Comprehension


Direction: In the following questions, read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
PASSAGE
It is strange that, according to his position in life, an extravagant man is admired or despised. A successful businessman does nothing to increase his popularity by being careful with his money. He is expected to display his success, to have a smart car, an expensive life, and to be lavish with his hospitality. If he is not so, he is considered mean and his reputation in business may even suffer in consequence. The paradox remains that if he had not been careful with his money in the first place, he would never have achieved his present wealth. Among the two income groups, a different set of values exists. The young clerk who makes his wife a present of a new dress when he hadn’t paid his house rent, is condemned as extravagant. Carefulness with money to the point of meanness is applauded as a virtue. Nothing in his life is considered more worthy than paying his bills. The ideal wife for such a man separates her housekeeping money into joyless little piles, and she is able to face the milkman with equanimity and never knows the guilt of buying something she can’t really afford.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
(1) despised (V.) : to dislike and have no respect for somebody/something
(2) lavish (Adj.) : large in amount, or impressive, and usually costing a lot of money; extravagant; luxurious
(3) hospitality (N.) : friendly and generous behaviour towards guests
(4) reputation (N.) : the opinion that people have about what somebody/something is like, based on what has happened in the past (5) consequence (N.) : a result of something that has happened
(6) paradox (N.) : a person, thing/situation that has two opposite features and therefore seems strange
(7) condemned (V.) : to express very strong disapproval of somebody/something usually for moral reasons
(8) meanness (N.) : unkind behaviour
(9) applauded (V.) : to express praise for somebody/ something because you approve of them/it.
(10) virtue (N.) : behaviour/attitudes that show high moral standards
(11) equanimity (N.) : a calm state of mind which means that you do not become angry/upset, especially in difficult situations.

  1. We understand from the passage that









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    being thrifty may lead to success.

    Correct Option: D

    being thrifty may lead to success.


  1. The phrase lavish with his hospitality here means









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    extravagance in entertaining guests.

    Correct Option: C

    extravagance in entertaining guests.



Direction: In the following questions, read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.
PASSAGE
Half a century ago, a person was far more likely to die from heart disease. Now, cancer is the No. 1 cause of death. Troubling as this sounds, the comparison is unfair. Cancer is, by far the harder problem a condition deeply ingrained in the nature of multicellular life. Given these obstacles, cancer researchers are fighting and even winning smaller battles: reducing the death toll from childhood cancers and preventing and sometimes even curing cancers that strike people in their prime. But when it comes to diseases of the elderly, there can be no decisive victory. The diseases that one killed earlier in life bubonic plague, smallpox, influenza, tuberculosis were easier obstacles. Each had a precise cause that could be confronted. The toll of heart diseases has been pushed into the future, with diet, exercise and medicine that help control blood pressure and cholesterol. Because of these interventions people between 55 and 84 are increasingly more likely to die from cancer than from heart disease.
SOME IMPORTANT WORDS
(1) ingrained (Adj.) : that has existed for a long time and is therefore difficult to change
(2) multicellular (Adj.) : having many cells
(3) decisive (Adj.) : very important for the final result of a particular situation
(4) bubonic plague (N.) : a disease spread by rats that causes fever, swellings on the body and usually death
(5) precise (Adj.) : clear and accurate (6) confronted (V.) : to deal with a problem/difficult situation
(7) intervention (N.) : action taken to improve/help a situation

  1. According to the writer, why is cancer more difficult to deal with than heart disease?









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    Cancer does not have a precise cause and is more complex in nature

    Correct Option: B

    Cancer does not have a precise cause and is more complex in nature


  1. Cancer is by far the harder problem. (Improve the sentence)









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    by far (Id.) : by a great amount ; to the most extreme/ evident degree the most complex problem

    Correct Option: D

    by far (Id.) : by a great amount ; to the most extreme/ evident degree the most complex problem



  1. The toll of heart disease has been pushed into the future means that









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    People suffering from heart disease to day are less likely to die from it immediately

    Correct Option: D

    People suffering from heart disease to day are less likely to die from it immediately