COMPREHENSION TEST
                   SOME IMPORTANT WORDS                           876. Citizens of a country should work and cherish
    (1) desperately (Adv.) : very much                                  (1) liberty, justice and opportunity
    (2) heal (V.) : to cure                                             (2) liberty and happiness
                                                                        (3) opportunity and justice
 871. Where did the bird come from?                                     (4) love
        (1) From Australia          (2) From Canada               877. The source of the strength and power of a nation
        (3) From the South          (4) From North America              depends on
 872. Where did Rhayader live ?                                         (1) the physical health of the people.
        (1) In a cabin by the marsh                                     (2) its people.
        (2) In a light house                                            (3) rights of the people.
        (3) An old cottage                                              (4) freedom of the people.
        (4) In a barn                                             878. The passage leads the reader to think about
 873. Which of the phrases best describe the girl ?                     (1) the morals of a nation
        (1) Bold and brave          (2) Loud and forceful
                                                                        (2) what a country needs
        (3) Shy and clean           (4) Slender and dirty               (3) ruling nation
 874. Why did the girl take the bird to Rhayader ?
                                                                        (4) the Rights of the people
        (1) So that he would send it to where it came from
                                                                  879. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are
        (2) So that he would tell her if it was still alive
                                                                        (1) Pillars of equality
        (3) So that he would tell her what to do
                                                                        (2) Gifts of our Creator
        (4) So that he would heal it
                                                                        (3) Rights of all men
 875. How had the bird been injured?
                                                                        (4) Ideals of a nation
        (1) By a great storm
                                                                 880.The ending part of the passage is about
        (2) While flying through the woods
                                                                        (1) Hope                  (2) Perfection
        (3) By wild animals
        (4) She had been shot by hunters                                (3) A promise             (4) Want
        Directions (876 – 880) : In the following pasage care-          Directions (881–885) : Read the following passage
fully and choose the best answer to each question out of         carefully and choose the best answer to each question out
the four alternatives.                                           of the four alternatives.
              (SSC CGL Tier-II Exam, 25.10.2015, TF No. 2148789)      Like watering a plant, we grow our friendships (and all
        If a country should have a message for its people, it    our relationships) by nurturing them. Friendships need the
                                                                 same attention as other relationships, if they are to contin-
should be a message of human dignity. The ideals of a
nation should be of the freedom of ideas, speech, press,         ue. These relationships can be delightfully non-judgement-
                                                                 al, supportive, understanding and fun.
the right to assemble and the right to worship. A country
should boldly proclaim to a world dominated by tyrants                Sometimes a friendship can bring out the positive side
that “all men are created equal and they are endowed by          that you never show in any other relationship. This may be
their Creator with certain unalienable rights” and “among        because the pressure of playing a ‘role’ (daughter, partner
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This     or child) is removed. With a friend you are to be yourself
should be the source of the strength and power of a nation.      and free to change. Of course, you are free to do this in all
If people have the freedom to live their lives in dignity, they  other relationships as well, but in friendships: you get to
can work with a sound mind and physical health. The mor-         have lots of rehearsals and discussion about changes as
al, political, and economic stature of a country lies in the     you experience them.
strength of its people. A nation should strive to be a more           It is an unconditional experience where you receive as
perfect, not the perfect country where the people is given a     much as you give. You can explain yourself to a friend openly
promise and a hope in their minds to work and cherish            without the fear of hurting a family member. How do friend-
liberty, justice, and opportunity. We do not always get what     ships grow? The answer is simple. By revealing yourself;
we want when we want it but it is always better to believe       being attentive remembering what is most showing empa-
that someday, somehow, someway, we will get what we              thy, seeing the world through the eyes of your friend, you
want.                                                            will understand the value of friendship. All this means learn-
                                                                 ing to accept a person from a completely different family to
                   SOME IMPORTANT WORDS                          your own or perhaps someone from a completely different
    (1) dignity (N.) : respect                                   cultural background. This is the way we learn tolerance.
    (2) proclaim (V.) : declare                                  In turn we gain tolerance and acceptance for our own dif-
    (3) endowed with (Phr.V.) : to naturally have a partic-      ferences.
          ular feature, quality, etc.                            881. Friendships and relationships grow when they are
    (4) unalienable (Adj.) : that cannot be taken away from             (1) favoured            (2) nurtured
          you ; in alienable                                            (3) compared            (4) divided
    (5) stature (N.) : status                                    882. When we are with a good friend, we tend
    (6) strive (V.) : to try very hard to achieve something             (1) to shut ourselves.
                                                            SEE–991