Until the end of his first year at school, Cyril retained many of the pleasures and pursuits he had brought with him from home, and he kept an old interest in butterflies and fossils. His grandmother had presented him with a fine bird's eggs cabinet, but he could never bring himself to risk climbing trees. Once or twice he dissected dead birds from sheer determination to overcome his horror of the operation. Probably it was his envy of those physically unlike himself that brought on a phase during which he drew massive athletes with thick necks and square shoulders. Again he was pitying himself for what he could never be.
Cyril dissected dead birds to
Answer: D
Correct answer: overcome his horror of the act
The passage says he dissected dead birds from sheer determination to overcome his horror of the operation. The reason is given in the sentence itself, so curiosity, ambition and his grandmother are all imported from elsewhere in the paragraph.
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Until the end of first year, Cyril retained his interest in
Answer: B
Correct answer: Butterflies and fossils
The passage says he kept an old interest in butterflies and fossils. The egg cabinet was a present he could not use because he would not climb trees, and the dissecting and drawing came later and for other reasons.
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Cyril did not want to climb trees because he
Answer: B
Correct answer: was scared of falling down
The passage says that although his grandmother gave him a fine bird's-egg cabinet, he could never bring himself to risk climbing trees. Risk is the word that matters: it was fear of the danger, not dislike of trees or of the activity, that stopped him.
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Cyril's early schooling was in some ways like home life because
Answer: C
Correct answer: he kept doing what gave joy and recreation at home
The opening sentence makes the comparison: he retained many of the pleasures and pursuits he had brought with him from home. The likeness is in what he did, not in his companions, his surroundings or his family's visits, none of which the passage mentions.
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Nehru's was a many sided personality. He enjoyed reading and writing books as much as he enjoyed fighting political and social evils or resisting tyranny. In him, the scientist and the humanist were held in perfect balance. While he kept looking at special problems from a scientific standpoint. He never forgot that we should nourish the total man. As a scientist, he refused to believe in a benevolent power interested in men's affairs. but, as a self proclaimed non-believer, he loved affirming his faith in life and the beauty of nature. Children he adored. Unlike Wordsworth, he did not see them trailing clouds of glory from the recent sojourn in heaven. He saw them as blossoms of promise and renewal, the only hope for mankind.
Nehru thought that children
Answer: B
Correct answer: held promise for a better future
The passage says he saw children as blossoms of promise and renewal, the only hope for mankind. The Wordsworth image of trailing clouds of glory is explicitly what he did not see, and loving them as flowers stops short of the hope the passage attributes to him.
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Nehru enjoyed
Answer: D
Correct answer: doing all the above and much more
The passage says he enjoyed reading and writing as much as he enjoyed fighting political and social evils or resisting tyranny, and then adds his delight in nature and in children. Each of the first three options names one item from a list the passage deliberately extends.
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Which of the statements reflects Nehru point of view?
Answer: C
Correct answer: Science and Humanism are equally important
The passage says that in him the scientist and the humanist were held in perfect balance, and illustrates it: he looked at problems scientifically yet never forgot that we should nourish the total man. Perfect balance is precisely the denial that either subordinates the other.
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In this passage, 'a benevolent power interested in men's affairs' means
Answer: A
Correct answer: a supernatural power of god
The phrase describes what Nehru as a scientist refused to believe in, and the next clause calls him a self-proclaimed non-believer. What a non-believer disbelieves in is a deity taking an interest in human affairs. The beauty of nature is what he did affirm, so it cannot be the same thing.
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A 'many-side personality' means
Answer: C
Correct answer: a person having varied interests
The passage proves the phrase by listing the sides: reader and writer, political fighter, scientist, humanist, lover of nature, adorer of children. Many sides means many interests; it does not imply complexity of character, secrecy or mere capability.
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The enjoyment of physical possession of things would seem to be one of the prerogatives of wealth which has been little impaired. Presumably nothing has happened to keep the man who can afford them from enjoying his Rembrandt and his homegrown orchids. But enjoyment of things has always been associated with the third prerogative of wealth which is the distinction it confers. In a world where nearly everyone was poor, the distinction was very great. It was the natural consequence of rarity. In England it is widely agreed, the ducal families are not uniformly superior. There is a roughly normal incidence of intelligence and stupidity, good taste and bad taste, morality, immorality. But very few people are dukes and duchesses, although the latter have become rather more frequent with modern easing of divorce laws. As a result, even though they may be intrinsically unexceptional they are regarded with some awe. So it has long been with the rich. Were dukes numerous their position would deteriorate. As the rich have become more numerous, they have inevitably become a debased currency.
The distinction conferred by wealth
Answer: D
Correct answer: was very great when there were few rich people
The passage says that in a world where nearly everyone was poor the distinction was very great, and calls it the natural consequence of rarity. The closing sentence completes the argument in reverse: as the rich have become more numerous they have become a debased currency.
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