One day Nandu rode his horse to the village fair. On
his way back he met Somendra, the merchant. The merchant was a crafty man,
ready to do anything to earn some money. The villagers knew this. In fact no one
knew what trick he would be up to next. Now, Nandu was poor and had no one in
the world to call his own except a beautiful, white horse. He loved it more
than anything else in the world. The merchant had his eye on the horse for a
long time and tried to think of a way to get it for himself. Seeing Nandu, the
merchant thought, “Nandu is a simpleton. Let me see if I can trick him out of
his horse. “So he said to Nandu, “You live all alone. How do you manage? What
does a young boy like you need with a horse? Sell it to me and I shall make you
rich in return.”
Nandu replied, “No I don’t want to sell my horse.”
But the merchant refused to give up so easily. He
offered Nandu more money. Finally, when the offer reached five hundred gold
coins, Nandu paused and said, “Five hundred gold coins seems like a good price.
But I have a condition. If you agree to it, I shall give you my horse.” What is
it?” The merchant asked impatiently. “Give me the money right now and I shall
give you my horse when I have given you ten lashes,” said Nandu. “Is that all?”
asked the merchant. He could easily bear ten lashes. After all he would resell
the horse for over a thousand gold coins in the market. He would take twenty
lashes for such a gain. He agreed instantly. He ran home and got the money for
Nandu and brought along his whip as well. Nandu counted the money carefully. He
then took the whip and the lashes fell on the merchant’s back in quick
succession. By the eighth lash the merchant was almost in tears but he told
himself that there were only two lashes to go and the horse would be his. The
merchant held his breath waiting for the final lash. But Nandu had mounted his
horse and was riding off. “Wait!” shouted the merchant in anger. “What about
the tenth lash? Where are you going with the horse? We had a deal.”
Nandu stopped and said, “I agreed to give you the
horse only after I had given you ten lashes. But it is upsetting my horse. I’ll
give you the last lash later. Till then goodbye.” “Come back you cheat!” the
merchant shouted. But the crowd that had gathered around
agreed with Nandu. A deal was a deal. Till the last lash was given the horse
could not belong to the merchant. Nandu rode away richer by five hundred gold
coins and Somendra waited in vain for several days for the final lash which
never came.
Q1. Why did the merchant offer to buy Nandu’s
horse ?
(a) He was very fond of horses and Nandu’s horse was rare breed.
(b) It was his way of helping Nandu who was poor.
(c) The horse would be useful for carrying goods to the market.
(d) He hated Nandu and wanted to deprive him of something he loved.
(e) None of these
Q2. Which of the following is TRUE in the
context of the passage ?
(A) Nandu was an orphan.
(B) The merchant was very persevering.
(C) The merchant was founder of Nandu’s horse than Nandu was
(a) None
(b) Only (A)
(c) Both (A) & (B)
(d) All (A),(B) & (C)
(e) None of these
Q3. Why did Nandu set the condition of giving
the merchant ten lashes ?
(a) To discourage the merchant from buying his horse
(b) To demonstrate how painful a whipping was so that the merchant would never
hit the horse
(c) To bargain with the merchant to offer more money
(d) To outwit the merchant who was trying to cheat him
(e) None of these
Q4. Why did the bystanders take Nandu’s side
in the argument ?
(A) They hoped that Nandu would give them a reward from the five hundred gold
coins he had earned.
(B) They were sure that the merchant would ill treat the horse and wanted to
prevent that from happening.
(C) They knew that Nandu would be miserable without his horse whom he was very
fond of.
(a) None
(b) Only (A)
(c) Both (A) & (C)
(d) Only (C)
(e) All (A), (B) & (C)
Q5. What reason did Nandu cite for not giving
the merchant the final lash ?
(a) He was tired and not in the mood
(b) He realised that the merchant was in great pain and took pity on him
(c) He was following the advice of the people around
(d) His horse was distressed by the whipping
(e) He had changed his mind about selling his horse
Q6. Which of the following can be said about
Nandu ?
(A) He was very cunning.
(B) He needed money.
(C) He was cruel to people but loved animals.
