Question

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: (10)
1. In Japan, every emperor’s era has its own name. Although the Western calendar is
widespread in Japan, the people here count years in terms of ‘gengo’ also. Emperor Akihito’s
era, which began in 1989, is Heisei, making 2019 Heisei 31.
2. The new era name is one of the biggest changes practically and psychologically for Japan at
the start of Crown Prince Naruhito’s reign on May 1 this year. On April 30, Akihito will
abdicate, ending an era in the minds of the Japanese.
3. The new name is so secret that the senior government officials involved in the decision must
surrender their cell phones and stay sequestered until it is broadcast. City offices and
government agencies, which mostly use gengo in their computer systems and paperwork, have
been preparing for months to avoid glitches.
4. ‘We’ve been working on this change for about a year,’ says Tsukasa Shizume, an official in
the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka, where the era name will be changed on 55 kinds of paperwork in
20 administrative sections, ‘The month-long lead time should be sufficient.’
5. Fujitsu and NEC Corp. have been helping customers ensure the switch doesn’t crash their
systems. ‘Programmes have been designed to make it easy to change the gengo,’ says an NEC
official, ‘If people want to test their computer systems, they can use a trial gengo and see if it
works.’
6. The era name is more than just a way of counting years for many Japanese. It’s a word that
captures the national mood of period, similar to the way ‘the 60s’ evokes particular feelings or
images, or how historians refer to Britain’s ‘Victorian’ or ‘Edwardian’ eras, tying the politics and
culture of a period to a monarch.
7. ‘It’s a way of dividing history,’ says Jun Iijima, a 31- year-old lawyer who was born in the last
year of Showa, the era of Akihito’s father, Emperor Hirohito. ‘If you were just counting
years, the Western might be sufficient. But gengo gives a certain meaning to a historical
period.’ The gengo characters are carefully chosen with an aspirational meaning. Heisei, which
means ‘achieving peace’, began on January 8, 1998.
a) In Japan, Emperor Akihito’s era, is known as Heisei, began in _____.
i) 1979 ii) 1989 iii) 1959 iv) 1909
b) Although the Western Calendar is widespread in Japan, the people here count ______.
i) months in terms of English calendar ii) years in terms of ‘gengo’
iii) days in terms of Victorian era iv) weeks in terms of Christian era
c) Heisei means _____.
i) achieving eternity ii) achieving success iii) achieving peace iv) achieving wealth
d) The new era name is one of the biggest changes for Japan at the start of Crown Prince
_______ on May 1, 2019.
i) Akihito’s reign ii) Naruhito’s reign iii) Heisie iv) Shizume

e) In Japan, every emperor’s era has ______.
i) its values ii) its morale iii) its own name iv) its character
f) If Japanese want to test their computer systems, they can use a trial _____ and see if it
works.
i) machine ii) rocket iii) vehicle iv) gengo
g) What is the synonym of the word, ‘isolated’?
i) glitches ii) sequestered iii) widespread iv) abdicate
h) How are the gengo characters chosen?
i) with historical meaning ii) with psychological meaning
iii) with an aspirational meaning iv) with official meaning
i) ‘Programmes have been designed to make it easy to change the gengo.’ says government
agencies.
i) True ii) False
j) Identify the part of speech the word ‘administrative’ in paragraph 4 represents.
i) Noun ii) Adverb iii) Adjective iv) Verb

Answer 1

Answer:

a) 1998

b)years in terms of 'gengo'

c) achieving peace

d)naruhito's reign

e) it's own name

f)gengo

h) with an aspirational meaning

I)false

j). adverb

Answer 2

Answer:

(a) 1989

b)gengo

c)achieving peace

d)naruhito's reign

e)its own name

f)gengo

g)sequestered

h)with historical meaning

i)false

j)adverb