COMPREHENSION

Read the following passages carefully and answer the questions that follow, choosing the
correct answers from the options given.

Ball Shah lived in Gujarat. He was a great miser. He hated to spend anything on anybody, even
on himself. One day he saw some ripe dates on a tall palm tree. He liked dates very much and
wanted to have some. But how could he get them? He did not like to ask anyone to climb up
and get them for him, for he feared he might have to pay him something. So Ball Shah decided
to climb the tree himself.

He had never climbed up a date palm before, but he managed to reach the top. He was about to
pick some dates when he happened to look down. The height from the ground frightened him so
much that he started to tremble.

1. Where did Ball Shah live?

(i) Gujarat

(ii) Punjab

(iii) Mumbai

2. What type of man was Ball Shah?

(i) a miser

(ii) a spendthrift

(iii) a robber

3. What did he hate?

(ii) to spend

(iii) to earn

(i) to work hard

4. One day, what did he see?

(i) ripe dates

(ii) mangoes

(iii) ripe apples

5. What did he not like to do?

(i) to ask to give him some dates

(ii) to eat ripe dates

(iii) to ask any one to climb up

6. What did Ball Shah decide?

(i) to leave the place

(ii) to climb up the date palm

(iii) to climb up a mango tree

7. What did he never do?

(1) never climbed up a date palm

(ii) never ate ripe dates

(iii) never feared

8. When did he get frightened?

(i) when he looked down

(ii) he fell down from the height

(iii) when he climbed up

9. Suggest a suitable title for the above passage.

(i) Ball Shah-A Miser and a Coward

(ii) Ball Shah-A Brave Man

(iii) Ball Shah-A Great Traveller

II

Midas, King of Phrygia, was a very greedy person. He loved gold more than anything else in the
world. He was never really happy, though he had a lot of wealth.

One day God Bacchus came to Midas. Midas had once helped Bacchus and in return Bacchus
offered him a gift. "What shall I give you," he said, "that can bring you happiness?" Midas
thought for a while and then said, "Please give me the power to turn everything I touch into
gold." Bacchus laughed and said, "Your wish is granted. As soon as the Sun rises tomorrow,
you will have the golden touch."

When Midas woke up next morning, he had indeed the golden touch! He touched his bed, the
chairs, doors, windows, and all became solid gold. He went into the garden and turned flowers,
fruits and trees into gold, too.

He felt hungry and wished to have breakfast. He sat at the table and there were fresh bread,
butter, fish and wine. But as soon as the food touched his lips, it turned into old. So did the wine.
It seemed he could no longer eat or drink

After some time, his little daughter came to him and sat on his knee. When he put his hand on
her, she became a gold statue.

In the end, Midas had to pray to God Bacchus to take away the cursed gift of the golden touch.

1. What kind of man was Midas?

(i) a great miser

(ii) a very greedy person

(iii) a brave man

2. Why did God Bacchus offer him a gift?

(i) had once helped Bacchus

(ii) pleased Bacchus

(iii) annoyed Bacchus

3. What was Midas' wish?

(i) to turn anything into gold

(ii) to become rich

(iii) to become brave

or r

fast

stror

4. Why do you think Bacchus laughed before granting Midas' wish?

(i) just for nothing

(ii) to please Midas

(iii) because he knew that was a foolish wish

5. Complete the following sentences:

(i) Midas was unable to eat or drink any longer, because

(a) anything he touched turned into gold

(b) the food did not taste good

(c) the food was cold

(ii) When Midas touched his daughter,.

(a) she became a gold statue

(b) she flew away

(c) she fell down

(iii) Midas wanted to get rid of the 'golden touch' because

(a) his life had become miserable

(b) he was happy

(c) he had lot of gold

(iv) The moral of the story is.

(a) Greed is a Curse

(b) Be Greedy

(c) Get Gold

III

There are several species of birds which have wings but cannot fly. These include the African
ostrich, the Australian emu, the kiwi, which is found in New Zealand, and the penguin, a sea
bird. Ostriches, emus and kiwis walk

or run everywhere. Ostriches are the world's largest birds and can run very fast. They can run
70 km an hour and they can also swim well. Penguins are strong swimmers and can swim
skilfully chasing fish in the seas

1. This passage tells us about four species of birds. What are they?

2. What is special about these four species of birds?

3. Fill in the blanks:

Species

The country they live in

(i) Ostriches

(!!)

Australia

(iii) Kiwis

4. Which is the largest bird in the world?

5. Which runs faster, the emu or the ostrich?

6. Which birds can swim?

IV
A Knight was a man who fought on horseback, in Europe in the Middle Ages. Knights fought for
the king or queen of their country or for the most important person in the area where they lived.

Knights wore armours to fight. An armour was made from the pieces of metal, shaped to fit
different parts of the body. It was difficult to hurt a Knight who was covered from head to foot in
metal. The armour was very heavy, so knights could not move fast. The horses had to be very
strong.

A Knight fought with a lance. This was a long pole that had a sharp metal piece at the end. A
Knight also had swords and daggers.

Knights were from important families. Young boys went to live in a Knight's home. They worked
as pages, fetching and carine things for the Knight and

APC

serving food. As they grew up and learned more, they were fully trained. Squires were taught
how to be Knights. When they were fully trained, squires became Knights in a special
ceremony.

After about AD 1600, people did not need Knights to fight any more.

1. Who was called a Knight in the Middle Ages?

2. What was the duty of a Knight?

3. What did the Knights wear to protect their bodies?

4. What was an armour made from?

5. Why was it difficult to hurt a Knight?

6. Why could Knights not move fast?

7. What was a lance?

8. What other weapons did the Knights have in addition to a lance?

9. What sort of families did the Knights belong to?

10. How could a boy become a Knight?

V
Once upon a time, two friends were passing through a forest. All of a sudden, they saw a big
bear coming towards them. The two friends were frightened. One of them ran quickly and
climbed up a tree. The other friend
did not know how to climb a tree. He asked for help from his friend, but the

friend refused to help. The second friend saw the bear rushing towards him.

Out of fear he became unconscious and fell flat on the ground. The bear came close to him to
kill him. He sniffed around his mouth and ears. The bear thought that he was dead. He left him
alone and went away.

After some time the first friend came down the tree. He shook his friend who was still lying on
the ground. The second friend woke up and was surprised to find himself alive. The first friend
asked him, "What did the bear tell you in your ears?" The second friend replied, "The bear told
me that a true friend is one who helps at the time of difficulty." The first friend felt ashamed of
himself.

1. Why couldn't the second friend escape from the big bear?

2. Why did the second friend become unconscious?

3. Why did the bear leave the unconscious boy on the ground alone and went away?

4. What made the first friend feel ashamed?

5. What does this story tell you about the character of the first friend?

6. Suggest a suitable moral of this paragraph.

7. Find the words from the paragraph which have the same meanings as: at once, at a fast
speed, smelled.