National Defence Academy exam paper Held on 17-08-2008-3

National Defence Academy (NDA)

(Held on 17-08-2008)

English
PASSAGE II

Books are by far, the most lasting product of human effort. Temples crumble into ruins, pictures and statues decay, but books survive. Time does not destroy the great thoughts which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author's minds ages ago. The only effect of time has been to throw out of currency the bad products, for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really good and of lasting value. Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived, we hear what they said and did; we see them as if they were really alive, we sympathise with them, enjoy with them and grieve with them.

30. According to the passage, books live for ever because—
(A) they have productive value
(B) time does not destroy great thoughts
(C) they are in printed form
(D) they have the power to influence people

31. According to the passage, temples, pictures and statues belong to the same category because—
(A) all of them are beautiful
(B) all of them are substantial
(C) all of them are likely to decay
(D) all of them are fashioned by men

32. "Lasting value" in the passage means—
(A) something which has survived the passage of time
(B) something which has been lost with the passage of time
(C) something which has relevance for the present
(D) something which had relevance for the past

PASSAGE III

The pre-historic man preferred this area as three of his primary needs—water, raw material for tool making and game in the thick jungles, were available here in plenty. Mr. Sharma found sites on top of hills where huge boulders have been cut flat. These flat rocks were found in the round formation. Probably they sat on these and there was a fire in the middle. It was also a site where the tools were made. It was like a national pastime. They made tools to throw at animals. There was little chance of killing them with one tool. Mr. Sharma says there are strong chances of finding fossils in the area.

33. Mr. Sharma is most probably working as—
(A) a Civil Engineer
(B) a Geographer
(C) an Archaeologist
(D) a Tourist officer

34. "There was little chance of killing them with one tool" implies that—
(A) the animals were too clever
(B) the men did not know how to hunt
(C) the tools were not sophisticated enough
(D) the hunters wanted to use more than one tool

35. Which of the following does not describe the activities of the man as mentioned in the passage ?
(A) Hunting animals
(B) Lighting fires
(C) Cutting stones
(D) Cultivating land

PASSAGE IV

A whole generation of Indians gave up everything and spent their lives in fighting in British in Gandhi's way without hurting, without violence, without hatred. The hope that India would one day be free kept them going through very difficult times and gave them courage. When millions of people want the same thing very much, it is a great force which even the most powerful army cannot oppose.

36. The demand for freedom became a 'great force'. What is the most likely reason for it ?
(A) Great leaders gave the call for freedom
(B) Millions of people wanted to get freedom
(C) The British rule did not permit any freedom
(D) Freedom is a noble ideal

37. Which is the 'most powerful army' referred to in the passage ?
(A) The powerful army of the Government of India
(B) The powerful army of the British
(C) Any powerful army fighting against the wishes of millions of people
(D) The army formed by the freedom fighters

SPOTTING ERRORS

Directions—(Q. 38–42) (i) In this Section a number of sentences are given. The sentences are in three separate parts and each one is labeled (A), (B) and (C). Read each sentence to find out whether there is an error in any part. No sentence has more than one error. When you find an error in any one of the parts (A), (B) or (C), indicate your response on the separate Answer Sheet at the appropriate space. You may feel that there is no error in a sentence. In that case letter (D) will signify a 'No error' response.

(ii) You are to indicate only one response for each item in your Answer Sheet. (If you indicate more than one response, your answer will be considered wrong.) Errors may be in grammar, word usage or idioms. There may be a word missing or there may be a word which should be removed.

(iii) You are not required to correct the error. You are required only to indicate your response on the Answer Sheet.
Examples 'P' and 'Q' have been solved for you.
P. The young child (A)/ singed (B)/ a very sweet song. (C) No error (D)
Q. We worked (A)/ very hard (B)/ throughout the season. (C) No error (D)
Explanation :In item P, the word 'singed' is wrong. The letter under this part is (B); so (B) is the correct answer. Similarly, for item Q, (D) is the correct answer, as the sentence does not contain any error.

38. I informed the principal (A)/ that I was running temperature (B)/ and therefore could not attend the meeting. (C) No error (D)

39. The lady was broken with grief (A)/ when she heard the sad news of the train disaster (B)/ in which her brother was killed. (C) No error (D)

40. The farmer is irrigating (A)/ his fields (B)/ since morning. (C) No error (D)

41. I could not (A)/ answer to (B)/ the question. (C) No error (D)

42. Two years passed (A)/ since (B)/ my cousin died. No error (D)

ORDERING OF SENTENCES

Directions—(Q. 43–50) In the following items, each passage consists of six sentences. The first sentence (S1) and the final sentence (S6) are given in the beginning. The middle four sentences in each have been removed and jumbled up. These are labelled P, Q, R and S. You are required to find out the proper sequence of the four sentences and indicate your correct answer accordingly.

