer, as his great biographer, Vallery Robot, has
said, ‘‘practicing the gospel virtues.’’
The attitude of this man to the Science, he had done so
much to perfect, can be best summed up in a sentence that
he is reputed once to have uttered, concerning the
materialism of many of his contemporaries in similar
branches of learning to his own: ‘‘the more I contemplate
the mysteries of nature, the more my faith becomes like
that of a peasant.’’
But even then, in retirement he loved to see his former
pupils, and it was then he would reiterate his life’s
principles: ‘Work,’ he would say, ‘‘never cease to work.’’
He passed as simply as a child, the greatest man France had
ever produced, derived from a plebiscite among the French
people. Napoleon, the idol of France, was placed fifth. No
greater tribute could have been given to Louis Pasteur, the
tanner’s son, the scientist, the man of peace and the patient
worker for humanity.
1. What advice did he always give to his pupils?
(1) Never to stop working
(2) To work according to one’s health
(3) Work and rest at the same time
(4) Work to earn money
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 247
2. How did Pasteur engage himself in the estate?
(1) He took enough rest as he was very exhausted
(2) Conducted study on rabies
(3) Practiced the Gospel Virtues
(4) (2) and (3)
3. How did Pasteur view those who suffered from
diseases?
(1) He gave them best treatment
(2) As subjects to pity
(3) The sufferer was more than just a case for him
(4) He dealt carefully not to give pain in wounded areas
4. Give one word for the phrase- Vote by the people of
the country to decide a matter of national
importance.
(1) Election (2) Plebiscite
(3) Hydrophobia (4) Contemporaries
5. Who among the following was ranked fifth after the
achievements of Louis Pasteur in France?
(1) Napoleon (2) Hitler
(3) Nelson Mandela (4) Thomas Addison
6. Even accolades and honours did not change the
simple man that Pasteur was
(1) he did not like false praises
(2) he was very simple and child like at heart
(3) he wanted more than what he had achieved
(4) he was very egoistic
7. The word opposite in meaning to ‘humanity’ is
(1) callousness (2) melodrama
(3) homogeneity (4) vehemence
8. How did France, the country of his birth, honour this
great scientist?
(1) By holding a seminar in his honour
(2) A book was published explaining his achievements
(3) He was awarded a large amount
(4) He was voted as the greatest man France had ever
produced
9. Which word in the above passage can be replaced by
the phrase ‘saying something again and again’?
(1) heaped (2) reiterate (3) gospel (4) contemplate
Passage 3
Karuna Verma is bewildered. “I don’t know how she did
it,” she says about her mother, Renu Chopra. Karuna’s
childhood memories are of her father leaving late for office
so that, by then, her mother would be back from work. Of
her parents working in sync to make sure the kids were
well taken care of. Of her mother handling kitchen and
classroom with ease.
When her own daughter was born, Karuna too wanted to
do the balancing act. But it did not turn out to be as easy as
it seemed. For starters, her parents’ era was different from
hers. As she was living with her husband in Andheri,
Mumbai, away from their families, resuming work would
have meant leaving her daughter with a maid while she was
away. Her daughter’s formative years would be spent with
an outsider a thought that did not appeal to Karuna. She
quit her teaching job in a school.
For a woman who was encouraged to be independent
throughout her life, the decision to quit and stay at home
was a difficult one. Ironically it was her mother who urged
her to quit the job and become a full-time mother. For
Karuna, being a housewife is one of the toughest jobs she
has had. “I have no time for myself,” says Karuna. “I make
sure all my personal work is done when Avni is asleep.
Earlier I had a set routine. My husband and I used to wake
up at 6 a.m. I would re-heat the food the maid had cooked
the day before and pack it for lunch. Then we used to head
off to work, and at night, we would go out. I had a lot of
time to myself and for my husband then,” says Karuna.
The routine is quite different now, Karuna has taken to
cooking. She wakes up quite early and makes sure all her
work is done before the baby is up. The rest of the day flies
by, pandering to two-year-old Avni’s needs.
1. Karuna Verma is bewildered at
(1) the responsibility of bringing up a daughter in a big city
(2) her mother’s ability to manage both her career and
household work
(3) the amount of work that she has to do after becoming a
mother
(4) the late hours of work that her father followed
2. ‘… parents working in sync’ means
(1) father earning and mother taking care of children
(2) parents having staggered office hours and sharing
household work
(3) parents pooling their resources together to take care of
expenses
(4) parents adjusting their schedule to preserve domestic
harmony.
3. ‘… Karuna too wanted to do the balancing act.’
In this sentence, the term ‘balancing act’ implies
(1) managing the time efficiently so that parents can spend
quality time with their children
(2) making adjustments in order to balance work and
leisure properly
(3) sharing of responsibilities by both husband and wife
(4) a mother’s ability to look after her child without quitting
her job
4. As she was living with her husband in Andheri,
Mumbai, away from their families ……… .
In this sentence, ‘their families’ refers to
(1) families of friends in Andheri, Mumbai
(2) Karuna’s parents and in-laws
(3) Karuna’s mother and father’s families
(4) Karuna’s husband’s family
248 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
5. Karuna’s parents and her husband’s parents probably
lived
(1) in Mumbai but not in Andheri
(2) with Karuna and her husband
(3) in Andheri, Mumbai
(4) in some other city
6. Karuna decided to quit her job because
(1) she wanted to have more time to herself and for her
husband
(2) she wanted to pay more attention to her cooking
(3) she was not interested in her teaching job
(4) she did not want her daughter to spend her early years
with a maid
7. It was ironical that Karuna’s mother should advise her
to quit her job and stay at home because
(1) Karuna’s parents had always advised her that home was
much more important than career
(2) Karuna’s mother herself had not quit her job to take care
of children as she encouraged independence of women
(3) Karuna herself was keen on quitting her job
(4) Karuna’s parents had insisted that household chores
should be shared between husband and wife
8. After Karuna quit her job
(1) she sent her maid away as she felt that the maid was a
bad influence on Avni
(2) she had no time for herself as Avni needed all her
attention and care
(3) she had a lot of time to herself and for her husband
(4) she occupied herself with cooking to spend her time
usefully
9. “I have no time for myself,” says Karuna.
This sentence can be written in reported speech as
(1) Karuna said that she had no time for herself.
(2) Karuna says that she had no time for herself.
(3) Karuna says that she has no time for herself.
(4) Karuna said that she had no time for myself.
Passage 4
The farmer is up before dawn on shearing-day, driving his
flock into pens. By eight o’clock the shearers arrive and after
a hearty breakfast, they take their places on long benches
that the farmer has improvised in the pens. Shears are taken
from leather cases and sharpened with whetstones; a fire is
lighted to heat pitch for the marking and the work begins.
Soon the shearers fall into their routine. A lad seizes a sheep
from the pen and ties its feet-not with a cord, because that
might injure it, but with a strip of sacking. The sheep is
carried to the benches and the shearer begins to slice off the
wool. First, he shears the coarse wool from the sheep’s belly,
then lays the animal on its side on the bench between his legs
while he snips at the curly wool round the neck. He works
to and fro along the ribs, peeling the wool back until it
hangs like a cloak doubled back over the animal. Then, he
turns the sheep over and begins on the unclipped side. In
a few moments, the whole fleece falls away in one piece,
looking like a dirty grey rug. A few more snips from the
shears and the wool is cut from either side of the sheep’s
tail, leaving the animal white and naked. The shearer
pushes the sheep to the ground and immediately calls for
another animal. Meanwhile the lad daubs the farmer’s
mark in pitch on the newly shorn sheep, unties her legs
and drives her out of the shearing pens.
A second lad-the farmer’s son-seizes the fleece as it is
tossed aside, rolls it up, tucking the tail-wool in first and
secures the bundle by knotting the neck. Any loose
clippings are gathered separately.
The work continues till one o’clock, when the farmer’s
wife summons the men to dinner. Each man finishes the
sheep that is beside him, then the whole party goes back
to the farm house. The men troop into the farm kitchen,
leaving their dogs to scuffle in the yard. After the shortest
of dinner-breaks-for there is much to be done-the
shearing continues and the pile of fleeces mounts.
1. Which word(s) in the first paragraph suggest(s) that
shearing does not take place very often?
(1) Flock (2) Whetstones
(3) Shearing day (4) Improvised
2. The shearer first cuts the wool from the ……… of the
sheep.
(1) ribs (2) tail
(3) legs (4) underside
3. Why are loose clippings of wool gathered separately?
(1) Because they are not so valuable as the whole fleeces
(2) Because they are needed to fill up the top of the bags
(3) Because they weigh less than a whole fleece
(4) So that they do not get spoiled
4. Wool which has been sheared from a sheep is
(1) rolled and bundled
(2) tied with sacking
(3) bagged on shearing-day
(4) cut into two pieces by the shearer with a few snips
5. Which word from the passage best tells us that
shears are like a very large pair of scissors?
(1) Cut (2) Slice
(3) Sharpened (4) Snips
6. The sheep is carried to the benches.
It is an example of
(1) a negative sentence
(2) passive voice
(3) degree of comparison
(4) an interrogative sentence
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 249
Passage 5
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has served as a
catalyst in many school improvement efforts. Schools in
the United States are responding to meet the challenge of
these improvement efforts, although in doing so, some are
caught in a decision-making and funding quagmire. They
ask, “How can we best support teachers so that all students
can succeed ?” Using technology as a means of closing
achievement (remove space) gaps is one option schools are
considering more purposefully and effectively. This
includes using assistive technologies for students with
special needs and creating a systemic approach to change
that benefits all students, including subgroups.
Assistive technologies are technologies that support
students with disabilities, of which a total of 6.5 million
were being served through the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act of 1997. This act defines assistive
technology device as “any item, piece of equipment, or
product system, whether acquired commercially off the
shelf, modified, or customised, that is used to increase,
maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with
a disability.” Regardless of their previous experience, many
administrators and educators are expected to be agents of
change of school improvement efforts today and be well
versed and knowledgeable about assistive technologies,
despite the fact that the definition of assistive technology is
so broad and the field is relatively new.
1. “Schools found themselves in a funding quagmire.”
Here, ‘quagmire’ means
(1) boggy area (2) isolation
(3) indebtedness (4) quicksand
2. According to this passage, ‘achievement gaps’ can be
closed by
(1) investing on more reference books in the library
(2) using assistive technologies for students with special
needs
(3) getting more financial support from the government
(4) using assistive technologies for students with special
needs
3. Functional capabilities constitute the
(1) ability to go for higher studies
(2) the skills to cope with everyday challenges
(3) the determination to succeed
(4) exceptional talent in academic or literary activities
4. A ‘product system’ here means
(1) services or financial investments that are not
commercially value-adding
(2) important resources not available to the disabled
persons
(3) special training equipment designed for disabled
children
(4) products that are freely accessible to schools only
5. Find the word in the passage that means ‘widely
circulated’.
(1) Systemic (2) Achievement
(3) Product (4) Change
6. The antonym for the word ‘hindering’ is
(1) challenge (2) disability
(3) assistive (4) customised
Passage 6
Nammescong Creek flowed into the backs of my thighs as
I fished, pausing between casts to secure my balance in the
current and admire a new hatch of pale yellow mayflies
lift from the stream. Over my shoulder, the Sun dropped
into a farmer’s cornfield, the final patch of orange light on
the water enough for me to spot the small, vaguely metallic
object at my feet. Retrieving it, I ran my thumb over its
raised lettering, rubbing away the mud and a string of algae.
A name appeared, along with an expiration date. June, 1984.
I had discovered arrowheads here in the past, so it didn’t
seem misplaced to find a tool used by modern man to obtain
a meal.
I took a moment to consider how the card had come to rest
in the bed of the Nammy. I thought may be there was a
story in it. I was curious to know if the owner had lost his
wallet while fishing, the whole trip ruined the second he’d
inventoried his cash or dug out his license for a game
warden. Over time, the leather would’ve rotted into fish
food, with the scoured plastic remaining. I wondered how
many miles the card might have ridden on spring floods
over the past quarter of a century. For all I knew, he
could’ve been robbed, the thieves stripping out the money
and tossing the billfold away later as they crossed a bridge.
Looking him up and phoning, I recited the card number
and issuing bank. He laughed, recalling it as the first credit
account he’d ever taken out, a line of imaginary cash in
those years when he had no real money. But that finally
changed, he explained, after an industrial accident cost him
his left eye, the payoff from the plant enabling him to retire
8 years earlier than expected and move to a small hobby
farm in Southern Virginia. He told me a glass eye wasn’t
his style, so he had taken to wearing an eyepatch, which his
wife still hates and his grandchildren ages 3, 5 and 7, have
always loved, as it makes grandpop look like a pirate. He
called them his Miracle grandbabies, born to a daughter
who struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for years
her rock-bottom in 1984, a year before she cleaned up for
good.
But in the end, the man couldn’t remember ever losing his
wallet, either by accident or theft. He said he’d never
fished the Nammy, that, in fact, he’d always thought the
sport a little boring, and so I came to realise there was no
story here.
