Reading
Comprehension Passage for Bank Clerks and PO exams :
Read the following
passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have
been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the
questions.
(Allahabad Bank Clerk
Exam. 15.03.2009)
One day Nandu rode
his horse to the village fair. On his way back, he met Somendra, the merchant.
The merchant was a crafty man, ready to
do anything to earn some money. The villagers knew this. In fact, no one knew
what trick he would be up to next. Now, Nandu was poor and had no one in the
world to call his own except a beautiful, white horse. He loved it more than
anything else in the world. The merchant had his eye on the horse for a long
time and tried to think of a way to get it for himself. Seeing Nandu, the
merchant thought, “Nandu is a simpleton. Let me see if I can trick him out of
his horse.” So he said to Nandu, “You live all alone. How do you manage? What
does a young boy like you need with a horse? Sell it to me, and I shall make
you rich in return.” Nandu replied, “No, I don’t want to sell my horse.”
But the merchant
refused to give up so easily. He offered Nandu more money. Finally, when the
offer reached five hundred gold coins, Nandu paused and said, “Five hundred
gold coins seems like a good price. But I have a condition. If you agree to it,
I shall give you my horse.” What is it ?” the merchant asked impatiently. “Give
me the money right now and I shall give you my horse when I have given you ten
lashes.” said Nandu. “Is that all ?” asked the merchant. He could easily bear
ten lashes. After all, he would resell the horse for over a thousand gold coins
in the market. He would take twenty lashes for such again. He agreed
instantly. He ran home and got the money for Nandu and brought along his whip
as well. Nandu counted the money carefully. He then took the whip and the
lashes fell on she merchant’s back in quick succession. By the eighth lash, the
merchant was almost in tears but he told himself that there were only two
lashes to go and the horse would be his! The merchant held his breath waiting
for the final lash. But Nandu had mounted his horse and was riding off. “Wait!”
shouted the merchant in anger. “What about the tenth lash? Where are you going
with the horse? We had a deal.” Nandu stopped and said, “I agreed to give you
the horse only after I had given you ten lashes. But it is upsetting my horse.
I’ll give you the last lash later. Till then, goodbye !” “Come back, you cheat!”
The merchant shouted. But the crowd that had gathered around agreed with Nandu.
A deal was a deal. Till the last lash was given, the horse could not belong to
the merchant. Nandu rode away richer by five hundred gold coins, and Somendra waited
in vain for several days for the final lash which never came!
1. Why did the merchant offer to buy Nandu’s
horse?
a) He
was very fond of horses and Nandu’s horse was a rare breed.
b) It
was his way of helping Nandu who was poor.
c) The horse would be useful for carrying goods to the market.
d) He
hated Nandu and wanted to deprive him of something he loved.
e) He
was a crafty man, ready to do anything to earn money
Answer : E
Explanation: The merchant
offered to buy Nandu’s horse because he was
a crafty man ready to do anything to earn money
2. Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the
passage?
(A) Nandu
was an orphan.
(B) The merchant was very per-severing.
(C) The merchant was fonder of Nandu’s horse than Nandu was.
a) None b) Only (A) c)
Both (A) and (B) d) All (A),
(B) and (C)
e) None
of these
Answer : B
Explanation :
Nandu was an orphan is the only true statement
in the context of the passage
3. Why
did Nandu set the condition of giving the merchant ten lashes?
a) To
discourage the merchant from buying his horse.
b) To
demonstrate how painful a whipping was so that the merchant would never hit the
horse
c) To
bargain with the merchant to offer more money.
d) To
outwit the merchant who was trying to cheat him.
e) None
of these
Answer : d
Explanation :
Nadu set the
condition of giving the merchant ten lashes => To outwit the merchant who
was trying to cheat him
4. Why
did the bystanders take Nandu’s side in the argument?
(A) They
hoped that Nandu would give them a reward from the five hundred gold coins he
had earned.
(B) They
we're sure that the merchant would ill-treat the horse and wanted to prevent
that from happening.
(C) They
knew that Nandu would be miserable without his horse of whom he was very fond.
a) Only
B b) Only (A) c)Both
(A) and (C) d)Only (C)
e) None
of these
Answser: E
Explanation : None
of these
5. What
reason did Nandu cite for not giving the merchant the final lash ?
a) He
was tired and not in the mood.
b) He
realised that the merchant was in great pain and took pity on him.
c) He
was following the advice of the people around.
d) His
horse was distressed by the whipping.
e) He
had changed his mind about selling his horse.
Answer:D
Explanation :
The reason that did Nandu cite for not giving the
merchant the final lash: His horse was distressed by the whipping.
6. Which
of the following can be said about Nandu?
(A) He
was very cunning. (B) He needed money.
(C) He
was cruel to people but loved animals.
a) Only
(A) b) Both (A) and (B) c) Both (B) and (C) d) All (AUB) and (C)
e) None
of these
Answer : E
Explanation :
Nandu was not
cunning and not needed the money and he was not cruel to people but loved money.
So none of these is
the correct answer
7. What
made the merchant agree to Nandu’s strange condition for buying the horse?
a) He
wanted to show Nandu how brave he was
b) The
thought of the profit he would make on selling the horse
c) The
fear that Nandu would raise the price of his horse otherwise
d) He
did not think that Nandu would actually whip him
e) None
of these
Answer :B
Explanation :
The reason that
made the merchant to Nandu’s strange condition for buying the horse: The thought of the profit he would make on
selling the horse
8. Why did Nandu consider selling his horse to
the merchant?
a) He
had no real use for the horse
b) The
merchant’s offer was more than what the horse was worth
c) He
had not managed to sell it at the village fair
d) He
could no longer afford to feed his horse
e) None
of these
Answer : E
Explanation :
None of these
109. Which of the following best describes the
merchant’s reputation in the village?
a) He was enterprising and had made a lot of
money
b) He was dishonest and would do anything to
get what he wanted
c) He would squander his money on things he
liked
d) He was generous and helped the less
fortunate
e) He was successful because he was
courageous and stubborn.
Answer: B
Explanation :
The sentence the
best describes the merchants’ reputation in the village: He was dishonest and
would do anything to get what he wanted.
Directions (10-11) : Choose the word which is most similar in
meaning to the word printed in bold as used in the passage.
10.
Return
a)
reject b) profit c) settle d) replace e)
exchange
Answer: E
Explanation:
Return is a noun here. The meaning of return
generally is give, put, or send (something) back to a place or person. OR as a response
to somebody or something
The meaning of the RETURN as used in the given
passage: as a way of thanking somebody for something they have done.
The word most
similar to the word RETURN: Exchange
Some other synonyms
of RETURN: Turn Back, Backtrack, restore, revert, reciprocate
11. Paused
a)
halted b) relaxed c) ended d)
stuck e) interval
Answer : A
Explanation: Pause
is a verb. The general meaning of PAUSE is a
temporary stop in action or speech.
The meaning of the
word PAUSE as used in the passage is: to stop doing something for a short time
before continuing or interrupt the action.
The word most
similar to PAUSED in the give options is
: HALTED
Other synonyms of
PAUSE are Desist, Discontinue, Intermission etc.
12.
Choose the word which is most opposite in meaning to the word GATHERED as used
in the passage.
a)
dissolved b) collected c) dispersed d)
melted e) distributed
Answer : C
Explanation: Gather
is a verb.
The general meaning
of gather is come together; assemble or accumulate.
The meaning of the
word GATHERED as used in the passage is : draw together or toward oneself, bring
people together in one place to form a group.
The most opposite
meaning to the word GATHERED as used in the passage: C
Other antonyms of
GATHER are : Divert, Spread