Corporation Bank Clerk Recruitment Examination - English Paper 2009 - Part 1

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

Once upon a time, there lived a herd of elephants at the bottom of the majestic Himalayas. Their leader was a rare white elephant who was an extremely kindhearted soul. He greatly loved his mother who had grown blind and feeble and could not look out for herself. Each day this white elephant would go deep into the forest in search of food. He would look for the best of fruits to send to his mother through other elephants of the herd. But his mother never received any. This was because the other members of the herd would always eat them up themselve. Each night, when he returned home he would be surprised to hear that his mother had been starving all day. He was absolutely disgusted with his herd. Then one day, he decided to leave them all behind and disappeared in the middle of the night along with his dear mother. He took her to Mount Candorana to live in a cave besides a beautiful lake.
It so happened that one day, when the white elephant was feeding, he heard loud cries. A forester from Benaras had lost his way in the forest and was absolutely terrified. The white elephant told him not to worry as he knew every inch of this forest and could take him to safety. He then lifted him on to his back and carried him to the edge of the forest from where the forester went on his merry way back to Benaras.
On reaching the city, he heard that King's personal elephant had just died and the King was looking for a new elephant. His heralds were roaming the city, announcing that any man who had seen or heard of an elephant fit for a king should come forward with the information. The forester was very excited and immediately went up to the King and told him about the white elephant that he had seen on Mount Candorana. The King was quite pleased with the information and immediately dispatched a number of soldiers and elephant trainers along with the forester. After travelling for many days, the group reached the lake besides which the elephants resided. They slowly crept down to the edge of the lake and hid behind the bushes. The white elephant was collecting lotus shoots for his mother's meal and could sense the presence of humans. When he looked up, he spotted the forester and realized that it was he who had led the King's men to him. He was very upset at the ingratitude but decided not to put up a struggle as many of the men would be killed. And he was just too kind to hurt anyone. So he decided to go along with them to Benaras and then seek a solution to this problem.
On reaching the beautiful city of Benaras, the trainers laid out a feast for their new State elephant but he refused to touch a morsel. He did not respond to any kind of stimuli, be it the fragrant flowers or the beautiful and comfortable stable. He just sat there looking completely despondent. The King was extremelyconcerned. He offered the elephant food from the royal table and asked him why he grieved in this manner. The white elephant replied that he would not eat a thing until he met his mother back home on Mount Candorana as she must be hungry because she was blind and had no one to feed her and take care of her. He was afraid that she would die. The compassionate King was touched by the elephant's story and assured him that his soldiers would bring his old mother to the palace as soon as possible. The king kept his promise and his soldiers took good care of his mother as well for as long as she lived. She blessed the kind King with peace, prosperity and joy till the end of his days. In this way the white elephant could serve the king and also enjoy the royal perks at the king's palace along with his mother.

1. What did the white elephant do when he realised that his mother had been starving even though he had been sending food for her ?
He punished his herd members and told them to leave the jungle  He went to Benaras to report the happenings of the herd to the King  With the help of the King's soldiers, he got the herd members killed  He and his mother left the herd behind  None of these
 

2. What did the King do when the forester told him about a white elephant ?
He rewarded the forester with lots of valuables  He sent his soldiers to the forest to bring the white elephant to Benaras  He sent his soldiers to the forest to hunt down the white elephant  He ordered the forester to bring the white elephant to him from the forest  None of these
 

3. Why did the white elephant's mother never receive the fruits sent by her son ?
The other members of the herd would eat up the fruits themselves instead of taking them to her  The King's soldiers blocked her food supply in order to make her weak and capture her to be taken to the King  Because the King would never let any food sent by the white elephant reach his mother  Because the ungrateful forester sold the fruits collected by the white elephant in Benaras  None of these
 

4. Why was the forester terrified and crying for help in the forest ?
He was scared to see a white elephant  The elephant had lifted him forcefully to his back  He wanted to warn the white elephant against the King's men  He had lost his way and wanted someone's help  None of these
 

5. Why did the white elephant collect food for his mother daily ?
The king did not provide food to the elephant's mother  All the elephants from the herd refused to collect food for the old mother elephant  The elephant's mother could not fend for herself  The white elephant's mother would not accept food from anyone but her son  None of these
 

6. Why did the white elephant not put up a struggle against the King's soldiers ?
He did not want anyone to get hurt in the struggle  He was blind and feeble and thus could not put up a struggle  He surrendered as he realised that he would not be able to fight so many soldiers  He feared that the King may kill his mother if he did not go to the palace  None of these
 

7. Why was the white elephant upset to see the forester alongwith the King's soldiers ?
He had invited only the forester and not the King's soldiers to the forest  The king's soldiers had arrested the forester for concealing the whereabouts of the white elephant  He did not expect such ingratitude from the forester as he had helped him once  The forester, alongwith the soldiers had captured the white elephant's mother  None of these
 

8. Why was the white elephant unhappy and refused to eat in the King's palace ?
He was unhappy with the royal treatment and expected more comforts  He was worried about his mother who was blind and weak  He was protesting against the forester's ingratitude towards him  The King's soldiers had injured him and his mother while captivating both of them  None of these
 

9. Which of the following is TRUE in the context of the passage ?
The forester could never go back to Benaras from the forest  The white elephant's herd members were co-operative and honest  The forester ultimately became a good friend of the white elephant  The white elephant's mother was finally left alone in the forest  None of these
 

10. Which of the following best describes the King as mentioned in the passage ?
Ungrateful  Weak & feeble  Dishonest  Sympathetic  Ingenious
 

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