250 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
1. ‘Flowed into the backs of my thighs’ informs the
reader that the narrator was fishing while
(1) sitting on the river bank
(2) his legs were hanging in the river
(3) standing in the river
(4) walking across the river
2. ‘Scoured’ means
(1) drenched (2) cleaned
(3) bent shapeless (4) discoloured
3. ‘…. a tool used by modern man to obtain a meal’ in
this context is a/some
(1) fishing rod (2) money
(3) coins (4) credit card
4. ‘The whole trip ruined’ was because of the
(1) sudden appearance of mayflies
(2) loss of the wallet, for its ‘owner’ who had given up
his/her holiday
(3) orange sunlight falling on the water thereby disturbing
the fish
(4) narrator’s attention being diverted by his find
5. By ‘looking him up’, the narrator
(1) referred to a telephone directory
(2) attempted to meet the ‘owner’ personally
(3) called him up through an operator
(4) found out about him through various sources
6. ‘A small hobby farm’ would be
(1) an open space where rare animals are cared for
(2) a small zoo in the backyard
(3) a commercially successful farm
(4) a farm run without any profit
7. The ‘owner’s daughter had cleaned up by
(1) getting married
(2) having two children
(3) giving up a destructive lifestyle
(4) choosing to stay with her parents
8. There was no story because
(1) what he found out showed that the ‘owner’s’ life lacked
adventure
(2) he was disappointed that the ‘owner’ was well to do
(3) the ‘owner’ did not share his interest in fishing
(4) the reality did not live up to his imagination
9. A word in the story that means ‘soar’ is
(1) born (2) lift (3) plant (4) rub
Passage 7
The fossil remains of the first flying vertebrates, the
pterosaurs, have intrigued paleontologists for more than
two centuries. How such large creatures, which had
wingspans from 8 to 12 meters, solved the problems of
powered flight and exactly what these creatures
were-reptiles or birds- are among the questions scientists
have puzzled over.
Perhaps the least controversial assertion about the
pterosaurs is that they were reptiles. Their skulls, pelvises
and hind feet are reptilian. The anatomy of their wings
suggests that they did not evolve into the class of birds. In
pterosaurs, a greatly elongated fourth finger of each
forelimb supported a wing like membrane. In birds, the
second finger is the principle strut of the wing. If the
pterosaur walked or remained stationary, the fourth finger
and with it the wing, could only turn upward in an
extended inverted V-shape alongside the animal’s body.
Both the pterosaurs and the birds have hollow bones, a
feature that represents a saving in weight. In the birds,
however, these bones are reinforced more massively by
internal struts.
Although scales typically cover reptiles, the pterosaurs
probably had hairy coats. The recent discovery of a
pterosaur specimen covered in long, dense and relatively
thick hair-like fossil material was the first clear evidence
that this reasoning was correct. Efforts to explain how the
pterosaurs became air-borne have led to suggestions that
they launched themselves by jumping from cliffs, by
dropping from trees or even by rising into light winds from
the crests of waves.
1. The pterosaurs flew by
(1) momentum gathered by running
(2) jumping off a mountain ledge
(3) pushed by wind before take off
(4) jumping upwards with force
2. A synonym for ‘compressed’ from the passage is
(1) strut (2) launch
(3) dense (4) light
3. The opposite of ‘controversial’ is
(1) undisputed (2) questionable
(3) uncertain (4) debatable
4. It can be understood from the passage that scientists
believe that the
(1) pterosaurs walked on all fours
(2) large wings help pterosaurs to fly great distances
(3) hollow bones showed they evolved from bats
(4) fossil remains explain how they flew
5. The skeleton of a pterosaur can be distinguished
from that of a bird by the
(1) anatomy of its wing span
(2) size of its wing span
(3) presence of hollow bones
(4) hook-like projections at the hind feet
6. Which of the following is a characteristic of
pterosaur?
(1) Lived mostly in the forest
(2) They hung upside down like bats before flight
(3) Flew to capture prey
(4) Unable to fold their wing fully at rest
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 251
7. The elongated finger in the …………… supported the
outstretched wings.
(1) Neither (2) pterosaurs
(3) birds (4) Both (2) and (3)
8. The body of the pterosaurs was covered in
(1) smooth skin (2) feathers
(3) scales (4) fur
9. Fossils often left scientists in doubt whether the
pterosaur
(1) their shape and gender
(2) even existed at all
(3) how many lived at that period
(4) was a reptile or a bird
Passage 8
“Get well soon !” Shanta said, handing Partha a yellow
balloon. She was his third visitor. That’s because she was
his class teacher’s daughter and her mother made her visit
him. The other two-Rahul and Syed, weren’t really his
friends, although they often ganged up with him against
other kids to take away their lunch pocket money. Partha
knew he wouldn’t have long to live. He could feel it,
deep inside. Seeing his aunty crying after talking with
the doctor confirmed it. His time had come. He didn’t
tell his visitors, though. They would either pity him or be
happy to get rid of him.
Once Shanta left, he ripped a page off from his notebook
and wrote
“Dear God, I know I messed up and nobody likes me.
Please give me a second chance. I can show you what a
good friend I can be.”
He drew a map showing the way from the school to the
hospital, walked shakily to the window and let the
balloon fly away, carrying his message towards God.
The balloon was heading straight to a telephone pole, but
a gentle breeze blew it away just in time. It crossed the
park and disappeared out of view.
The next day, a boy he had never met before came to visit
him. “I find balloon,” he said. “You are lonely?”
He just nodded; too startled to talk.
“I lonely too. My family come from Afghanistan and I
no speak English good,” He smiled. “I bring gift to you.”
He handed him a small bag of fruits. “I pray for friend
and God give me friend.”
Normally, he would have made fun of his broken English
and his long, baggy brown kurta but he knew better. He
smiled and offered him an orange.
1. One student the reader understands did not really
want to meet Partha, that is
(1) Shanta (2) Syed
(3) Rahul (4) the Afghan boy
2. Partha felt lonely because ……… visited him when he
was at the hospital.
(1) his class teacher
(2) only Syed and Rahul from his class
(3) he had no friends at school, so no friend
(4) Shanta
3. A synonym for the word ‘startled’ in the passage is
(1) eased (2) stunned
(3) avoided (4) composed
4. An antonym for the word ‘shakily’ in the passage is
(1) unsure (2) unsteadily
(3) firmly (4) rickety
5. Partha’s feeling of loneliness soon turned to
(1) irritation (2) sympathy
(3) self-pity (4) anger
6. Partha would not go back to school to meet his
schoolmates and teachers because
(1) his parents wanted to change his school
(2) he did not have long to live
(3) he hated his school as he had no friends
(4) his doctors did not let him
7. The message in the passage is
(1) loneliness in inevitable
(2) about faith in God
(3) all actions have consequences
(4) friendship is rare
8. The change in Partha’s attitude is evident when he
(1) accepted the fruits from a stranger, although he disliked
oranges
(2) refrained from poking fun at the Afghan boy and shared
the fruits
(3) was unmoved even when his aunt was crying
(4) sent a letter to God written on a balloon
9. A phrase that can replace the words ‘ganged up’ is
(1) joined in opposition (2) formed a group
(3) supported together (4) became friends
Passage 9
Our consumption of palm oil is rocketing. Commitments
from various governments to increase the amount of biofuels
being sold are pushing this rise in demand, because they are
seen as an attractive quick fix to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. India wanted 20% of its diesel to be bio-diesel by
2012. The irony is that these attempts to reduce the impact of
climate change could actually make things worse— clearing
forests and draining and burning ‘peatlands’ to grow palm oil
which releases more carbon emissions than burning fossil
fuels. But this phenomenal growth of the palm oil industry
spells disaster for local communities, biodiversity and climate
change as palm plantations enroach further and further into
forested areas where the emission of greenhouse gases is
252 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
largely due to deforestation, e.g., much of the current and
predicted oil palm expansion is taking place on forested
‘peatlands’. Peat locks up huge amounts of carbon, so
clearing ‘peatlands’ by draining and burning releases huge
greenhouse gases. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
(RSPO) has established clear ethical and ecological
standards for producing palm oil.
But since then, forest destruction has continued unabated.
1. The passage is about the impact of …….. on the
environment.
(1) destruction of peatlands (2) palm oil industries
(3) drilling for diesel fuel (4) loss of communities
2. Peatlands are natural
(1) means to suppress carbon emissions
(2) causes of environmental destruction
(3) sources of biofuels when burnt
(4) sources of diesel
3. The phrase in the passage which means ‘speedy
remedy’ is
(1) phenomenal growth (2) quick fix
(3) current and predicted (4) draining and burning
4. The synonym of the word ‘irony’ is
(1) respect (2) reality (3) praise (4) paradox
5. The RSPO was convened to
(1) control destructive practices in palm oil production
(2) control the burning of peatlands
(3) rehabilitate local communities
(4) force the closure of palm oil industries
6. The passage suggests that RSPO’s efforts to carry
out its responsibility have been
(1) mostly successful
(2) mostly a failure
(3) no information in the passage
(4) partly successful
Passage 10
World Animal Day has been observed on 4th October
since 1931, as a way of highlighting the plight of
endangered species. Since then, it has become a day for
remembering and paying tribute to all animals and the
people who love and respect them. It’s celebrated in
different ways in every country, with no regard to
nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Since the
official World Animal Day website was launched by
Naturewatch Foundation, the number of events taking
place throughout the world has increased and the trend
continues. And, that is the aim of the World Animal Day
initiative- to encourage everybody to use this special day to
highlight their importance in the world; celebrate animal
life in all its forms; celebrate humankind’s relationship with
the animal kingdom; acknowledge the diverse roles that
animals play in our lives- from being our companions,
supporting and helping us, to bringing a sense of wonder
into our lives; and acknowledge and be thankful for the
way in which animals enrich our lives. Increased awareness
will lead the way to improved standards of animal welfare
throughout the world. Building the initiative is a way to
unite the animal welfare movement with something that
everyone can join in, whether they are part of an
organisation, group or as an individual. Through education,
we can help create a new culture of respect and sensitivity,
to make this world a fairer place for all living creatures. On
the website, people will find everything they need to make
World Animal Day a reality in their area. If we care about
animals, we should not miss this special day to help make
animal welfare issues front page news around the globe- a
vital catalyst for change.
1. In reading this passage, we learn that the World
Animal Day is an/a …………. celebration.
(1) monthly on the 4th (2) year long
(3) annual (4) commemoration held in 1931
2. The writer points out that animals are important
because they
(1) can replace people by being more resourceful
(2) will outlive human beings in the years to come
(3) can be put to work in many ways
(4) make us appreciate the diversity of life
3. The launch of the website is to
(1) promote social networking by animal lovers
(2) provide guidelines to celebrate Animal Day
(3) give information about endangered animals species
(4) serve as a source of reference about animals
4. The writer implies that animals are
(1) treated cruelly by human beings
(2) usually given due protection
(3) ignored altogether
(4) often subjected to mistreatment
5. Identify the correct statement.
(1) Animals often pose a danger to people.
(2) People tend to forget to celebrate Animal Day.
(3) Animal Day reminds us to care for other species.
(4) The new website was started by the writer.
6. The expression ‘a sense of wonder’ means
(1) a critical reaction (2) a sympathetic attitude
(3) an emotional response (4) a deep understanding
7. The closest synonym for the word ‘sensitivity’ as
used in the passage is
(1) passivity (2) affection
(3) awareness (4) tolerance
8. The antonym of the word ‘initiative’ is
(1) enterprise (2) idleness (3) indifference (4) advance
9. A word in the passage that means ‘impetus’ is
(1) trend (2) catalyst (3) reality (4) welfare
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 253
Passage 11
Ramanujan was born on 2nd December, 1887 in Erode
(South India) as the eldest son in a family of six children. In
November, 1892 he entered, the Town High School at
Kumbakonam as a half-fee scholarship-holder and passed
the Matriculation Examination in 1904. In the school, he
became a minor celebrity, walking off with merit
certificates and prizes for academic brilliance. This school
nourished him for six years, bringing him as close as he
would ever come to a satisfying academic experience. When
he was in the seventh standard, he gave clear evidence of his
mathematical gifts; he could reel off the square root of a
natural number to the specified number of places; he could
point to the indeterminate nature of zero divided by zero.
Ramanujan’s mother—the family being close to
penury—took in college students as boarders, who noticing
Ramanujan’s interest in Mathematics, brought him
textbooks from the college library. Loney’s ‘Trigonometry’
was one such treasure which he mastered.
During 1906-1912, Ramanujan was constantly in search of
an employer to earn his livelihood. With his ‘Notebooks’
as his only recommendation, he sought the patronage of V
Ramaswamy Iyer, the founder of Indian Mathematical
Society who was at Tirukovillur and asked for a clerical job
in his office. The former had no mind to smother
Ramanujan’s genius and sent him back to Madras with a
letter of introduction to PV Seshu Aiyar, then at the
Presidency College, Madras. He gave, in turn, Ramanujan a
letter of recommendation to the true lover of Mathematics,
R Ramachandra Rao, the District Collector, Nellore. This
was the turning point in his life.
On the advice of PV Seshu Aiyar, Ramanujan
communicated his theorems on divergent series in a
historic letter dated 16th January, 1913 to GH Hardy, who
was ten years senior to Ramanujan. With the personal
interest of Gilbert Walker and support given by Indian
stalwarts, the University of Madras awarded its first
scholarship to Ramanujan to study in Cambridge. Over the
next three months, Ramanujan received four long letters
form Hardy, who had already sprung into action, advising
the India Office, of his wish to bring him to Cambridge.