Example 'X' has been solved for you.
X. S₁ : There was a boy named Jack.
S₆ : At last she turned him out of the house.
P : So the mother asked him to find work.
Q : They were very poor.
R : He lived with his mother.
S : But Jack refused to work.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) R Q P S
(B) P Q R S
(C) Q P R S
(D) R P S Q

Explanation :
The correct sequence in this example is R Q P S which is marked by (A). Therefore, (A) is the correct answer.

43. S₁ : When you have to study for examination, you have many things to do.
S₆ : The final aim, of course, is to pass the examination that is two months away.
P : Suppose you have only two months to do it.
Q : The time-table tells you what you have to do everyday and for how many hours.
R : You have to read a number of books, learn tables and formulas.
S : Then the best way is to make a time-table for yourself.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) R P S Q
(B) S R Q P
(C) Q R S P
(D) P S Q R

44. S₁ : The umpire has to do a lot of hard work before qualifying to surpervise a match.
S₆ : So an umpire must keep abreast of time and apply the rules as occasion demands.
P : However, umpires are human and are sometimes prone to make mistakes.
Q : The rules of the game are being constantly changed.
R : The players should gracefully and sportingly accept these mistakes.
S : He is aware of the responsibilities that go with the job.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) Q R R S
(B) S P R Q
(C) S R P Q
(D) Q R P S

45. S₁ : Mohan came to the city to meet a friend.
S₆ : He should not have behaved so rudely
P : Mohan asked her to join them for tea.
Q : Mohan's friend who had some grudge against Shiela quickly got up and left the restaurant without saying a word.
R : While they were having tea at a restaurant Sheila, a former fellow student of theirs, came in.
S : Though Sheila knew Mohan's friend was a bad fellow, she accepted the invitation.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) P R S Q
(B) R P S Q
(C) P R Q S
(D) R P Q S

46. S₁ : When the Romans invaded Britain about 2,000 years ago, their calendar was calculated on the phases of the moon.
S₆ : The astronomer's name was Sosigenes and his calendar had a year of 365 days.
P : This calender had gradually become so out of line with the seasons that it was two or three months behind.
Q : The Emperor Julius Caesar was determined to correct it.
R : Caesar had been to Egypt and seen the advantages of a calender which used only the sun.
S : So he sought help from a Greek astronomer who lived in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) R Q P S
(B) P Q R S
(C) P S R Q
(D) R S P Q

47. S₁ : Education is in great demand today in India.
S₆ : Things have changed considerably now.
P : These people were accustomed to applying their intelligence to the profession of their fathers.
Q : Since independence it has spread to backward classes.
R : They had no idea that they could train themselves to do something else.
S : Besides this training they had little book learning.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) P Q R S
(B) Q P R S
(C) P Q S R
(D) Q P S R

48. S₁ : There was once a king in India
S₆ : The three sons did not know what to do and where to go.
P : The captain of the king's army wanted the kingdom for himself.
Q : He died leaving three sons.
R : The eldest of the three sons would have become the king.
S : So he drove the three sons away and took everything in the kingdom in his possession.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) P R Q S
(B) P S Q R
(C) Q S P R
(D) Q R P S

49. S₁ : An old man died and left his son a lot of money.
S₆ : He became sad and lonely.
P : Soon he had nothing left.
Q : The son was a foolish young man.
R : All his friends left him.
S : He quickly spent all his money.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) S Q R P
(B) Q S P R
(C) S Q P R
(D) Q S R P

50. S₁ : Siberian crane is a migratory bird
S₆ : They return to Siberia at the onset of summer in India.
P : They remain here for fourfive months.
Q : Migrating birds are those which travel to other places for a period of time and then return.
R : They can't sustain in the severe winter of Siberia.
S : So during winters they travel thousands of miles to reach the bird sanctuary in Rajasthan in India.
Which one of the following is the correct sequence ?
(A) Q R S P
(B) Q P S R
(C) S R Q P
(D) S P Q R


Answers: 30. (B) 31. (C) 32. (A) 33. (B) 34. (C) 35. (D) 36. (D)
37. (C) 38. (C) 39. (D) 40. (A) 41. (B) 42. (A) 43. (A) 44. (A) 45. (B) 46. (B)
47. (B) 48. (D) 49. (B) 50. (C)