Question

1. Read the passage given below:

If one early June morning, you are suddenly stopped in your walk by a ringing ‘pip-piu-

pie-pee-piu-piu' call coming from the trees in your park or garden, you will feel your

heart suddenly lifted. Look around and you may see two large, handsome,black-and-

white birds with long coattails chasing each other among the trees. They are pied

cuckoos, that have come from Africa, and are said to announce the arrival of the

greatest show on earth-the Indian monsoon. Be assured, the curtains will rise in a

month or so.

To get a proper view of the onset of the monsoons, you really need to be stationed on

the coastline of India or up in the hills. The grand show of grey clouds approaches like

an airborne army, preceded by cool breezes , filling the air with electric charge so that

you feel very happy. Spear of lighting flickers in the sky and the sound of thunder

makes you feel excited. And then, it pours. The cracked earth without any green cover

sucks down the flood of water and then Mother Nature goes mad. Seeds scattered or

buried like grains of sand of pebbles in the ground suddenly come to life. Shoots of

plants rocket skyward, roots plunge into the soft, spongy earth sucking up water and

nutrients. It's a hint the grasshoppers have been waiting for. And bugs, beetles,

caterpillars, centipedes etc emerge in their billions, feasting on the fresh green plants

in the fields(to the annoyance of many a farmers) as also on each other.

There are miracles and there is music too: singing golden frogs appearing in large

numbers in rain filled ditch, taking part in a group song that Bollywood would have

envied. They vanish the very next day. They'd been waiting patiently all through the

blistering summer, deep underground, conserving whatever moisture they had

soaked up. Fireflies wink through the trees in the hills, sending their greenish signals

to one another in codes as precise as any we may use for our most secret messages

All this is what the birds have been waiting for. Most birds have spent the spring and

summer courting and now it’s time to settle down. Baby birds need a lot of high

protein at frequent intervals, which the rich supply of insect life so happily provides:

caterpillars are eaten up in millions, as are furry moths, earthworms slurped down like

noodles, spiky dragonflies beaten to bits to soften them up into baby food. The longlegged storks and herons get busy with fishing. As for the big guys like lions and tigers

in the jungles : they too had it relatively easy during summer when their thirsty prey

came to the waterholes. Now, with water easily available, in streams and ponds all

over, they need to work harder for their meals. But yes, this is , perhaps, compensated

by the arrival of baby deer, and fawns are sweet and soft, not very experienced in the

merciless ways of the lions and tigers, even if they may seem more like a snack than a

main course meal. The animals get a rest, parks and sanctuaries too close down, not

so much out of kindness as because the roads become impassable.

And then, just as you are beginning to get tired of the green mould on your shoes,

belts and bags, and of all the sniffles and snuffles that the rains also bring (bacteria

and viruses also love this season), the clouds begin to disperse and float away in large

armies. But before this happens, at least once, do go out in the midst of a downpour,

raise your face to the heavens and dance and sing and celebrate this, the greatest

show on earth.

Based on your understanding of the above passage, answer the questions given

below by choosing the most appropriate option: (1 X 10 = 10)


(V) With the rain , we find :

(A) that most of the birds court (B) that the clouds begin to disperse.

(C) Parks and sanctuaries close down. (D) clean shoes , belts and bags.

(VI) During summers, where do the frogs live?

(A) Deep underground. (B) in the ponds . (C) in gardens . (D) none of these.

(VII) What is the most awaited time for birds?

(A) Summer (B) Winter (C) Spring (D) Rainy season(VIII) Pick out the word from the passage which means the same as ‘declare'(Para 1) :

(A) Ringing (B) announce (C) arrival (D) call

(IX) Pick out the word from the passage opposite in meaning to ‘vanishing’ (Para 2) :

(A) Appearing (B) disappearing (C) waiting (D) conserving

(X) What does the word ‘mould' (Para 4) mean in the passage:

(A) furry growth or fungi . (B) loose friable soil. (C) pattern (D) fashion .​

Answer 1

Explanation:

During summers, where do the frogs live?

(A) Deep underground. (B) in the ponds . (C) in gardens . (D) none of these.