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920)
1. Merit certificates and prizes awarded to Ramanujan
at school are a proof of his
(1) commitment (2) intellectual prowess
(3) sincerity (4) dedication
2. Ramanujan’s mother took in college students as
boarders because
(1) the family was on the verge of poverty
(2) she wanted to give her son all the comforts of life
(3) she wanted to save money to buy a house
(4) she had to pay up huge debts
3. The turning point in Ramanujan’s life came when
(1) he was given a scholarship
(2) he got a job in Indian Mathematical Society
(3) his name was recommended to the District Collector,
Nellore
(4) he was awarded a big cash award
4. The support Ramanujan received from his school
suggests that
(1) fortune favours those who dare
(2) a talented person needs nourishment to flourish
(3) luck is more important than patronage
(4) support or no support, men with talent forge ahead
5. Identify the correct statement.
(1) Ramanujan was offered a job at Cambridge.
(2) Ramanujan did not get much support from his school.
(3) Ramanujan’s mother did not want him to go abroad.
(4) Seshu Aiyar was Ramanujan’s patron.
6. The phrasal verb, ‘reel off ’ means to
(1) say quickly (2) fishing
(3) rehearse easily (4) articulate fast
7. The closest synonym for the word ‘smother’ is
(1) deaden (2) stifle
(3) discourage (4) ruin
8. The antonym for the word ‘recommendation’ is
(1) disapproval (2) exhortation
(3) criticism (4) revulsion
9. The word that can best replace ‘nourished’ is
(1) gifted (2) sent
(3) supported (4) served
Passage 12
One Sunday morning, I was travelling on a subway in
Mumbai. People were sitting quietly some reading
newspapers, some lost in thought. It was a calm, peaceful
scene. Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the
subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious
that instantly the whole climate changed.
The man sat next to me and closed his eyes, apparently
oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back
and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers.
It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me
did nothing.
It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that
he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild and
do nothing about it. It was easy to see that everyone else on
the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, I turned to him
and said, “Sir, your children are disturbing a lot of people. I
wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”
The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of
the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re
254 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
right. I guess should do something about it. We just came
from the hospital where their mother died an hour ago. I
don’t know what to think and I guess they don’t know
how to handle it either.”
Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm
shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently, and because I
saw things differently, I thought, felt and behaved
differently. My irritation vanished; my heart was filled with
the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion
flowed freely, “Your wife just died? Oh, I am sorry! Can
you tell me about it? What can I do to help?” Everything
changed in an instant.
1. The primary purpose of the author is to
(1) narrate an amusing incident
(2) show how indulgent parents spoil their children
(3) show a radical shift in attitude
(4) highlight the problems of subway travellers
2. The word ‘oblivious’ (Para 2) means
(1) unaware (2) neglectful
(3) inconsiderate (4) insensitive
3. The word which is opposite in meaning to
‘compassion’ (Para 5) is
(1) coarseness (2) dislike
(3) wildness (4) cruelty
4. ‘I saw things differently’.
Tense of the above sentence has been correctly
changed into present continuous in
(1) I am seeing things differently.
(2) I had been seeing things differently.
(3) I was seeing things differently.
(4) I have been seeing things differently.
5. ‘My irritation vanished.’
The sentence given above has been correctly changed
into interrogative form in
(1) Couldn’t my irritation vanish?
(2) Could my irritation vanished?
(3) Didn’t my irritation vanish?
(4) Did my irritation vanish?
6. The children’s behaviour on the subway was
(1) irritating (2) disgusting
(3) shocking (4) amusing
7. How did the man (children’s father) react to the
unruly behaviour of his children?
(1) He rebuked them.
(2) He tried to control them.
(3) He did nothing.
(4) He enjoyed their antics.
8. It can be inferred from the man’s behaviour that he
was
(1) an indulgent parent (2) mentally disturbed
(3) unsocial (4) insensitive
9. When the writer learnt the truth
(1) his heart was filled with the man’s suffering
(2) he was angry with himself for being judgemental
(3) he decided to help the man out
(4) he felt apologetic
Passage 13
Your attitude is the perspective from which you view life.
Some people seem to have a good attitude towards most
things. Some people seem to have a bad attitude towards
everything. But when you look closer, you will find that
most of us have a combination of attitudes, some good,
some not so good.
Whatever attitude we have towards anything will affect
how we feel about it, which in turn determines whether or
not we will do well. So our right attitude plays a very
important part in helping us become successful.
In fact, as we can see, a good attitude is essential for
achievement of any kind! We so often hear of someone
who is said to have a ‘bad attitude’. The term is often
applied to young people, especially to teenagers who
frequently get into trouble, but we often hear it about
adults, too .The implication is always that the individual in
question is not going to make it if he doesn’t change his
attitude.
I would agree, without a good attitude it is not possible to
see the opportunities ahead and set one’s sights to reach
them. But even more important is the fact that in order to
possess the kind of feelings which work for us we’ve got to
have the right attitude to start with. But where do we get
our attitude from? Are we born with it or does it just
appear out of nowhere ? Our attitude is no accident: It
doesn’t just happen. Our attitude is created and influenced
entirely by our beliefs.
1. Which one of the following statements is correct?
(1) Our attitudes are influenced by our parents only.
(2) Our attitudes are created and controlled by our beliefs.
(3) Our attitudes are the results of own personal experience.
(4) We are born with our attitudes.
2. The word ‘determine’ most nearly means
(1) influence (2) overcome
(3) engage (4) govern
3. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
sentence given below?
‘Some people seem to have a good attitude towards
most things.’
(1) Preposition (2) Adjective
(3) Conjunction (4) Adverb
4. A/An ………… attitude is absolutely necessary for
attainment of any kind.
(1) cheerful (2) optimistic (3) good (4) virtuous
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 255
5. The term ‘bad attitude’ is used for young people
because they
(1) behave irresponsibly (2) often get into difficulty
(3) are unpredictable (4) defy all kinds of authority
6. Right attitude is absolutely essential to
(1) win the goodwill of our peers and superiors
(2) have harmonious relations with others
(3) promote our mental well-being
(4) succeed in life
Passage 14
Your body is made up of sixty per cent water and you lose
the essential fluid every minute of every day as you
breathe, digest and hopefully work up a sweat. It is
important that you put back every drop. Starting now,
drink eight 230 ml glasses of water every single day—that’s
the minimum, your body needs daily. That is the
non-negotiable sugar savvy hydration Mantra. Many times
when you think you’re hungry, sleepy, depressed and/or
irritated, you’re actually just dehydrated. Drinking enough
water actually helps you combat water retention. Sounds
counterintuitive, but think about it. If you are running
around in a semi-dehydrated state all the time, your body is
going to hang on to every single drop, giving you that
puffy, unhealthy appearance. When you are properly
hydrated, your body gets the message that all systems are
operating smoothly and it continues its work of flushing
out your system and ridding itself of the excess fluids.
If your goal is to lose weight, water is a must. When you’re
dehydrated, your body sends out signals that you need
assistance. Many people mistake those thirsty SOS signals
for hunger and take in hundreds of extra calories. They also
don’t solve the real problem—thirst! Drinking water can be
a powerful appetite suppressant and allows you to cue into
your real hunger. Your body also needs plenty of water for
proper digestion, so you can get the most from the foods
you eat. You are less susceptible to food cravings when
your stomach is full and you’re getting all the nutrients you
need. Drink two glasses of water before every meal— you’ll
eat less ! Your body uses water for fat.
1. ……. helps fight water retention.
(1) Having a balanced diet (2) Drinking enough water
(3) Exercising regularly (4) A regular morning walk
2. Our systems operate satisfactorily
(1) if excess fat is reduced
(2) when we enjoy a sound sleep
(3) when we are properly hydrated
(4) if we consume lots of fruits and vegetables
3. According to the passage, the best way to lose weight
is to
(1) eat less starchy food
(2) take weight-reducing pills
(3) exercise at least twice a day
(4) drink plenty of water
4. When we are dehydrated, we think we
(1) are about to collapse (2) want to vomit
(3) are tired (4) need food
5. The word ‘irritated’ most nearly means
(1) annoyed (2) troubled
(3) uneasy (4) frustrated
6. The word which is opposite in meaning to ‘assistance’
is
(1) fragrance (2) resistance
(3) persistence (4) existence
7. ‘Your body uses water for fat.’
The ‘voice’ in the above sentence has been correctly
changed in which of the following?
(1) Water was used for fat by our body.
(2) Water could be used for fat by our body.
(3) Water is being used by our body for fat.
(4) Water is used for fat by your body.
Passage 15
Raja Ram Mohan Roy is considered the pioneer of modern
Indian Renaissance for the remarkable reforms he brought
about in the 18th century India. Among his efforts, the
abolition of the Sati-pratha—a practice in which a widow
was compelled to sacrifice herself on the funeral pyre of her
husband—was prominent. His efforts were also
instrumental in eradicating the Purdah system and child
marriage. In 1828, Ram Mohan Roy formed the Brahmo
Samaj, a group of people who had no faith in idol-worship
and were against the caste restrictions.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s father was a wealthy Brahmin and
strictly performed the duties set by the religion. Roy
himself was devoted to Lord Vishnu and in his 14th year,
he wanted to become a monk but his mother, Tarini Devi
objected to his desire.
He viewed education as a medium to implement social
reforms. So, in 1815, he went to Calcutta and the very next
year, started an English College by putting in his own
savings. He was well aware that the students should learn
the English language and scientific subjects and that’s why
he criticised the government’s policy of opening only
Sanskrit schools. According to him, Indians would lag
behind if they do not get to study modern subjects like
Mathematics, Geography and Latin. The government
accepted his idea and also implemented it but not before his
death. Ram Mohan was also the first to give importance to
the development of his mother tongue. His ‘Gaudiya
Byakaran’ in Bengali is the best of his prose works.
Rabindranath Tagore and Bankimchandra also followed in
the footsteps of Ram Mohan Roy.
256 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
He was a staunch supporter of free speech and
expression and fought for the rights of Vernacular Press.
He also brought out a newspaper in Persian called
Miratul-Akhbar (the Mirror of News) and a Bengali
weekly called Sambad Kaumudi (the Moon of
Intelligence). In those days, items of news and
articles had to be approved by the government before
being published. Ram Mohan protested against this
control by arguing that newspapers should be free and
that the truth should not be suppressed simply because
the government did not like it.
1. Raja Ram Mohan Roy is known for his
(1) economic reforms
(2) literary reforms
(3) political reforms
(4) social reforms
2. When he was a teenager, Raja Ram Mohan Roy
expressed his desire to become a
(1) journalist (2) monk
(3) teacher (4) businessman
3. Raja Ram Mohan Roy believed that Indians would
lag behind if they
(1) forgot their cultural roots
(2) did not learn traditional skills
(3) gave up study of Sanskrit
(4) did not study modern subjects
4. Raja Ram Mohan Roy strongly supported
(1) rituals and observances
(2) physical education
(3) freedom of speech and expression
(4) moral education
5. The word ‘eliminating’ most nearly means
(1) banishing (2) eradicating
(3) banning (4) dismissing
6. The word which is opposite in meaning to
‘encouraged’ is
(1) crushed (2) misled
(3) disheartened (4) suppressed
7. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
sentence given below?
‘‘He was a staunch supporter of free speech and
expression.’’
(1) Adjective (2) Conjunction
(3) Noun (4) Adverb
8. ‘Raja Ram Mohan Roy viewed education … .’
The ‘voice’ in the above sentence has been
correctly changed in
(1) education was viewed
(2) education is viewed
(3) education has been viewed
(4) education had been viewed
Passage 16
A remarkable feature of Edison’s inventions was their basic
simplicity. There were innumerable scientists possessing deep
knowledge of electricity, chemistry, etc., but it was this
unschooled genius who succeeded where they failed. What
were his unique qualities? First, he had an uncanny ability to
judge the practical use of any scientific fact. Second, he was
blessed with patience and perseverance. He would try out
countless ideas till he found the right one. Third was his
business acumen, which enabled him to earn the large sums of
money necessary to conduct experimental work.
Edison’s enthusiasm for work and optimistic attitude ensured
a long and productive life. Only after crossing the age of
seventy-five did he start slowing down. During his final
illness, his curiosity about his condition, medicines, and
treatment, made the doctors think that possibly he was taking
this too as one of his scientific investigations! He passed away
on 18th October, 1931, at the ripe old age of eight-four.
During his lifetime itself Edison became one of the most
famous men in the world. Honours were showered on him.
Among them was the congressional gold medal in 1928 for
his contributions to human welfare. In 1960, he was
posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame for Great
Americans at New York University. But the tribute that was
most eloquent was quite unintended. The authorities
contemplated switching off the power supply in New York,
the scene of his triumph in 1882, for two minutes as a mark of
respect on his death. But 1931 was not 1882. Since normal life
would have come to a standstill by the two minutes power
cutoff, the idea was given up. There could be no greater
tribute to the man than this negative tribute!
