COMPREHENSION TEST
       (2) Puppies have a lot of energy.                                                   Passage - II
       (3) Puppies need a lot of attention.                           One of the American Navy’s greatest losses during
       (4) Adult dogs do not like to play.                     World War II was inflicted not by the Japanese, but by the
       Directions (446-455) : You have two passages with 5     weather. On the evening of 17 December, 1944, destroyers,
questions in each passage. Read the passages carefully         cruisers and aircraft carriers of the Third Fleet Task Force
and choose the best answer to each question out of the         38 were replenishing stocks of food, fuel and ammunition
four alternatives.                                             during a sea rendezvous with support ships when a savage
                (SSC Graduate Level Tier-I Exam. 19.05.2013)   tornado struck the Philippine Sea. One of the commanders
                          Passage -I                           said later; ‘My ship was riding as though caught in some
       The Great Pyramid at Giza is one of the world’s most    giant washing machine. We were rolling between heaving
amazing landmarks. Rising high above the Sahara Desert         cliffs of water, caught in so strong a vice of wind and sea
in the Giza region of northern Egypt, the Great Pyramid        that our 50,000 horse-power engines were helpless.’ It was
stands some 450 feet into the burning desert sky and           nine hours before he regained control of his ship, after the
occupies an area of 13 acres. The rough climate of the         fleet had bobbed like helpless shuttlecocks, unable to
Sahara has actually caused the pyramid to shrink 30 feet       prevent collisions in the sledge hammer waves.
from its original height. The pyramid was such an amazing                        SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
feat of engineering, that it remained the tallest structure in
                                                                ammunition        : a supply of bullets, etc. to be fired from
the world for over 3,800 years ! The entire pyramid was
                                                                                    guns.
originally faced with polished limestone to make it shine
brilliantly in the sun.                                         rendezvous        : a place where people have arranged to
                                                                                    meet.
       Most Egyptologists, scientists who study ancient
Egypt, agree that the Great Pyramid was built around 2560       savage            : violent
BC, a little more than 4,500 years ago. It took tens of         tornado           : a violent storm with very strong winds
thousands of workers twenty years to build. The pyramid                             which move in a circle.
contains over two million stone blocks. Although most of        heaving           : rising up and down with strong, regular
the blocks weigh two or three tons, some weigh up to 80                             movements.
tons !                                                          bobbed            : moved or made something move quickly
       The Great Pyramid of Giza was ordered built by the                           up and down, especially in water.
Pharaoh Khufu as a magnificent tomb. His vizier (advisor)       inflicted           :   suffered
Hemon is credited with being the pyramid’s architect.
                                                                repleneshing        :   refilling
Khufu’s pyramid is actually part of a complex of pyramids
that includes the Pyramid of Khafre, the smaller Pyramid        cliffs of water     :   rocks of water
of Menkaure, a variety of smaller pyramids and structures,      collision           :   a severe crash between two vehicles/
and the Great Sphinx. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last                             people
remaining of the Seven Wonders of the World.                    sledge hammer :         large and heavy
                 SOME IMPORTANT WORDS                            (waves)                (waves)
  feat : an action or a piece of work that needs skill,        451. The American Navy suffered great losses because of
            strength or courage.
                                                                      (1) the aircraft raid.       (2) the Japanese fleet.
446. Which of these does not house the Great Pyramid ?                (3) the weather.             (4) the landmines.
       (1) Giza.                 (2) Southern Egypt.           452. Find a word from the passage which means refilling.
       (3) Northern Egypt.       (4) Sahara Desert.                   (1) heaving                  (2) inflicting
447. How many stone blocks constitute the pyramid ?                   (3) retaliating              (4) replenishing
       (1) 4,500.                (2) more than two million.    453. A sea rendezvous means
       (3) 3,800.                (4) 2,560.                           (1) a dive into the sea.     (2) a swim in the sea.
448. Most of the blocks in the pyramid weigh about .........          (3) a meeting at sea.        (4) sailing in the sea.
       tons.                                                   454. Sledge hammer waves means
       (1) five                  (2) eighty                           (1) waves moving like a sledge.
       (3) two or three          (4) 4,500                            (2) waves like a big, heavy hammer.
449. Which of the following definitions best describes the            (3) waves hammering a sledge.
       meaning of “complex” in the passage?                           (4) waves in which a hammer and a sledge are found.
       (1) Pyramid.              (2) Materials.                455. The ships caught in the tornado
       (3) Group.                (4) Army.                            (1) are compared to shuttlecocks.
450. Which of the following is false?                                 (2) had a cargo of shuttlecocks.
       (1) The Great Pyramid is the last of the Seven Wonders         (3) scattered shuttlecocks in the sea.
           of the World.                                              (4) traded in shuttlecocks.
       (2) Khufu was Hemon’s vizier and architect.                    Directions (456-465) : You have a passage with 10
       (3) The Pyramid took tens of thousands of workers       questions. Read the passage carefully and choose the best
           about twenty years to complete it.                  answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
       (4) Hemon was Khufu’s vizier and architect.                                 (SSC Graduate Level Tier-I Exam. 19.05.2013)
                                                          SEE–950