Jefe de Sección de SCEJ

there was ____17___ huge statue of God which was covered with precious gold and jewels. __18__ dark night, a burglar scaled the temple walls and made off with all the jewels. The police are on the ____19___ for the culprits who have escaped with the ____20___.

16. __________

(A) a (B) an

(C) the (D) none of these

17. __________

(A) this (B) an

(C) the (D) none of these

18. __________

(A) Some (B) That

(C) One (D) On a

19. __________

(A) watch out (B) look out (C) find out (D) put out

21. I haven’t had fun in ages, I’ve ___________________ just now.

(A) done all in a day’s work (B) two for the price of one (C) been hit by weather (D) too much on my plate

22. Dhoni is confident of winning, after all he has ____________________.

(A) an ace up his sleeve (B) a little bird in his wings (C) an angel to guard (D) a battle ship for all seasons

23. What ___________, this was totally unexpected!

(A) a scar face (B) a double face (C) an about face (D) an eager face

SECTION-II : READING

READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.

Among the old Tedas, it was customary for certain tribesmen to dress in the skins of the beasts they had slain, and thus to give themselves a fearsome air of brutality, which was calculated to strike dread into the hearts of their foes. Of course, it’s a fair guess that a cheetah or bison skin would make a warm, comfortable outer coat for a man whose life was in the most brutal of conditions atop ridges.

Many legends tell of these cavemen-like soldiers, also known as Badangas, and folklore has it that they were physically transformed into the beasts whose skins they wore. The most common animals that the warriors were transformed into were the bull-tiger and leopard. Rumours suggest that the skins carried the power of the beasts and, when worn, turned the wearer into that animal at the height of its capabilities. The fact is that no one has ever set sight on a Badanga in the flesh.

The Badanga was an object of sheer horror, as his life’s object was to challenge quiet villagers to a duel. As the then law of the land stood in the Teda tribe, a man who declined to accept a challenge from a Badanga forfeited all his worldly possessions, even his wife, over to the hands of his challenger. Therefore, the Badanga had any man he challenged at his mercy. If the Badanga slew him, the farmer’s possessions became his, and if the poor fellow declined to fight, he lost all legal right to his property anyway. A Badanga would invite himself to any feast and contribute to the hilarity of the entertainment by killing in gory fashion any merrymaker who displeased him. He might even single one out to murder for no other reason than to practice his combat skills.

It is not difficult to imagine that popular superstition went along with the popular dread of these animal-skinned aggressors, and that they were believed to be filled with the force, as they certainly were with the ferocity, of the beasts whose skins they wore.

In the unlikely event of a villager slaying a Badanga warrior, he was revered as a divine saviour and had a temple devoted to him. It wasn’t easy. Fire merely singed, a scythe landed a mere scratch, and a venomous spear just put him to sleep- what it took was a club made of the betel tree stump to fell this fiery warrior. Of course, it comes as no surprise that no one has heard of one such village victory yet. Does the belligerent Badanga have only a phantasmal existence?

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24. Where are you most likely to come across this passage?

(A) History readers for high school students (B) People of the World - Nature magazine (C) Encyclopedia entry about Badangas (D) Novel about tribes and hunting

25. Which is the best synonym of ferocity as used in this article?

(A) Viciousness (B) Bravery (C) Terrific (D) Confidence

26. What kind of climate did Teda warriors live in?

(A) Warm, comfortable climate (B) Hot, sunny and windy climate (C) Harsh, cold climate (D) Mild, breezy and autumnal climate

27. Any one who refused to fight the Badanga had to ______________ all his possessions.

(A) sacrifice (B) earn (C) sell off (D) protect

28. What happened to a villager who won over a Badanga?

(A) He had to give up his temple. (B) He became physically transformed. (C) He acquired superhuman powers. (D) He was treated like a guardian deity.

29. Why did the tribal warriors dress in animal skins?

(A) To show off their victory to the villagers. (B) They actually became like these animals. (C) To fill their enemies’ hearts with fear. (D) It helped them in performing magic.

30. The animal skins had the power to change the wearer into a beast. This was ___________.

(A) a popular belief (B) a customary practice (C) a proven fact (D) a divine act

31. Badangas would kill villagers at a feast

(1) for fun (2) to practice their dueling (3) because they were displeased

(A) 1 and 2 (B) 1 and 3 (C) 2 and 3 (D) 1, 2 and 3

32. Which was the only way to kill a Badanga?

(A) Stabbing them with an iron sword. (B) Hitting them with a wooden club. (C) Burning them with a fire. (D) Shooting them with poison arrows.

This is the tale of Bibi, the butterfly–not just any butterfly, but an adventure–loving butterfly full of the ____34________ born of youth. Yes, she was the quintessential ____35______ butterfly. Today in a fit of temper, she had left home and flown a long distance without thought of rest or sleep, over green gardens and frolicking farms in search of the sweetest nectar. Her _____36_________ wings were tired and _____37________. She drank the juice from a rose here and a daffodil there. A strange drowsiness ______38________ her. She curled up on the sturdy ____39______ of a leaf and fell fast asleep. And as is the case when anyone sleeps, she had the strangest dream.

34. __________

(A) impetuousness (B) absoluteness (C) weariness (D) wolfishness

35. __________

(A) laid-back (B) hot headed (C) fearful (D) plodding

36. __________

(A) floppy (B) pudgy (C) gawky (D) frail

37. __________

(A) droopy (B) flappy (C) damp (D) shrivelled

38. __________

(A) erased (B) enraged (C) enveloped (D) endeared

39. __________

(A) bark (B) stalk (C) stump (D) bed

SECTION-III : SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ExPRESSION

CHOOSE THE BEST ANSWERS TO COMPLETE THE CONVERSATION FROM THE OPTIONS GIVEN.