1. The most remarkable feature of Edison’s inventions
was their
(1) low cost (2) aesthetic aspect
(3) fundamental simplicity (4) multiple usefulness
2. According to the author, Edison became prosperous
because he
(1) had great business sense
(2) had luck on his side
(3) worked very hard
(4) made the best use of his time
3. To conduct experimental work, Edison needed
(1) calm and quiet atmosphere
(2) sophisticated gadgets
(3) support of generous patrons
(4) huge amount of money
4. Edison’s long and productive life can be attributed to
(1) his positive attitude
(2) his immensely good health
(3) a large circle of friends
(4) his involvement in charitable work
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 257
5. The word ‘uncanny’ as used in the passage means
(1) astonishing (2) weird
(3) great (4) terrific
6. The opposite of ‘famous’ is
(1) negligible (2) unnoticeable
(3) unpopular (4) unknown
7. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
passage given below?
“… any scientific fact.”
(1) Adverb (2) Preposition
(3) Noun (4) Adjective
Passage 17
This was one of the Old Man’s pet schemes; and one
about which he would brook no interference. Each child
would review the events of his school week in his own
words, in his own way; he was free to comment, to
criticise, to agree or disagree, with any person, subject or
method, as long as it was in some way associated with the
school. No one and nothing was sacred from the
Headmaster down, and the child, moreover, was safe
from any form of reprisal.
“Look at it this way,” Mr. Florian had said. “It is of
advantage to both pupil and teacher. If a child wants to
write about something which matters to him, he will take
some pains to set it down as carefully and with as much
detail as possible; that must in some way improve his
written English in terms of spelling, construction and
style. Week by week we are able, through his reviews, to
follow and observe his progress in such things.
As for the teachers, we soon get a pretty good idea what
the children think of us and whether or not we are
getting close to them. It may sometimes be rather
deflating to discover that a well-prepared lesson did not
really excite Johnny Smith’s interest, but, after all, the
lesson was intended to benefit Johnny Smith, not his
teacher. [CTET Jul 2011]
1. The scheme, according to the Old Man, was useful
because
(1) it was excellent feedback for the teacher, principal and
school
(2) he was slightly eccentric
(3) it was meant to humiliate the teacher
(4) it was meant to give power to the teacher
2. ‘Pet schemes’ in line 1 refers to
(1) a student he is fond of
(2) a formula he had discovered
(3) a pet animal
(4) a method he has advocated
3. The ‘Old Man’ refers to
(1) a parent of the school
(2) a student of the school
(3) a teacher of the school
(4) the headmaster called Mr Florian
4. The advantages of the scheme were many. Choose the
disadvantage from the list given below.
(1) Sometimes deflating to the teacher’s ego.
(2) Diagnostic and remedial for the student and the teacher.
(3) Effective feedback.
(4) Enhanced writing skills.
5. ‘Sacred’ in the context of the Headmaster means
(1) that even ‘he’ was not above the ‘scheme’ he advocated
for students
(2) he believed in the sacred nature of all life
(3) that he was a holy man
(4) that he was the powerful head of the school
6. ‘Brook’ as a verb means ‘to tolerate’ in para 1. As a
noun, it means
(1) tolerance (2) allow
(3) suffer (4) stream
Passage 18
Anaesthesia in any part of the body means a loss of
sensation, either permanent or temporary. The term is
usually used to describe the artificially produced loss of
sensation which makes a surgical operation painless.
There are four main types of anaesthesia : general, spinal,
regional and local. Anaesthetics may be given as gases, by
inhalation; or as drugs injected into a vein. A patient given
general anaesthesia loses consciousness. Anaesthesia of a
fairly large area of the body results from injecting. The
anaesthetic drug into the spinal canal : all that portion of the
body below the level at which the drug is injected is
anaesthetised. Regional anaesthesia is the injecting of the
nerves as they emerge from the spinal column. The
anaesthesia induced by this method affects only that area of
the body supplied by those nerves. In local anaesthesia, the
drug is injected directly at the site of the operative incision
and sometimes also into the nearby surrounding tissues.
Formerly, the most commonly used local anaesthetic was
cocaine, a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca bush
and introduced in 1879. But cocaine has some disadvantages
and sometimes, undesirable side-effects. For spinal, regional
and local anaesthesia, procaine or one of the several
modifications of procaine, is now widely used instead of
cocaine. For very limited and short operations, such as
opening a small abscess, local anaesthesia may be induced by
spraying (rather than injecting) a chemical, ethyl chloride, on
a small area of the skin; in changing a liquid to keep ‘the’
gaseous state, this drug freezes the area sprayed and permits
painless incision. [CTET Jan 2012]
258 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
Previous Years Questions ’
1. When a part of the body is anaesthetised,
(1) the nearby organ loses its function permanently
(2) the body loses its consciousness
(3) the part gets excited
(4) that part loses the ability to feel any pain
2. The real purpose of using anaesthetics is
(1) to make patients unconscious
(2) to perform operations without causing pain
(3) to artificially produce loss of sensation
(4) to cure patients of diseases
3. An anaesthetic is inhaled when it is administered
(1) by injection (2) as a gas
(3) as a spray (4) as a drug
4. When a gas is used as an anaesthetic, the anaesthesia
is
(1) spinal (2) local
(3) regional (4) general
5. Spinal anaesthesia is resorted to when
(1) a small area has to be anaesthetised
(2) the operation involves a big area of the body
(3) a drug has to be injected into the vein
(4) a patient has to be made unconscious
6. The expression ‘the site of the operative incision’
(lines 22-23) means
(1) the place at which a cut is to be made
(2) the spot at which the anaesthetic has to be injected
(3) the area of the body supplied by specific nerves
(4) all the surrounding tissues
7. An ‘abscess’ (line 34) is
(1) an operative incision
(2) a collection of poisonous matter in a hole in the body
(3) an open wound requiring surgery
(4) a deep hole
8. The word opposite in meaning to the word ‘formerly’
(line 25) is
(1) fortunately (2) later
(3) significant (4) industrially
9. ‘Anaesthetics’(line 6) is
(1) an adjective (2) an adverb
(3) a noun (4) a verb
Passage 19
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small
opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for
several hours as it struggled to force its body through that
little hole. Then, it seemed to stop making any progress. It
appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go
no further. So, the man decided to help the butterfly. He
took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of
the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a
swollen body and small shriveled wings. The man
continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that,
at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be
able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its
life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled
wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his
kindness and haste, did not understand was that the
restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the
butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way
of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its
wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved
its freedom from the cocoon. [CTET Jul 2013]
1. The writer’s message in his/her essay is about
(1) needless struggles in life (2) not to have any problems
(3) need for struggles in life (4) escape pain at any cost
2. The passage is …..in form.
(1) argumentative (2) factual
(3) descriptive (4) discursive
3. A man noticed that the
(1) butterfly was emerging (2) butterfly was hidden
(3) cocoon was growing (4) cocoon was moving
4. The man’s first instinct was
(1) keep watching (2) leave the cocoon alone
(3) help the butterfly (4) leave the butterfly alone
5. The natural process would have the wings of the
butterfly
(1) unfold and remain stiff
(2) fold and stretch out
(3) fold up and remain snug
(4) half open and snug against the body
6. A word that means ‘to make or become withered’ is
(1) shrivelled (2) moistened
(3) folded (4) wasted
Passage 20
Meditating can have an almost instant effect on reducing
stress, researchers have found. They say that three
consecutive days of 25-minute sessions can have a dramatic
effect. Researchers studied ‘mindful meditation’- the
guiding principle is to live more ‘in the moment,’ spending
less time going over past stresses and worrying about
future problems. Techniques include moving the focus of
attention around the body and observing sensations that
arise- the so-called ‘body scan’. A secular practice, it is said
to help people recognise and overcome negative thoughts.
For the study, the research team had 66 healthy individuals
aged 18-30 years old participate in a three-day experiment.
Some participants went through a brief mindfulness
meditation training programme for 25 minutes for three
consecutive days. They were given breathing exercises to
help them monitor their breath and pay attention to their
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 259
present moment experiences. A second group of
participants completed a matched three day cognitive
training programme in which they were asked to critically
analyse poetry in an effort to enhance problem-solving
skills. Following the fined training activity, all participants
were asked to complete stressful speech and mathematical
tasks in front of stern-faced evaluators. Each individual
reported their stress levels in response to stressful speech
and mathematical performance stress tasks and provided
saliva samples for measurement of cortisol, commonly
referred to as the stress hormone. The participants who
received the brief mindfulness meditation training reported
reduced stress perceptions to the speech and mathematical
tasks, indicating that the mindfulness meditation fostered
psychological stress resilience. [CTET Sep 2014]
1. The text is a …………… piece of writing.
(1) factual (2) descriptive
(3) biographical (4) reflective
2. The writer’s attitude to mediation is
(1) indifferent (2) different
(3) suspicious sometimes (4) supportive
3. The writer, by referring to the experiment, suggests
that, it is
(1) stress that cannot be controlled
(2) possible for us to control stress
(3) mathematics is a stressful subject
(4) poetry analysis is easier than solving Mathematical
problems
4. The ‘body scan’ is a reference to
(1) an experiment in a lab
(2) a form of meditation
(3) a research experiment
(4) a problem solving activity
5. An antonym for the word ‘stressful’ would be
(1) annoying (2) calming
(3) challenging (4) erasing
6. The word that can replace ‘perception’ in the text is
(1) belief (2) attention
(3) conceptualisation (4) trust
Passage 21
As District Employment Officer, my father was given a
jeep by the government. There was no garage in the office,
so the jeep was parked in our house. My father refused to
use it to commute to the office.
He told us that the jeep is an expensive resource given by
the government-he reiterated to us that it was not ‘his jeep’
but the government’s jeep. Insisting that he would use it
only to tour the interiors, he would walk to his office on
normal days. He also made sure that we never sat in the
government jeep-we could sit in it only when it was
stationary. That was our early childhood lesson in
governance-a lesson that corporate managers learn the hard
way, some never do.
The driver of the jeep was treated with respect due to any
other member of my father’s office. As small children, we
were taught not to call him by his name. We had to use the
title ‘dada’ whenever we were to refer to him in public or
private. When I grew up to own a car, a driver by the name
of Raju was appointed. I repeated the lesson to my two
small daughters. They have, as a result, grown up calling
him ‘Raju Uncle’—very different from many of their
friends who refer to their family drivers as ‘my driver.’
When I hear that term from a school or college going
person, I cringe, to me the lesson was significant—you treat
small people with more respect than you treat big people. It
is more important to respect your subordinates than your
superiors. [CTET Feb 2015]
1. The author’s father would not allow his family to use
the jeep because
(1) it was not their private vehicle
(2) the roads were full of potholes
(3) he was afraid of accidents
(4) the jeep was in a bad condition
2. The author taught his children to
(1) be firm with servants
(2) treat small people with respect
(3) maintain a discreet distance from servants
(4) be kind to small people
3. The author was critical of his children’s friends
because their attitude to servants smacked of
(1) weakness (2) coarseness
(3) arrogance (4) loftiness
4. The author’s attitude towards servants can be
described as
(1) respectful (2) indifferent
(3) rational (4) affectionate
5. The opposite of the word ‘refused’ is
(1) accepted (2) received
(3) justified (4) admired
6. The word that can replace ‘reiterated’ is
(1) revised (2) repeated
(3) recalled (4) reconsidered
Passage 22
The art of Madhubani painting is the traditional style
developed in the Mithila region, in the villages around
Madhubani, Bihar. Madhubani literally means a forest of
honey. This style of painting has been traditionally used by
the women of the region, though today men are also
involved to meet the demand. The work is done on freshly
plastered mud walls. For commercial purposes, it is now
260 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
being done on paper, cloth, etc. The paintings are basically
of religious nature. They are done in the special rooms of
their homes (in the Pooja room, ritual area, bridal room),
on the main village walls, etc., for ceremonial or ritualistic
purposes. The women offer prayers to the deity before
starting the work. Figures from nature and mythology are
adapted to suit their style. The themes and designs widely
painted are the worship of Hindu deities such as Krishna,
Rama, Shiva, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Sun and Moon,
Tulsi plant, court scenes, wedding scenes and other social
events taking place around them. Floral, animal and bird
motifs, geometrical designs are used to fill up all the gaps.
There is hardly any empty space in this style. Cotton
wrapped around a bamboo stick forms the brush. The
colours applied are prepared by the artists. The skill is
handed down the generations, and hence, the traditional
design and patterns are widely maintained. It is believed
that the genesis of the Madhubani paintings came about
when King Janaka asked for paintings to be developed for
his daughter Sita’s wedding. [CTET Sep 2016]
1. Madhubani paintings are no longer done exclusively
by women on walls
(1) as paper is cheaper
(2) because cloth is more durable
(3) to meet their widespread demand
(4) as men are better painters
2. Madhubani paintings are essentially of religious
nature when they are done
(1) using figures from nature (2) in the Pooja room
(3) in the bridal room (4) on the village walls
3. These paintings become secular when they depict
(1) wedding scenes (2) court scenes
(3) worship of Saraswati (4) Tulsi plant
4. A Madhubani painting shows only
(1) geometrical designs
(2) flowers and plants
(3) Hindu deities
(4) a balanced portrayal of all of the above
5. The art of Madhubani painting is learnt in the
(1) homes of renowned artists (2) Ashrams of Madhubani
(3) schools of art (4) families at home
6. ‘Floral’ is an adjective derived from the noun,
‘flower’. Aural is derived from the noun
(1) eye (2) mouth
(3) morning (4) ear
7. The word ‘genesis’ means the same as
(1) spirit (2) growth
(3) birth (4) original
8. ‘On freshly plastered mud walls’.
