Read the given passage carefully.
(i) The rope trick is a magical feat of ancient ancestry, said to have been performed in China,
Central Asia, Batavia and other parts of the Orient, But popularly regarded as a specialty
of the Hindu magician and hence known as the Indian rope trick. The Arab traveler Ibn
Batuta (AD 1350)
(ii) According to the legenuary account, embellished by travelers, the trick is performed in
this way: the magician throws into the air a stout rope about thirty to forty feet in length.
The rope remains upright and taut, its upper end vanishing out of sight into the open sky.
The magician’s assistant, a boy of about twelve years, climbs up the rope after him and
disappears, and refuses to come down when called. The enraged magician, taking a short
knife between his teeth, goes up the rope after him and also disappears. In a moment
piercing shrieks are heard from the boy, and bits of his dismembered body come hurting
down. The magician the then descends the rope, cleans the knife and wipes his
bloodstained hands with the satisfaction of a job done well. Then suddenly the boy is
omitted. The magician throws up a rope, which remains suspended, and a boy simply
climbs up to a height of ten feet or so, after which he descends and pulls the rope after
him.
(iii) Rewards have often been offered for the performance of the rope trick but no one has
come forward to claim them. But in defence of the magicians it has been said that they do
not read the papers to learn about these offers, and in any case might not be interested
either in the money, or in the publicity and ensuing fame. It does seem that several
eminent Europeans have witnessed the trick, including Sir Ralph Person, formerly
Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Frontier Province, who declared that he and his
wife saw it in 1900. Other observers claim to have photographed the performance and the
plates show the boy in the act of scrutiny. Another witness took a photograph of the
scene, which, after it was developed, showed the rope, coiled on the ground and the
magician and the boy standing by it; the witnesses swore that at the time he took the
photograph he actually saw the boy climbing the rope.
(A) Complete the following sentences. Write only the answers in your notebooks against
the correct blank numbers.
2½x4=10
(a)Though the Indian rope trick is regarded as the specialy of the Hindu magician, it has
also …………………………………………………… ,
(b) The phrase ‘embellished by travellers’ means ……………………………… ,
(c) The people who defend the magicians believe that they don’t clam the rewards
because.
(d) By giving the example of the European gentleman and his wife the writer wants to say
that ………………………………………………………….. ,
(B) Find words in the passage that mean the following. Write only the answers in your
notebooks against the correct blank number.
3x2=6
(a) Stretched tightly (para 2) ………………………………………
(b) cut off parts of the body (para 2) ………………………………………
(c) angry (para 2) ………………………………………
(d) following (para 3) ……………
Answers
[a] Thought he Indian rope trick is regarded as the specialy of the Hindu magician, it had also been performed in China, Central Asia, Batavia and other parts of the Orient.
[b] The phrase embelished by travellers means that the travelers made the trick look more intriguing.
[c] The people who defended the magicians believed that they don't claim the rewards because they either do not read the papers to learn about their offers, or are simply not intrested either in the money, or in publicity and ensuring fame.
[d] By giving the example of the European gentleman and his wife the writer wants to say that they witnessed the rope trick in 1900. Others observers also proclaimed to have photographed thr perfomance and the plates show the boy in the act of scrutiny, and another witness claimed to have taken a photo showing the rope, coiled on the ground, and the magician and the boy standing by it. Another witness stated to have taken a picture of the boy climbing the rope.
[a] Stretched tightly - taut
[b] cut off parts of the body - dismembered
[c] angry - enraged
[d] following - ensuing