COMPREHENSION TEST
boxes, barrels and brooms. His voice was his principal 326. Which of the following statements is true in the con-
means of musical expression. Songs of work and play, text of the passage ? The early Jazz musicians
trouble and hope, rose on rich and rhythmic voices every- (1) were familiar with the instruments they were learn-
where in the South - from peddlers crying their wares to ing to play.
the countryside, from work gangs on the rail roads, from (2) were not familiar with the instruments they were
families gathered at the days’s end to sing away their wea- learning to play.
riness in their unpainted cottages overlooking the cotton (3) knew about the rules of music.
fields, from the wayside churches singing with the sounds
(4) were taught to play the instruments.
of Sabbath praise.
327. What opened the way to Jazz ?
These were the voices which the early Negro musi-
cians imitated and transferred to their horns when they taught (1) The discarded musical instruments.
themselves to play the discarded band instruments that come (2) The crude band instruments.
into hands at the close of the Civil War in the eighteen- (3) The musical instruments made from boxes.
sixties. As played by their proud Negro owners, the instru- (4) “Singing horns”.
ments became extensions of the human voice - “singing horns” 328. Which of the following statements is false in the con-
which opened the way to Jazz. For this reason there has text of the passage ?
always been a strong, singing quality to Jazz. (1) The early Jazz musicians extended the range of
their horns.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
(2) The band instruments became extensions of the
crude : simple and not very accurate human voice.
peddler : a person who travels from place to place (3) Jazz has always had a strong, singing quality.
to sell small objects (4) The Negro’s voice was not his principal means of
wares : things sold in the streets/at a market musical expression.
weariness : tiredness 329. The phrase sing away in the passage means
wayside : the area at the side of a road/path (1) sing songs at the end of a tiring day.
Sabbath : the holiday of the week that is used for (2) sing songs to forget.
resting and worshipping God. (Jews® (3) sing songs to make the worry disappear.
Saturday : Christians ® Sunday) (4) sing songs to draw attention.
discarded : got rid of something that you no longer 330. Which of the following is the most appropriate title
wanted/needed. for the passage ?
(1) The tradition of Negro folk singing
321. Where do the roots of Jazz lie ? (2) The ‘singing horns’
(1) In the songs sung in the urban Southland of the (3) The early origin of Jazz
United States. (4) The history of Jazz
(2) In the songs sung on railroad gangs. Directions (331-340) : You have a passage with 10
(3) In church hymns. questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best
(4) In Negro folk singing. answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
322. The Negro owned _____ musical instruments. (SSC FCI Assistant Grade-III
(1) only a few (2) many Exam. 11.11.2012 (2nd Sitting)
(3) no (4) the main Long ago men spent most of their time looking for
323. Where and when did Negro folk singing flourish ? food. They ate anything they could find. Some lived mostly
(1) In the urban Southland of the United Slates after on plants. They ate the fruit, stems, and leaves of some
the Civil War. plants and the roots of others. When food was scarce, they
ate the bark of trees. If they were lucky, they would find a
(2) In the United States at the end of the Civil War.
bird’s nest with eggs. People who lived near the water ate
(3) In the Southland during the Civil War. fish or anything that washed ashore, even rotten whales.
(4) In the rural Southland of the United States before Some people also ate insects and small animals like lizards
the Civil War. that were easy to kill.
324. Who sang the folksongs ? Later, men learned to make weapons. With weap-
(1) The religious groups. ons, they could kill larger animals for meat. These early
(2) Voices from everywhere in the South. people had big appetites. If they killed an animal, they would
(3) The early Jazz musicians. drink the blood, eat the meat, and chew the bones. When
(4) The Negro musicians. they finished the meal, there was nothing left.
325. Where were the folk songs sung ? At first men wandered from place to place to find
their food. But when they began to grow plants, they stayed
(1) Everywhere
in one place and ate what they could grow. They tamed
(2) In the churches only animals, trained them to work, and killed them for meat.
(3) On the railroads, in the cotton fields and in the Life was a little better then, but there was still not much
churches variety in their meals. Day after day people ate the same
(4) Everywhere in the urban Southland food.
SEE–938