The word ‘plastered’ is a/an
(1) participle (2) particle
(3) gerund (4) infinitive
Passage 23
Man who is believed to have evolved from apes, is a curious
mixture of varied motives. He is not only the subject of
needs, but is also their creator. He not only seeks to satisfy
his needs but also caters to his desire for beauty and grace.
He is eager to satisfy his passion for more and more
knowledge. Although in a general way, the maxim
‘necessity is the mother of invention’ is true, it is by no
means the whole truth. Man is something much greater
than an intelligent being using his intellect to make newer
inventions from time to time.
He has within him a spirit which is ever exhorting him to
cut down his needs and learn to be happy with what he has.
The real purpose underlying this maxim lies in its utility in
the worldly sense. It tells us to be up and doing, not to be
passive in our attitude to life. It asks us not to remain slaves
of old habits and ways of life. We must face the new
situations with a creative mind. Every new difficulty, every
new problem, which confronts us in life, can be tackled
successfully with the spirit of inventiveness. [CTET Dec 2018]
1. Which one of the following is not the whole truth
according to the passage?
(1) Man learns to be happy with what he has.
(2) Man has a desire for beauty and grade.
(3) Necessity is the mother of invention.
(4) Man desires to cut down his needs and wants.
2. What does the maxim mentioned in the passage teach
us?
(1) To be active in life and do something to help mankind
(2) To be worldly in the strict sense of the term
(3) To be slave of our needs and wants
(4) To endeavour constantly to create new passions and
desires
3. What does the spirit within man tell him to do?
(1) To acquire more and more wealth and comforts
(2) To be a mixture of varied motives
(3) To evaluate the situations intelligently
(4) To cut down his desires and passions
4. Which of the following statements is/are true in the
context of the passage?
I. Man should be passive in his attitude to life.
II. Spirit of inventiveness may not stand in good stead
in solving every new problem.
III. Man has a passion for more and more knowledge.
(1) Both II and III (2) Only I
(3) Both I and II (4) Only III
5. Which one of the following is similar in meaning to
the word ‘maxim’ as used in the passage?
(1) Observation (2) Principle
(3) Direction (4) Value
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 261
6. Which one of the following is not the characteristic of
man as per the passage?
(1) Man desires to have more and more comforts and money.
(2) Man has many needs and motives.
(3) Man creates many needs for himself.
(4) Man seeks to satisfy his needs.
7. Which one of the following statements is not true as
per the passage?
(1) Man’s inner spirit tells him to be on the look out for
newer and higher wants.
(2) Spirit of inventiveness will stand in good stead.
(3) Man is the subject of various wants.
(4) Man creates new needs because they are sometimes
good or beautiful.
8. Choose the word which is opposite in meaning to the
word ‘seeks’ as used in the passage.
(1) Approaches (2) Deplores
(3) Avoids (4) Vanishes
9. Which one of the following is similar in meaning to
the word ‘exhorting’ as used in the passage?
(1) Clarifying (2) Urging
(3) Supporting (4) Demanding
Passage 24
Did you know that there is a fiber that is as flexible and
lightweight as nylon yet five times stronger than steel? Did
you know that this fabric is resistant to temperature higher
than 500°F? Did you know that a woman invented this
fiber? This miraculous fabric is called Kevlar and it is used
to make everything from body armor to musical
instruments.
The year was 1964. There were gasoline shortages due to
conflict in the Middle East. A Polish-American chemist
named Stephanie Louise Kwolek was working for DuPont,
an American chemical company. She and her group were
trying to make a lightweight, yet durable fiber to be used in
tires. Lighter tires would allow vehicles to get better gas
mileage, but the tires had to be strong enough to resist the
wear and tear of the road. They had been working on the
problem for some time and had little success, until Kwolek
had a breakthrough.
Kwolek and her group were synthesising or creating fibers
to test. During one of the steps in the process, Kwolek
created a milky white solution by mixing two chemicals
that were often used in the process. This solution was
usually thrown away, but Kwolek convinced one of the
technicians to help her test it. They were amazed to
discover that the fabric that Kwolek had created was not
only more durable than nylon, it was more durable than
steel. Kwolek had invented Kevlar.
Kevlar is a remarkable fabric known for its strength and
durability. Since its invention it has found its way into a
wide variety of products. Kevlar is used in sporting
equipment like bike tyres, bowstrings and tennis racquets.
It is used in musical instruments like drumheads, reeds and
speaker cones. And it is used in protective gear like
motorcycle safety jackets, gloves and shoes. However,
Kevlar is best known for its ability to stop bullets.
Richard Armellino created the first Kevlar bulletproof vest
in 1975. It contained 15 layers of Kevlar, which could stop
handgun and shotgun bullets. The vest also had a steel plate
over the heart, which made the vest strong enough to stop
rifle rounds. Vests like Armellino’s were quickly picked up
by police forces and it is estimated that by 1990, half of all
police officers in America wore bulletproof vests daily. By
2006, there were over 2000 documented police vest ‘saves’,
or instances where officers were protected from deadly
wounds by wearing bulletproof vests. [CTET Dec 2018]
1. Which one of the following is not a product that has
been made with Kevlar?
(1) Body armor (2) Tennis racquets
(3) Bungee jumping cords (4) Brake pads
2. For which of the following characteristics is Kevlar
known?
(1) Durability (2) Heat resistant
(3) Strength (4) All of these
3. Which one of the following caused the search for a
fabric like Kevlar?
(1) The want of better musical instruments.
(2) A shortage in the gasoline supply.
(3) A desire to protect police officers.
(4) The need to replace asbestos.
4. A vest made of 15 layers of Kevlar with no steel
plates could stop all but which of the following
rounds?
(1) Rifle rounds (2) Handgun rounds
(3) Shotgun pellets (4) It could stop all of these
5. How much stronger is Kevlar than steel?
(1) 200 times as strong (2) Half as strong
(3) As strong (4) Five times as strong
6. What product was Kwolek trying to improve when
she invented Kevlar?
(1) Armor (2) Tyres
(3) Milk (4) Brake pads
Passage 25
On an ordinary workday, 27-year-old Pramila Bariki hikes
up steep slopes across fields, through ankle-deep rivulets,
often walking upto 14 km. She gets a ride until the road is
motorable, from which point she has to walk.
Her job? She doles out healthcare advice to mothers and
children in the remotest hamlets in the Araku valley of
Andhra Pradesh.
262 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
Now, heavily pregnant Pramila has had to slow down
delegating tasks to Duridi, Neeraj, Sunita and others. It’s
they who now walk through forests and climb up
mountains, visiting families to identify pregnant women
and conduct basic tests for diabetes and anaemia and
connect them with a primary health centre whenever
necessary.
These young tribal women are all trained auxiliary nurses,
part of an experimental health project in Araku that aims to
end preventable deaths during child birth or infancy.
The Araku valley is home to several nomadic tribes who
live in small clusters of 70 to 150 homes situated in rugged
and inaccessible terrain. Until a few years ago, these
communities were unaware of government healthcare
policies. The death of a child or a woman during pregnancy
or child birth was common and they were resigned to it.
Today 38 women like Pramila drawn from these tribes,
have broken social and cultural barriers to train as nurses
and provide medical care to 1179 hamlets across the Araku,
Paderu and Chintapalli mandals. Since, they are from these
communities they have been able create trust in the families
and neighbours about formal healthcare. As a result, these
remote villages have now had the first child birth in
hospital, the first delivery by a trained nurse and the first
mother not to lose a child.
The nurses advise women on hygiene and nutrition and
convince them to visit the nearest health centre for further
check-ups. [CTET Jul 2019]
1. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
The sudden rise/(A) and fall of prices/(B) make a
business/(C) very uncertain /(D).
(1) D (2) A
(3) B (4) C
2. The job of the auxiliary nurses is physically
challenging because they
(1) are not liked by the people whom they want to help
(2) have to face opposition from the local traditional healers
(3) are not paid any renumeration for their work
(4) have to walk through forests and up the mountains to
reach out to people
3. The health project launched in the tribal areas
aims to
(1) provide employment along with education
(2) prevent deaths during pregnancy and child birth
(3) raise the living standard in the tribal areas
(4) provide nutrition to women and children
4. The tribal people trust the health workers mostly
because they
(1) belong to their own community
(2) help them get employment
(3) are educated and soft-spoken
(4) help them settle their domestic disputes
5. Read the following statements.
A. Child mortality rate in the tribal areas was very
high in the past.
B. Pramila and her colleagues are rendering
invaluable services to the tribal women.
Select the correct option using the codes given below
(1) Both A and B are true
(2) A is true, but B is false
(3) B is true, but A is false
(4) Both A and B are false
6. Which one of the following words is similar in
meaning to ‘remotest’ as used in the passage?
(1) Tallest (2) Toughest
(3) Farthest (4) Highest
7. Which one of the following words is opposite in
meaning to ‘trust’ as used in the passage?
(1) Dismantle (2) Disdain
(3) Distrust (4) Disrupt
8. He could not clear the exam because he didn’t work
hard.
Identify the clause in the underlined part of the
sentence given above.
(1) Principal clause (2) Adverb clause
(3) Adjective clause (4) Noun clause
Passage 26
Kaizen in Japanese means constant and never ending
improvement. There is no pursuit more noble or important
than the pursuit of self-improvement. As Confucius said
many years ago, ‘‘Good people strengthen themselves
ceaselessly’’. Consistent and constant improvement in all
areas is essential to reach your true potential. The personal
trademark of almost every high achiever and successful
person is a dedication to daily improvement in both their
personal and professional lives. From Ben Franklin to
Mahatma Gandhi, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Ivan
Lendl and from Nelson Mandela to Mother Teresa,
effective people do things daily to advance confidently in
the direction of their goals and dreams.
You must also apply the Kaizen principle on a daily basis
to condition your mind to peak performance. It had been
said that the mind is a terrible master but a wonderful
servant. By seeking to improve your mind and condition it
to excellence of thought, this wonderful servant will most
certainly bring you all the peace, prosperity and joy you
now search for.
Study any person’s great success story and you will
undoubtedly learn of their commitment to Kaizen. They
will be dedicated to small, daily improvements in the key
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 263
areas of their lives and become the very best they could
be. Personal mastery is like a bank account, call it the
Personal Excellence Account. By improving daily,
whether it is by spending some time exercising,
reading, visualising or forging better relationships, you
are making regular deposits into your account. After
only one month, for example, you will have improved
the richness and quality of your world by atleast 30%.
[CTET Jul 2019]
1. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
Since time immemorial/(A) the Hindus/(B) have
been worshipping/(C) the river Ganga/(D).
(1) D (2) A (3) B (4) C
2. How, according to the author, can we attain our
full potential?
(1) By working hard on our weaknesses
(2) By putting in a lot of effort
(3) By proper and ceaseless improvement in all areas
(4) By seeking the advice and guidance of successful
people
3. What is common among the great people
mentioned in para-1?
(1) They resisted every temptation.
(2) They inspired all those who came into contact with
them.
(3) They worked hard to alleviate the suffering of the
downtrodden.
(4) They tried their best to realise their goals.
4. What do we stand to gain when we condition our
minds to do our best?
(1) We realise our full capability.
(2) We earn name, fame and wealth.
(3) We rise in the estimation of our friends.
(4) We are able to overcome all obstacles.
5. Read the following sentences.
A. All successful people are committed to Kaizen.
B. If we can control our mind, it will serve us
wonderfully.
Select the correct option using the codes given
below.
(1) Both A and B are false
(2) A is false, but B is true
(3) A is true, but B is false
(4) Both A and B are true
6. Which word is similar in meaning to the word
‘trademark’ used in the passage?
(1) Brand (2) Item (3) Object (4) Subject
7. Which word is opposite in meaning to the word
‘wonderful’ as used in the passage?
(1) Insufficient (2) Separate
(3) Deficient (4) Unremarkable
Passage 27
1. Freedom is one of the most important factors in life, man
has fought politically all over the world for freedom.
Religions have promised freedom, not in this world but in
another. In the capitalist countries, individual freedom
exists to some degree, and in the communist world, it has
been denied. From ancient times, freedom has meant a
great deal to man, and there have been its opponents, not
only political but religious through inquistion, by
ex-communication, tortures and banishments, and the
total denial of man’s search for freedom. There have been
wars and counter-wars fought for freedom. This has been
the pattern of man’s endeavours for freedom throughout
history.
2. Freedom of self-expression and freedom of speech and
thought exist in some parts of the world, but in others it
does not. Those who have been conditioned, revolt against
their backgrounds. This reaction which takes different
forms is called ‘freedom’. The reaction to politics is often
to shun the field of politics.
3. One economic reaction is to form small communities
based on some ideology or under the leadership of one
person, but these soon disintegrate. The religious reaction
against established organisations of belief is to revolt,
either by joining other religious organisations or by
following some Guru or Leader or by joining some cult or
simply denying the whole religious endeavour.
