Question

Read the following passage carefully:

The History of Marbles

Nobody has the faintest idea when the first marbles rolled across the earth’s surface, but small

stones, deliberately chipped and rounded, have been unearthed at Stone age excavations on three

continents. Today, marbles from ancient Rome and Greece occupy place of honour in places like

the British Museum and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Shakespeare mentions

‘Cherry Pit’, a game of marbles appear in a Picter Brugel painting and are referred to by the

Roman poet, ovid.

Marbles are small, hard balls that are used in a variety of children’s games and are so named after

the 18th century practice of making them from Marble chips. Marble games date back to antiquity

and ancient games were played with sea-rounded pebbles, nuts and seeds of some fruits. The

young Octavian (later the emperor Augustus) like other Roman children played games with nut

marbles and engraved marbles have been dug up from the earthen mounds built by some early

North American Red Indians playing marbles games with what archeologist now refer to as

‘game stones’.

The object of marble games is to roll; throw, drop, or knuckle marbles against an opponent’s

marbles, often to knock them out of a prescribed area and so win them.

Year after year, nearly 200 million marbles are turned out by the mixing, shaping and rolling

machines of marble making factories. The demand for marbles is constantly increasing. In

addition to children’s games, like knuckling, marbles are also used in numerous other games.

Chinese checkers, a perennially popular game, requires 60 marbles for each game, 10 each for six

other different colours.

In the 20th century, marbles have been made of a variety of materials: baked clay, glass, steal,

plastic etc. During World War II, engineers perfected the little glass balls to such a degree that

they could be substituted for steal bearings. Tons of these glass balls go to the lithographers and

engravers, to be used in smoothing thesurface of copper printing plates. Special marbles are made

for this purpose, to withstand the punishment of being rolled back and forth over the metal

surfaces.

A) Choose the correct option to complete the following sentences:- (1x4=4)

i) When were the marbles first found?

a) stone age b) Roman Empire (Augustun Age) c) World War II d) Early 18th century

ii) What is the correct order of information given below?

I. Marbles are used in smoothing copper printing plates.

II. Marbles, in 18th century were made of marble chips​

Answer 1

The History of Marbles

Explanation:

i) When were the marbles first found?

Among the given options, a) stone age seems to be closest to being correct. Nobody has the faintest idea when the first marbles rolled across the earth’s surface.

ii) What is the correct order of information given below?

I. Marbles are used in smoothing copper printing plates.

II. Marbles, in the 18th century, were made of marble chips.

The correct order of information in the passage is-

II. Marbles, in the 18th century, were made of marble chips.

I. Marbles are used in smoothing copper printing plates.