Malwa Gramin Bank Clerk Exam 2010 - English Paper - Part 1

Directions-(Q. 1-15) Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once upon a time, there was a royal elephant which used to reside in the premises of the king's palace. The elephant was very dear to the king, so he was well-fed and well treated. There was also a Dog who lived near the Elephant's shed. He was very weak and skinny. He was always fascinated by the smell of rich sweet rice being fed to the royal elephant. One day, the Dog could no longer resist the aroma of the rice and somehow managed to sneak into the Elephant's shed. He ate the grains of sweet rice that fell from the Elephant's mouth. He liked the rice so much, that he started going there daily to eat the rice. For days, the huge Elephant didn't notice the small dog as he was busy enjoying the delicious food. Gradually, the Dog grew bigger and stronger eating such rich food. Finally the Elephant noticed him and allowed him access to the food. The Elephant enjoyed the company of the Dog and started sharing his food with him. They
also started spending time with each other and soon became good friends. They ate together, slept together and played together. While playing, the Elephant would hold the Dog in his trunk and swing him back and forth. Soon neither of them was happy without the other. They became great friends and didn't want to be separated from each other.

Then one day, a man saw the Dog and asked the Elephant-keeper, "I want to buy this Dog. What price do you want for it ?" The Elephantkeeper didn't own the Dog but sold it and extracted a sum of money from this deal. The man took the Dog to his home village, which was quite far away. The King's Elephant became very sad after this incident. He missed his friend a lot and started neglecting everything. He didn't want to do anything without his dear friend, so he stopped eating, drinking and even bathing. Finally, the Elephant-keeper reported this to the King; however he didn't mention anything about the Dog. The King had a wise minister, who was known for his keen understanding of animals . The King ordered the minister, "Go to the Elephant shed and find out the reason for the Elephant's condition". The intelligent minister went to the Elephant shed and found the Elephant very sad. He examined the Elephant and asked the Elephantkeeper, "There is nothing wrong with this Elephant's body, then why does he look so sad ? I think this Elephant is grief stricken, possibly due to the loss of a dear friend.

Do you know if this Elephant shared a close friendship with anyone ? The Elephant-keeper said, "There was a Dog who used to eat, sleep and play with the Elephant. He was taken by a stranger three days ago". The minister went back to the King and said, "Your majesty, in my opinion, the royal Elephant is not sick, but he is lonesome without his dear friend, the Dog". The King said, "You're right, friendship is one of the most wonderful things of life. Do you know where that Dog is ?"

The Minister replied, "Elephantkeeper has informed me that a stranger took him away and he doesn't know his whereabouts". The King asked, "How can we bring back my Elephant's friend and make him happy again ?" The Minister suggested, "Your Majesty, make a declaration that whoever has the dog that used to live at the royal Elephant's shed will be penalized". The King did the same and the man who had taken the dog, instantly turned him loose when he heard the proclamation. As soon as he was freed, the Dog ran back as fast as he could to the Elephant's shed. The Elephant was so delighted to see the Dog that he picked his friend up with his trunk and swung him back and forth. The Dog wagged his tail, while the Elephant's eyes sparkled with happiness. The King was content to see the Elephant happy once again and rewarded the Minister for his wise judgment.

1. What was the Minister's diagnosis of the Elephant's condition ?
The Elephant hated his keeper  The Elephant was lonely  The Elephant was starving  The Elephant had hurt his leg and as in pain  None of these
 

2. What method did the Minister suggest to the King to get back the Dog ?
To declare that whoever had that particular Dog would be punished  To keep a bowl of rice for the dog in the Elephant's shed so that he could be lured
back to the palace  To command the Elephantkeeper to look for the Dog in the village  To persuade the Elephant to call out to the Dog
  None of these
 

3. Why had the Elephant become very sad ?
He no longer got his daily bowl of rice  He was unhappy with the King for having sold the Dog  He missed his friend the Dog  He was sold to an unknown man by his keeper  None of these
 

4. What did the Elephant-keeper do to the Dog ?
He sold the Dog to an unknown man for a price  He hit the Dog as the Dog was eating the Elephant's food  He killed the Dog  He complained to the King about the Dog  None of these
 

5. Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the passage ?
Friends and Enemies  The Playful Dog  The King and the Minister  The Elephant-keeper  The Bond of Friendship
 

6. Why was the Elephant taken care of ?
He was a very special Elephant as he could talk to Dogs  He was a very loyal Elephant  He was the strongest Elephant in the Kingdom  He was weak and the King had a lot of sympathy for him  None of these
 

7. Why did the Dog start going to the Elephant's shed everyday ?
He liked the Elephant a lot and wanted to become friends with him  He was being fed by the King everyday  He was fond of the Elephant's shed  He liked the taste of the rice being fed to the Elephant  None of these
 

8. What did the Dog do once he was set free ?
He ate rice to his heart's content  He thanked the King for his kindness  He ran away from the Kingdom to a place faraway  He ran back to his friend the Elephant  None of these
 

9. What of the following can definitely be said about the Elephantkeeper ?
(1) He was greedy
(2) He was insensitive
(3) He was brave
Only (1)  Only (2)  Only (1) and (2)  Only (2) and (3)  All (1), (2) and (3)
 

10. 10. Which of the following can definitely be said about the King?
(1) He was compassionate
(2) He was deceitful
(3) He loved animals
Only (1)  Only (1) and (3)  Only (1) and (2)  Only (2)  All the three (1), (2) and (3)
 

Directions-(Q. 11-13) Choose the word/group of words which is most similar in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

11. EXTRACTED
Pulled  Inserted  Wing  Dug out
  Received
 

12. DECLARATION
Pact  Praise  Announcement  Writ  Resolve
 

13. KEEN
Shallow  Urgent  Concentrated  Deep  Eager
 

Directions-(Q. 14-15) Choose the word/group of words which is most opposite in meaning to the word/group of words printed in bold as used in the passage.

14. RESIST
Give in  Please  Struggle  Try out  Defy
 

15. SEPARATED
Stuck  United  Estranged  Bound  Joined
 

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