4. One thinks of freedom only as freedom of movement,
either physical or movements of thought. It appears that
one always seeks freedom on the surface. Surely, this is
rather a limited freedom involving a great deal of conflict,
wars and violence.
5. Inner freedom is something entirely different. It has its
roots not in the idea of freedom but in the reality of
freedom. It covers all the endeavours of man. Without
inner freedom, life will always be an activity within the
limited circle of time and conflict. [CTET Dec 2019]
1. Which methods do authorities not use to suppress people
fighting for freedom?
(1) Inquisitions (2) Ex-communication
(3) Persuasion (4) Tortures
2. Reaction against established religion prompts people not
to
(1) join other religious organisations
(2) to start a new religion
(3) follow some guru
(4) join some cult
3. Real freedom, according to the author, is
(1) economic freedom (2) inner freedom
(3) polical freedom (4) religious freedom
264 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
4. Read the following sentences.
A. Individual freedom does not exist at all in capitalist
countries.
B. People do not have individual freedom in
communist countries.
(1) A is false, but B is true.
(2) A is true, but B is false.
(3) Both A and B are true.
(4) Both A and B are false.
5. Which word is similar in meaning to the word
‘endeavours’ as used in the passage? (Para 1)
(1) Movements (2) Attempts
(3) Actions (4) Challenges
6. Which word is opposite in meaning to the word
‘shun’ as used in the passage? (Para 2)
(1) Prefer (2) Rehabilitate
(3) Welcome (4) Rejoice
7. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
There is no doubt that hard work
(a) (b)
paves the way to success.
(c) (d)
(1) d (2) a
(3) b (4) c
8. Which of the following statements is not true?
(1) Man can enjoy life only in an environment of freedom.
(2) Material progress cannot be achieved without freedom.
(3) Freedom is not one of the most important factors in life.
(4) Freedom helps man evolve morally and spiritually.
Passage 28
1. Water is the core of life; hence, water must be central
to our spiritual thinking. Water is not only most of
the Earth, but also most of life. Therefore, water
conservation must be our deepest concern.
2. The Himalayan Mountain range is among the highest,
youngest and most fragile ecosystem of the planet.
The Himalayas have given us some of the greatest
river systems of the Earth including the Indus, Ganga,
Brahmaputra, Nu Salween, Yangtze and the Mekong.
The Himalayas are also called the ‘Third Pole’, for
they contain the largest mass of ice and snow outside
the Earth’s polar region, the North and South poles.
There is a permanent snowline above 5,000 metres.
Some of the glaciers in the region are the longest
outside the two poles.
3. The Himalayas serve as water towers, providing water
on a sustained basis to more than 1,000 million people
and millions of hectares of land in South Asia. The
greenery, benevolent climate, highly productive
ecosystems, food production and overall happiness in
South Asia are, in fact, attributable to the bounty of
the Himalayas.
They are not only beautiful; but they are also
life-givers. Little wonder that they are venerated as the
abode of gods.
4. To keep the Third Pole preserved through assured
conservation is one of the greatest challenges for the
contemporary world. Himalayan mountains are a
common but fragile natural resource. As mountain
ecosystems have enormous bearing on the Earth’s
systems, their special care, regeneration and
conservation of their pristine resources would only
bring more happiness, peace and prosperity to large
parts of the world. In Agenda 21, Chapter 13 of the
United Nations, the importance of mountains is
underlined: ‘‘mountain environments are essential to
the survival of global ecosystems.’’
5. The Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand are
especially rich in water resources. This area is home to
dozens of perennial streams and numerous other
rain-fed rivers along with innumerable rivulets,
waterfalls, ponds, etc. [CTET Dec 2019]
1. Which of the following has not been mentioned in the
passage?
(1) The Himalayas provide us with highly productive
eco-systems.
(2) The Himalayas provide water to more than 1000 million
people.
(3) The Himalayas irrigate millions of hectares of land.
(4) The Himalayas form the backbone of our tourism
industry.
2. Which of the following is false?
(1) The Himalayan mountains are a fragile ecosystem.
(2) Climate change has little effect on the Himalayas.
(3) They bring prosperity to large parts of the world.
(4) They have some of the longest glaciers.
3. Which of the following is NOT a special thing about
the Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand?
The Himalayan state has
(1) many perennial streams
(2) huge mineral deposits
(3) many rain fed rivers
(4) numerous waterfalls and ponds
4. Which one of the following words is similar in
meaning to the word ‘bounty’?
(1) Generosity (2) Assets
(3) Sympathy (4) Abundance
5. Which word is opposite in meaning to the word
‘benevolent’?
(1) Malevolent (2) Rude
(3) Untruthful (4) Indecent
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 265
6. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
following sentence?
The area is home to dozens of perennial streams.
(1) Noun (2) Adverb
(3) Adjective (4) Pronoun
7. In the context of the passage, which of the following
is not true?
Water should be central to our thinking because
(1) We cannot survive without water.
(2) It is lifeline for our farmers.
(3) It is considered holy by most religions.
(4) It is the core of life.
Passage 29
1. The study of handwriting is known as graphology and
it has been practised for hundreds of years.
Professional forensic graphologists have worked on
many court cases to use handwriting to link suspects
with crimes.
2. Handwriting is particularly important legally in the
case of signatures and proving whether signatures are
real or forged can be pivotal. Graphologists also work
to verify whether autographs are real or fake.
3. Some handwriting analysts also study writing samples
to determine personality types and some businesses
commission this analysis before hiring new
employees. The method is even used to help couples
see if they are compatible. According to graphologists,
there is very little you can’t tell from a person’s
handwriting.
4. From psychological conditions like high blood
pressure and schizophrenia to personality traits like
dominance and aggression : if you write by hand,
graphologists can analyse you.
5. Everything from the size of your letters to how
closely you space words can reveal intricate details of
your personality. In general, the size of your letters
can reveal whether you are shy or outgoing.
Compared to a standard lined sheet of paper, if you
write with tiny letters that do not reach the top line,
you are likely to have a timid and introverted
personality. If you write with large letters that go over
the top line, you are likely to be the opposite :
outgoing, confident and attention seeking.
6. Studies suggest that people who space words widely
like freedom and independence, whereas those
choosing to write with small spaces prefer to be
among others and do not like to be alone.
[CTET Jan 2021]
1. Which one of the following words is similar in
meaning to the word ‘verify’ (Para-2) as used in the
passage?
(1) Notify (2) Discover
(3) Clarify (4) Confirm
2. Which one of the following words is opposite in
meaning to ‘reveal’ (Para-5) as used in the passage?
(1) Conceal (2) Teal
(3) Blacken (4) Repeal
3. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
following sentence?
‘‘Graphologists can verify whether the autographs
are real or fake.’’
(1) Pronoun (2) Conjunction
(3) Adverb (4) Preposition
4. Which of the following is not true?
Handwriting is used by graphologists to
(1) help couples to determine their suitability to each other.
(2) predict a person’s future criminal tendency.
(3) nail criminals.
(4) verify genuineness of signatures.
5. A graphologist can give accurate information about
(1) setbacks a person is likely to face in future.
(2) a person’s chances of success.
(3) a person’s popularity graph.
(4) a person’s mental health.
6. A person who writes with large letters that cross over
to the top line is likely to be
(1) aggressive (2) diffident
(3) outgoing (4) introverted
7. An attention seeking, confident person writes with
(1) large letters
(2) rounded letters
(3) tiny letters
(4) cursive letters
8. Read the following statements:
A. Graphology has been practised for thousands of
years.
B. A person’s handwriting reveals everything about
him.
(1) Both A and B are true. (2) Both A and B are false.
(3) A is true and B is false. (4) A is false and B is true.
Passage 30
1. There is something we all want to do, although few of
us readily admit it : Get rid of guests.
2. For nine months in the year, only my closest friends
come to see me. Then, when temperatures start
soaring in the plains, long-lost acquaintances suddenly
remember that I exist and people whom I am barely
able to recognise appear at the front door, willing to
have me put them up for periods ranging from six
days to six weeks.
266 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
3. Occasionally, I am the master of the situation.
4. The other day I received visitors who proved to be
more thick- skinned than most. The man was a friend
of an acquaintance of mine. I had never seen him
before. But on the strength of this distant relationship,
he had brought his family along.
5. I tried the usual ploy but it didn’t work. The man and
his family were perfectly willing to share the floor
with any others who might be staying with me.
6. So I made my next move. ‘I must warn you about the
scorpions’, I said. The scorpion-scare is effective with
most people. But I was dealing with professionals. The
man set his son rolling up the carpet. ‘Sometimes
centipedes fall from the ceiling’, I said desperately.
7. We were now interrupted by someone knocking on
the front door. It was the postman with a rejected
manuscript, his arrival inspired me to greater
inventiveness.
8. ‘I’m terribly sorry’, I said, staring hard at a rejection
slip. ‘I’m afraid I have to leave immediately. A paper
wants me to interview the Maharishi. I hope you
won’t mind. Would you like the name of a good
hotel?’
9. ‘Oh, don’t worry about us’, said the woman
expansively. ‘We’ll look after the house while you are
away’. [CTET Jan 2021]
1. Which one of the following words is similar in
meaning to the word ‘readily’ (Para 1) as used in the
passage?
(1) Efficiently (2) Plainly
(3) Frankly (4) Easily
2. Which one of the following words is opposite in
meaning to the word ‘soaring’ (Para 2) as used in the
passage?
(1) Falling
(2) Deteriorating
(3) Hovering
(4) Exasperating
3. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
Both Raghunath as well as Ravish (a) / have given (b)
/ their consent (c) / to the new proposal (d).
(1) c (2) b
(3) d (4) a
4. Which of the following is true?
People who visit the author at the onset of the
summer are
(1) people whom he hardly knows.
(2) his colleagues.
(3) his old school mates.
(4) his closest friends and relatives.
5. Which one of the following ploys does the author not
use to get rid of unwanted guests?
(1) There is acute water scarcity.
(2) He has already too many guests.
(3) The place is infested with scorpions.
(4) Centipedes fall from the ceiling.
6. Which of the following does not apply to the
unwelcome guests?
(1) They are thick-skinned.
(2) They don’t have enough money to stay at a hotel.
(3) They are utterly shameless.
(4) They want to enjoy themselves at the author’s expense.
7. The postman delivered to the author
(1) his rejected manuscript alongwith a rejection slip.
(2) a letter commissioning him to write a new novel.
(3) a letter inviting him to interview the Maharishi.
(4) his rejected manuscript alongwith a cheque.
Passage 31
1. At least a third of the ice in the Himalayas and the
Hindu Kush region will melt this century as
temperatures rise, disrupting river flow vital for
growing crops from China to India, according to the
scientists.
2. Vast glaciers make the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH)
region which is home to the world’s highest peaks
topped by Mount Everest and K 2
-a third pole behind
Antarctica and the Arctic region, they said.
3. “Global warming is on track to transform the frigid
glacier covered mountain peaks of the HKH cutting
across eight countries to bare rocks in a little less than
a century,” said Wester of the International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development.
4. The report, by 210 authors, said that more than a third
of the ice in the region will melt by 2100 even if the
governments take tough action to limit global
warming under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
5. The study said that the thaw will disrupt rivers
including the Yangtze, Mekong, Indus and the Ganga
where farmers rely on glacier melt water in the dry
season. About 250 million people live in the
mountains and 1.65 billion in the river valleys below.
6. Changes in river flow could also harm hydropower
production and cause more erosion and landslides in
the mountains. [CTET Dec 2021]
1. Which paragraph deals with the cause and effect of
the thaw in the Himalayan region?
(1) Paragraph 1
(2) Paragraph 3
(3) Paragraph 4
(4) Paragraph 5
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 267
2. Which of the following words is opposite in meaning
to the word ‘harm’ as used in the passage? (Para 6)
(1) Attract (2) Benefit
(3) Raise (4) Promote
3. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
following sentence?
‘……. river flow is vital for growing crops.
(1) Noun (2) Adverb
(3) Pronoun (4) Adjective
4. Which of the following words is similar in meaning to
the word ‘bare’ as used in the passage? (Para 3)
(1) Clear (2) Naked
(3) Distant (4) Tough
5. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
If we will be late
(a) (b)
they will be angry
(c) (d)
(1) (b) (2) (c)
(3) (a) (4) (d)
6. According to the author, the Himalayas and the
Hindu Kush region is important because
(1) It is home to red pandas and snow leopards.
(2) It has dense pine and gir forests.
(3) It has the world’s highest peaks.
(4) It has a variety of rare herbs and shrubs.
7. Which of the following statements is not supported
by evidence in the text?
(1) Implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement will
reduce rising temperatures.
(2) The melting of the Himalayas will disrupt river flows.
(3) Climate change will severely affect people living in small
island states.
(4) The thaw will cause more erosion and landslides.
8. Read the following statements.
A. Para 1 deals with the cause of the thaw in the
Himalayan region.
B. Para 2 provides a solution to deal with the effects of
climate change.
Choose the correct option.
(1) A is true, but B is false.
(2) B is true, but A is false.
(3) Both A and B are false.
(4) Both A and B are true.
Passage 32
1. Heaven seems to turn up when we least expect it.
I gave up a good job in Delhi and came to live in a hill
station; partly because I love mountains and forests
and partly because I wanted to devote more time to
writing. I live at the edge of a forest of oak and maple.