(a) Only (A)
(b) Both (A) & (B)
(c) Both (B) & (C)
(d) All (A), (B) & (C)
(e) None of these
Q7. Which of the following best describes the
merchant’s reputation in the village ?
(a) He was enterprising and had made a lot of money.
(b) He was dishonest and would do anything to get what he wanted.
(c) He would squander his money on things he liked.
(d) He was generous and helped the less fortunate.
(e) He was successful because he was courageous and stubborn.
Q8. Choose the word which is most
similar in meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage.
Return
(a) Reject
(b) Profit
(c) Settle
(d) Replace
(e) Exchange
Q9. Choose the word which is most similar in
meaning to the word given in bold as used in the passage.
Good
(a) Just
(b) Sober
(c) Beneficial
(d) Evil
(e) False
Q10. Choose the word which is opposite in meaning
to the word given in bold as used in the passage.
Gathered
(a) Dissolved
(b) Collected
(c) Dispersed
(d) Melted
(e) Distributed
Directions (11-15): In the following passage there are blanks, each of which
has been numbered. These
numbers are printed below the passage and against each, five words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately.
Find out the appropriate
word in each case.
Twenty years (1) now, nearly 60% of the
world’s population will live in urban areas. The impact of urbanization might
not all be positive on India as urban expansion is happening at a much (12)
rate than infrastructure expansion. Sustainability issues need to be (13) so
that economic development is not at the (14) of public health. Some urban
services that ought to be in (15) in a city like water, electricity, transport
etc need special consideration.
Q11. (a) on (b) till
(c) since (d)
from
(e)
after
Q12. (a) quick (b) faster
(c) slower (d)
changed
(e)
speed
Q13. (a) understood (b) speculate
(c) assumed (d)
imagined
(e)
considered
Q14. (a) expense (b) payment
(c) rate (d)
costs
(e)
charge
Q15. (a) location (b) abundance
(c) large (d)
functional
(e)
vicinity
SOLUTIONS:
S1. Ans.
(e)
Sol.
The first paragraph of the passage states that the merchant had an eye on
Nandu’s horse and wanted to get it for himself. None of the given options
explains this idea.
S2.Ans.
(c)
Sol.
The first paragraph of the passage states that Nandu had no one in the world to
call his own except his horse. Therefore, we can say that he was an ‘orphan’.
Also, we know that the merchant was ready to bear ten lashes for the horse, so
we can say that he was ‘persevering’.
S3.
Ans. (d)
Sol.
The second paragraph of the passage states that Nandu set the condition of
giving ten lashes to the merchant because he wanted to outwit the merchant who
was trying to cheat him.
S4. Ans.
(a)
Sol.
The last paragraph of the passage states that the crowd that had gathered
agreed with Nandu because the deal was not yet complete. The final lash was
still pending. None of the options bring out this idea.
S5. Ans.
(d)
Sol.
The last paragraph of the passage states that Nandu refused to give the final
lash to the merchant as it was upsetting his horse.
S6.
Ans. (a)
Sol.
The story in the given passage highlights that Nandu was clever and ingenious.
He thought of a deceptive way to outwit the merchant who tried to cheat him.
Therefore, we can say that he was ‘cunning’.
S7.
Ans. (b)
Sol.
The first paragraph of the passage states that the villagers were aware of
merchant’s crafty and persevering attitude. He would do anything to get what he
wanted.
S8. Ans.
(e)
S9. Ans.
(a)
S10. Ans.
(c)
S11. Ans.(d)
S12. Ans.(b)
S13. Ans.(e)
S14. Ans.(a)
S15. Ans.(b)
Practice with Crash Course and Online Test Series for IBPS Mains 2020:
- IBPS RRB PO and Clerk Prime 2020-21 Online Test Series
- IBPS PO Online test series (Prelims + Mains) 2020 by Adda247
- IBPS KA MAHAPACK Online Live Classes
Click Here to Register for Bank Exams 2020 Preparation Material
Practice with Crash Course and Online Test Series for IBPS Clerk Prelims:
English Language Notes for Competitive E...