I am happy among trees but the full magic of a tree
was only brought home to me some time ago when I
was in the plains.
2. I was walking through a stretch of wasteland, a desert
that seemed to stretch endlessly across a wide, flat
plan. Just as I was beginning to find the heat and the
glare a little discouraging, I saw a tree, just one small,
crooked tree shimmering in the distance and seeing it
there all by itself, but growing stubbornly where other
trees would not grow, I was filled with love and
admiration for it. When I reached the tree, I found
that it had given shelter to other small plants from the
Sun. A pair of parrots emerged from a hole in the tree
trunk and flew across the plain, flashes of red and
green and gold. Finding that tree there, struggling on
its own but giving life to other things, was like finding
a bit of heaven, where I least expected it.
3. Almost always it is unexpected that delights us, that
takes us by the throat and gives us a good shaking,
leaving us gaping in wonder.
It may only be a shaft of Sunlight slanting through the
pillars of a banyan tree or dewdrops caught in a
spider’s web or, in the stillness of the mountains, the
sudden chatter of a mountain stream as you go round
the bend of a hill, or an emperor’s first glimpse of a
winding river and the world beyond. [CTET Dec 2021]
1. Which of the following words is opposite in meaning
to the word ‘sudden’ as used in the passage (para 3)?
(1) Quick (1) Gradual (3) Slow (4) Leisurely
2. The writer was filled with love and admiration for
(1) The stillness of the mountains.
(2) Flashes of red and green and gold.
(3) Dewdrops caught in a spider’s web.
(4) The small crooked tree standing alone in the desert.
3. Which of the following words has the same meaning
as the word ‘crooked’ in the passage (para 2)?
(1) Ugly (2) Twisted
(3) Scary (4) Disturbing
4. What lifted the writer’s drooping spirit in the desert
heat?
(1) A huge black cloud covering the sky above him.
(2) A single crooked tree struggling to survive in the desert.
(3) The sight of a green tract at a little distance away.
(4) A caravan trudging through the desert.
5. The author decided to shift to the mountains because
(1) He wanted to recuperate after his long illness.
(2) His friends urged him to come and participate in the
festivities.
(3) He loved mountains and wanted to do his writing work.
(4) He was fed up with the hectic life in Delhi.
268 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
6. The phrase ‘a bit of heaven’ in para 2 means
something
(1) amazing (2) really enjoyable
(3) really unexpected (4) evoking strange feelings
7. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
Farmers and gardeners have been
(1) (2)
badly effected by the drought.
(3) (4)
(1) 2 (2) 3
(3) 4 (4) 1
Passage 33
How safe is it for vaccinated people to get together?
1. As part of its interim recommendations [these
recommendations are not followed anymore], the
Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says that people
who are fully vaccinated can mix with small groups of
other fully vaccinated people indoors without masks
or social distancing. The agency also says that the fully
vaccinated can meet with unvaccinated people from a
single household who are at low risk of developing
severe forms of the disease, no masks or distancing
required.
2. Still, the decision for vaccinated people to mix
involves mental “calculus,” says Swartzberg, which
should take into account how likely anyone is to be
exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, vaccinated or not,
because there is still a small chance even vaccinated
person could become infected that or that they could
infect an unvaccinated person.
3. As time goes on, when more people are vaccinated and
the number of infected individuals continues to drop,
Moss says a gathering among vaccinated people, “will
be a safe one” and will continue to get safer.
4. “To be on the safe side,” says Cynthia Leifer,
Associate Professor of Immunology at Cornell
University, “we should still practice distancing
measures as much as we can in the shorter term until
we get broader distribution of the vaccine and greater
immunity.” She recommends people to continue to
follow the guidelines of avoiding large groups,
wearing masks, and staying at least six feet apart.
5. It is also not known how effective the vaccines will be
against new variants, including ones that haven’t been
discovered yet.
6. “The more that COVID is circulating right now, the
more potential there is for variants to arise.” Leifer
says. “We can’t predict when a new variant might
arise that is perhaps not covered by the vaccine.
7. The Novavax vaccine, which is not yet approved for
use, showed a sizable drop in efficacy from 49.4
percent against a variant that originated in South
Africa but has since spread internationally. Pfizer and
Moderna are still testing how well its vaccines work
against a more contagious variant first discovered in
the U.K. [CTET Jan 2022]
1. Complete the following sentence by choosing the
correct option.
When more people are vaccinated
(1) it would be absolutely safe to attend large functions.
(2) it will be safe to open schools.
(3) there will be no need for social distancing.
(4) people can gather in small numbers.
2. Pick the correct option to justify why one should get
vaccinated.
Assentation (A) Recommendations given in
paragraph 1 are not followed anymore by the people
across the globe.
Reasoning ( R) There is still chance that vaccinated
people can become infected and infect other people.
(1) Both A and R are true
(2) Both A and R are false
(3) A is true, but R is false
(4) A is false, but R is true
3. Pick the option which can be a suitable synonym for
the word ‘sizable’ used in the passage.
(1) Respectable (2) Extensive
(3) Substantial (4) Whooping
4. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
If he will work hard,
(a) (b)
he will face any problem.
(c) (d)
(1) (b) (2) (a)
(3) (d) (4) (c)
5. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
following sentence?
The fight against Covid-19 will continue till people
are fully vaccinated.
(1) Noun (2) Pronoun
(3) Adverb (4) Adjective
6. Which of the following is not supported by evidence
in the passage?
(1) Cynthia Leifer recommends that people should follow
Covid-19 guidelines even though a large number of
people are vaccinated.
(2) According to Leifer, no one can predict when a new
variant might arise.
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 269
(3) The Novavax Vaccine has shown considerable drop in
efficacy.
(4) There will be no need to wear masks and practise social
distancing when majority of the people have received at
least one jab.
7. Which paragraph lists the recommendation of Centre
for Disease Control?
(1) Para 1 and 2 (2) Only para 3
(3) Para 4 and 5 (4) Only para 1
8. Which of the following words is similar in meaning to
the word ‘predict’ as used in the passage (para 6)?
(1) Announce (2) Reveal (3) Forecast (4) Indicate
Passage 34
And if I have a fancy for dyeing my hair, or waxing my
moustache (which heaven forbid), or wearing an overcoat
and sandals, or going to bed late or getting up early, I shall
follow my fancy and ask no man’s permission. I shall not
inquire of you whether I may eat mustard with my mutton.
And you will not ask me whether you may follow this
religion or that, whether you may prefer Ella Wheeler
Wilcox to Wordsworth, or champagne to shandy. In all
these and a thousand other details you and I please
ourselves and have no one’s leave.
We have a whole kingdom in which we rule alone, can do
what we choose, be wise or ridiculous, harsh or easy,
conventional or odd. But when we step out of that
kingdom, our personal liberty of action becomes qualified
by other people’s liberty. I might like to practise on the
trombone from midnight till three in the morning. If I went
onto the top of Everest to do it, I could please myself, but
if I do it in my bedroom my family will object, and if I do
it out in the streets the neighbours will remind me that my
liberty to blow the trombone must not interfere with their
liberty to sleep in quiet.
There are a lot of people in the world, and I have to
accommodate my liberty to their liberties. We are all liable
to forget this, and unfortunately we are much more
conscious of the imperfections of others in this respect than
of our own. A reasonable consideration for the rights or
feelings of other is the foundation of social conduct. It is in
the small matters of conduct in the observance of the rule
of the road that we pass judgement upon ourselves, and
declare that we are civilised or uncivilised. The great
moments of heroism and sacrifice are rare. It is the little
habits of commonplace intercourse that make up the great
sum of life and sweeten or make bitter the journey.
[CTET Jan 2022]
1. Pick the option which has almost the exact opposite
meaning of the word ‘forbid’ used in the text.
(1) Approve (2) Interdict
(3) Prohibit (4) Permit
2. What does the author mean by “we have a whole
kingdom”?
Choose the option that best answers this question.
(1) Area of limited personal choices
(2) Area of power and supremacy
(3) Area of independent personal choices
(4) Area of personal choice, curtailed by social orders
3. Which of the following is not true according to the
passage?
(1) We are perfectly free to eat whatever we like.
(2) We do not have to seek anyone’s permission to read
what pleases us.
(3) We have the liberty to sing and dance at a public place.
(4) We have to accommodate our liberty to other’s liberty.
4. Pick the best option to complete the sentence.
A truly civilised person will respect and be
considerate, while interacting with others ……….
(1) in larger matters of conduct.
(2) in significant matter of conduct.
(3) In selective matter of conduct.
(4) even in small matters of conduct.
5. Which part of the following sentence contains an
error?
I knew he will
(a) (b)
straightaway reject my proposal
(c) (d)
(1) (a) (2) (b)
(3) (c) (4) (d)
6. What establishes the foundation of social conduct?
Pick the appropriate option to answer the question.
(1) Ensuring our rights are not infringed by others.
(2) Ensuring our rights are not infringed by authority.
(3) When others consider our rights and feelings with
reasonable consideration.
(4) Reasonable consideration for the rights and feelings of
others.
7. Pick the option that includes the correct meaning of
the word ‘conscious’ as used in the para 3 of the
passage.
(1) Sensitive (2) Aware
(3) Cautious (4) Scrupulous
Passage 35
Lying in bed, Swami realised with a shudder that it was
Monday morning. It looked as though only a moment ago
it had been the last period on Friday; already Monday was
here. He hoped that an earthquake would reduce the
building to dust, but that school building had withstood
similar prayers for over a hundred year now. At nine
o’clock, Swaminathan wailed, “I have a headache.”
270 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
“Have you any important lessons today?” His mother asked.
“Important! Bah! That geography teacher has been
teaching the same lesson for over a year now. And we have
arithmetic, which means for a whole period we are going to
be beaten by the teacher.”
And mother generously suggested that Swami might stay at
home. Half an hour later, father asked him, “Have you no
school today?”
“Headache”, Swami replied. “Dress up and go”, his father
said Swami knew how stubborn his father was, so he
changed his tactics. ‘I can’t go so late to the class.”
“It is your own fault. You should have asked me before
deciding to stay away”, father said.
By the time he was ready, father had composed a long
letter to the headmaster, put it in an envelope and sealed it.
“What have you written, father?” Swaminathan asked
apprehensively.
“Nothing for you. Give it to your headmaster and go to
your class. You must bring acknowledgment from him in
the evening.”
As he approached the yellow building, he felt the bulge of
the letter in his pocket, he felt it like an executioner. For a
moment he was angry with his father and wondered why
he should not fling into the gutter the letter of a man so
unreasonable and stubborn. [CTET Jan 2022]
1. Read the following statements.
A. Swami was anxious to know what his father had
written in the letter.
B. He thought about destroying the letter.
Choose the correct option.
(1) A is false, but B is true. (2) Both A and B are false.
(3) A is true, but B is false. (4) Both A and B are true.
2. ‘he felt it like an executioner’.
The underlined word is a/an ………
(1) verb (2) noun
(3) adverb (4) adjective
3. The school had been in existence for
(1) a decade (2) a century
(3) half a century (4) more than a century
4. Read the following statements.
A. On his way to his school’s red building, Swami was
very angry with his father.
B. He wanted the school building to be absolutely
destroyed.
C. He was sure that his prayers would be answered.
Choose the correct option.
(1) A and C are false, but B is true.
(2) A and B are false, but C is true.
(3) B and C are false, but A is true.
(4) A and B are true, but C is false.
5. ….. how stubborn his father was.
The word ‘stubborn’ here is used as a/an
(1) verb (2) adverb (3) noun (4) adjective
6. ‘‘Swaminathan wailed (para 1).’’
The underlined word means
(1) cried (2) approved (3) shouted (4) gloated
7. Swami didn’t want to go to school because……….
(1) he had a headache.
(2) he had not done his maths work.
(3) he didn’t like going to school.
(4) he was afraid of his school principal.
8. Swami’s relation with his father was
(1) cordial (2) fearful
(3) respectful (4) affectionate
Passage 36
1. Every morning Ravi gives his brain an extra boost.
We’re not talking about drinking strong cups of coffee
or playing one of those mind – training video games
advertised all over the media. “I jump onto my
stationary bike and cycle for 45 minute to work, says
Ravi. “When I get to my desk, my brain is at peak
activity for a few hours.” After his mental focus
comes to a halt later in the day, he starts it with
another short spell of cycling to be able to run
errands.
2. Ride, work, ride, repeat. It’s a scientifically proven
system that describes some unexpected benefits of
cycling. In a recent study in the ‘Journal of Clinical
and Diagnostic Research’, scientists found that people
scored higher on test of memory, reasoning and
planning after 30 minutes of spinning on a stationary
bike than they did before they rode the bike. They
also completed the tests faster after pedalling.
3. Remember, although it’s healthy, exercise itself is a
stress, especially when you’re just getting started or
getting back into riding. ‘‘When you first begin to
exert yourself, your body releases a particular
hormone to raise your heart rate, blood pressure and
blood glucose levels’’, says Meher Ahluwalia, a
professor of Integrative Physiology. As you get fitter,
it takes a longer, harder ride to trigger the same
response.
4. Cycling also elevates your mood, relieves anxiety,
increases stress resistance, and even banishes the blues.
“Exercise works in the same way as psychotherapy
and antidepressants in the treatment of depression,
maybe better” says Dr. Manjari. A recent study
analysing 26 years of research finds that even some
exercise as little as 20 to 30 minutes a day–can prevent
depression over the long term. [CTET Jan 2022]
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 271
1. Ravi feels that he can work more efficiently after
(1) drinking strong coffee
(2) taking memory tablets
(3) cycling on a stationary bike
(4) playing video games
2. Read the following statements.
A. People believe that the benefits of cycling can be
best achieved by repeating it after every spell of
hard work.
B. However, there is no scientific proof for the same.
Choose the correct option.
(1) A is true, but B is false. (2) A is false, but B is true.
(3) A and B are true, (4) A and B are false.
3. banishes the blues (para 4).
The underlined word means the same as
(1) sky (2) azure
(3) thoughts (4) troubles
4. ‘Trigger’ (para 3) does not mean the same as
(1) start (2) activate
(3) flashback (4) set off
5. Which of the following is not a benefit of stationary
cycling?
(1) Better memory (2) Good reasoning ability
(3) Better mental response (4) Steady heart rate
6. ‘Depression’ in para 4 is used as a/an ……..
(1) verb (2) noun
(3) adverb (4) adjective
7. Read the following statements.
A. When you start exercising, a particular hormone is
released which increases your blood glucose level.
B. Thus we can say that exercise is not a healthy
option.
Choose the correct option.
(1) A is true, but B is false. (2) A is false, but B is true.
(3) Both A and B are true. (4) Both A and B are false.
Passage 37
In 1969, Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu, a duo who
combined brain and brawn to fight the injustice in society,
were unleashed onto comic land by Pran, first as a cartoon
strip produced by Mavapuri Group’s magazine, LotPot in
his first comic, ‘Chacha Chaudhary and the Pocket Thief’
(1971), the unlikely hero was depicted as an elderly rural
man. Chacha Chaudhary was later adopted by Diamond
Comics and released as a comic book in 1981, a change of
ownership that also led to him being transformed into a
respectable urban man whose role was to teach family,
cultural and national values to the younger generation. His
movement from the village to the town paralleled
urbanising trend in India along with increasing migration
from rural sectors.
Accordingly, Chacha Chaudhary and his coterie took on
the moral dilemmas and criminal dangers of urban settings
from the 1980. However, the places did not acquire a
high-rise and fast-paced metropolitan ambience until the
rise of superhero comics later in the decade. Chacha is a
man with a snow white six inch wide moustache. He is
dressed in a white shirt, black Jodhpuri waist coat and a
traditional red turban. His loyal companion is Sabu, a good
natured 15 foot tall power pack. The friendly giant comes
from the planet, Jupiter, and was lured to stay on earth
through the delicious draw of Chacha Chaudhary’s wife
cooking, particularly her flatbread, parantha and sweet
halwa. Sabu is a hearty eater consuming up to 108 chapattis
and up to 20 litres of milky lassi a day. Anytime the hulk of
a man gets angry, a volcano erupts in the distance, and he
would cry, ‘Ha-Huba’, as he performs his extraordinary
feat. Chacha, by contrast, solves all problems with his
sharp intellect, never resorting to extreme violence or guns.
At the most, physical violence consists of the irrepressible
Chacha using his bamboo stick to whack an enemy, often
Raaka, his powerful and scheming archenemy.
[CTET Jan 2022]
1. Raka has been defined as the arch-enemy of Chacha
Chaudhary.
Which of these words can be used to make a similar
connection between the two?
(1) Alter-ego (2) Ally
(3) Anti-hero (4) Adversary
2. The pair of Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu is the
synthesis of brain wit and physical strength
respectively. So, the pair embodies an
interdependence which can be appropriately called
(1) symbiotic (2) synthetic
(3) empathetic (4) systematic
3. “Sabu is a hearty eater, consuming up to 108
chapattis ….”
How does the word ‘up to’ quantify the consumption?
(1) It denotes an accurate statistics of consumption.
(2) It gives the upper limit of consumption.
(3) It sets the minimum limit of consumption.
(4) It sets a good conjecture around consumption.
4. “His movement from the village to the town
paralleled urbanising trends in India”.
Here, if the word ‘paralleled’ which is in the past
tense is to be replaced with past perfect tense, which
one of the options given below would be apt?
(1) parallels (2) has been paralleling
(3) had paralleled (4) is paralleling
5. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
following sentence?
“never resorting to extreme violence or guns”?
(1) Adjective (2) Adverb
(3) Modal (4) Conjunction
272 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
6. Which word, from the given options, does not mean
‘injustice’?
(1) Unfairness (2) Cruelty
(3) Corruption (4) Misadventure
7. Which of the following statements is false?
(1) Superhero comics that followed Chacha Chaudhary
had urban settings generally.
(2) The target audience of the comics were the young
readers.
(3) Diamond Books launched the characters for the first
time in the form of a book.
(4) Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu appeared in Lotpot
series for the first time.
8. Chacha Chaudhary is an unlikely hero because of
(1) his age (2) his appearance
(3) Both 1 and 2 (4) wisdom
Passage 38
1. Men first walked on the moon during the summer of
1969, when I was eight years old. I knew then that
pretty much anything was possible. It was as if all of
us, all over the world, had been given permission to
dream big dreams.
2. I was at camp that summer, and after the lunar
module landed, all of us were brought to the main
farm house, where a television was set up. The
astronauts were taking a long time getting organised
before they could climb down the ladder and walk on
the lunar surface. I understood. They had a lot of
gear, a lot of details to attend to. I was patient.
3. But the people running the camp kept looking at
their watches. It was already past eleven. Eventually,
while smart decisions were being made on the moon,
a dumb one was made here on Earth. It had gotten
too late. All of us kids were sent back to our tents to
go to sleep.
4. I was completely peeved at the camp directors. The
thought in my head was this: “My species has gotten
off our planet and landed in a new world for the first
time, and you people think bedtime matters?”
5. But when I got home a few weeks later, I learned that
my dad had taken a photo of our TV set the second
Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. He had
preserved the moment for me, knowing it could help
trigger big dreams. We still have that photo in a
scrapbook.
6. I am a scientist who sees inspiration as the ultimate
tool for doing good. When you’re putting people on
the moon, you’re inspiring all of us to achieve the
maximum of human potential.
7. Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids’
dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean
letting them stay up past their bedtimes.
[CTET Jan 2022]
1. The word, ‘peeved’ in para 4 means
(1) disappointed (2) exhausted
(3) annoyed (4) amazed
2. The boy shows patience even in the most excited
moments because he knows
(1) the television in the farmhouse was remotely connected
to the lunar space.
(2) he did not want to sleep.
(3) the walk on the moon demanded a lot of technical aid
and equipments.
(4) the astronauts were less organised, hence, needed more
time.
3. Which of the following words is opposite of the word
‘inspiring’ in para 6 of the passage?
(1) Offending (2) Disturbing
(3) Discouraging (4) Confusing
4. The photo of Neil Armstrong was the stimulus for the
boy’s big dream.
Which of the statements given below states
otherwise?
(1) The boy missed the (TV) live moment during the camp.
(2) It symbolised triumph of human will.
(3) An inspirational model for future generations.
(4) The world rejoiced at Neil Armstrong’s unbelievable
success.
5. The author’s optimism that “pretty much anything
was possible” most explicitly springs from
(1) his childhood.
(2) the first Human Steps on the Moon.
(3) the space message from the Moon.
(4) the summer camp idea.
6. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
following sentence?
‘I was completely peeved at the camp directors’.
(1) Adjectives (2) Conjunction
(3) Pronoun (4) Adverb
7. What ‘dumb decision’ was made on earth?
A. Send the kids to the tents to sleep.
B. It was great to see man stepping on the moon.
C. To prevent kids from watching the progress of
man’s first steps on the lunar surface.
D. People looking at their watches again and again.
Choose the right option.
(1) A and B
(2) A and C
(3) A and D
(4) B and D
CHAPTER 1 : UNSEEN PASSAGE 273
Passage 39
Healthcare has become one of India’s largest sectors, both in
terms of revenue and employment. Healthcare comprises
hospitals, medical devices clinical trials, outsourcing
telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance and medical
equipment. The Indian healthcare sector is growing at a brisk
pace due to its strengthening coverage, services and
increasing expenditure by public as well as private players.
Indian healthcare system is categorised into two major
components: public and private. The public healthcare
system comprises limited secondary and tertiary care
institutions in key cities and focuses on providing basic
healthcare facilities in the form of Primary Healthcare
Centres (PHCs) in rural areas. The private sector provides
majority of secondary, tertiary and quaternary care
institutions with major concentration in metros and tier I
and tier II cities.
India’s Competitive advantage lies in its large pool of
well-trained medical professionals. India is also cost
competitive compared to its peers in European and
Western countries. The cost of surgery in India is about
one-tenth of that in the US or Western Europe. India ranks
115 among 145 countries in terms of quality and
accessibility of healthcare. [CETE Jan 2022]
1. The public healthcare system provides basic
healthcare facilities
(1) in all the metropolitan cities. (2) in tier-l and tie-2 cities.
(3) in rural areas. (4) in restricted areas.
2. Which part of the following sentence contains an error?
The doctor advised me to avoid fatty foods
(a) (b)
such that cakes and hamburgers.
(c) (d)
(1) (c) (2) (a) (3) (b) (4) (d)
3. Which of the following is not true according to the
passage?
The popularity of the Indian healthcare sector in the
world healthcare market is due to
(1) quality treatment.
(2) low cost of surgical procedures.
(3) free rehabilitation services for two weeks.
(4) a pool of highly experienced medical professionals.
4. Which of the following words is opposite in meaning
to the word ‘large’ as used in para 3 of the passage?
(1) Narrow (2) Small (3) Lank (4) Unimportant
5. Which part of speech is the underlined word in the
following sentence?
‘India is also competitive to its peers in western
countries’.
(1) Adjective (2) Adverb
(3) Pronoun (4) Conjunction
6. What accounts for the fast growth of the Indian
healthcare sector?
(1) Tax incentives for investing in the sector.
(2) State–of-the-art infrastructure and foreign trained
medical professionals.
(3) Research work of high quality.
(4) Quality treatment and liberal expenditure by public and
private players.
7. Which of the following words is similar in meaning to
the word ‘brisk’ as used in para 1 of the passage?
(1) Urgent (2) Fast (3) Hasty (4) Active
8. Read the following statements.
A. The private healthcare sector is playing an
important role in population control.
B. Medical tourism is a fast growing sector in India.
Choose the correct option.
(1) (A) is false, but (B) is true (2) Both (A) and (B) are false.
(3) (A) is true, but (B) is false. (4) Both (A) and (B) are true.
Passage 40
1. And luck, is there a thing as luck? Some people seem to
have all the luck. Or is that too a matter of temperament?
A nature that doesn’t sue for happiness often receives it
in large measure. A nature that’s placid, understanding,
does not suffer the same frustrations as do those who are
impatient, ambitious, power-oriented.
2. Luck would seem to walk beside the healthy and
those unencumbered by the daily struggle for survival.
We try to summon up Lady Luck, but there are long
periods when she stays away and we have to be
patient and hope for her return. ‘Luck be my lady
tonight!’ sings the gambler in the Damon Runyon
story, and once in a while she does smile upon us,
albeit when least expected.
3. Luck and Chance are the same thing, I suppose. I have
found that Chance gives, and takes away, and gives
again. And so, when things are looking dark and
gloomy, I know that daybreak is not far off.
4. ‘I have been extremely fortunate or lucky or blessed
by all the gods in that I have lived to this ripe age
without too much disappointment or distress. I have
made a fair living, doing the thing I enjoy, putting
words together and telling stories—and I have been
able to find people to love and live for …
5. Was it all accidental, or was it ordained, or was it in my
nature to arrive unharmed at this final stage of life’s
journey? I love this life passionately, and I wish it could
go on and on. But all good things must come to an end,
and when the time comes to make my exit I hope I can
do so with good grace and humour. [CTET Jan 2022]
1. According to the author, happiness smiles on people
who are
(1) contented, diligent and patient.
(2) patient, unambitious and contented.
(3) contented, industrious and compassionate.
(4) kind, empathetic and unambitious.
274 CTET SUCCESS MASTER ENGLISH LANGUAGE & PEDAGOGY
2. Which of the following words is opposite in meaning
to the word ‘gloomy’ as used in para 3 of the passage?
(1) Irritating (2) Indigent (3) Iusterless (4) Cheerful
3. The author seems to believe that luck is a force which is
(1) blind (2) spiteful
(3) generally hostile to man (4) governed by its own laws
4. Which part of the following sentence contains an error?
He knew that his partner
(a) (b)
will not be able to solve the problem.
(c) (d)
(1) (d) (2) (a) (3) (c) (4) (b)
5. Which of the following words means the same as
‘encumbered’ as used in para 2 of the passage?
(1) Free (2) Unemotional
(3) Restricted (4) Cheerful
6. The author advises people who are down on their luck to
(1) be patient and wait for better days.
(2) seek the advice of experienced friends.
(3) go at the root of the problem.
(4) work hard and trust providence.
7. Which of the following best describes the author of
the passage?
The author is
(1) a person given to contemplation.
(2) a fatalist.
(3) a contented person.
(4) A lucky person.