CTS
– Verbal -1
Directions for Questions
1-5: Read the passage and answer the questions that follow on the basis of the
information provided in the passage.
Outside, the rain continued to run down the screened windows of Mrs.
Sennett's little Cape Cod cottage. The long weeds and grass that composed the
front yard dripped against the blurred background of the bay, where the water
was almost the color of the grass. Mrs. Sennett's five charges were vigorously
playing house in the dining room. (In the wintertime, Mrs. Sennett was
housekeeper for a Mr. Curley, in Boston, and during the summers the Curley
children boarded with her on the Cape.) My expression must have changed. "Are
those children making too much noise?" Mrs. Sennett demanded, a sort of
wave going over her that might mark the beginning of her getting up out of her
chair. I shook my head no, and gave her a little push on the shoulder to keep
her seated. Mrs. Sennett was almost stone-deaf and had been for a long time,
but she could read lips. You could talk to her without making any sound
yourself, if you wanted to, and she more than kept up her side of the
conversation in a loud, rusty voice that dropped weirdly every now and then
into a whisper. She adored talking.
To look at Mrs. Sennett made me think of eighteenth-century England
and its literary figures. Her hair must have been sadly thin, because she
always wore, indoors and out, either a hat or a sort of turban, and sometimes
she wore both. The rims of her eyes were dark; she looked very ill. Mrs.
Sennett and I continued talking. She said she really didn't think she'd stay
with the children another winter. Their father wanted her to, but it was too
much for her. She wanted to stay right here in the cottage. The afternoon was
getting along, and I finally left because I knew that at four o'clock Mrs.
Sennett's "sit down" was over and she started to get supper.
At six o'clock, from my nearby cottage, I saw Theresa coming through
the rain with a shawl over her head. She was bringing me a six-inch-square
piece of spice cake , still hot from the oven and kept warm between two soup
plates. A few days later I learned from the twins, who brought over gifts of
firewood and blackberries, that their father was coming the next morning,
bringing their aunt and her husband and their cousin. Mrs. Sennett had promised
to take them all on a picnic at the pond some pleasant day. On the fourth day
of their visit, Xavier arrived with a note. It was from Mrs. Sennett, written
in blue ink, in a large, serene, ornamented hand, on linen-finish paper:. . .
Tomorrow is the last day Mr. Curley has and the Children all wanted the Picnic
so much. The Men can walk to the Pond but it is too far for the Children. I see
your Friend has a car and I hate to ask this but could you possibly drive us to
the Pond tomorrow morning? . . .Very sincerely yours, Carmen Sennett.
After the picnic, Mrs.
Sennett's presents to me were numberless. It was almost time for the children
to go back to school in South Boston. Mrs. Sennett insisted that she was not
going; their father was coming down again to get them and she was just going to
stay. He would have to get another housekeeper. She said this over and over to
me, loudly, and her turbans and kerchiefs grew more and more distrait. One evening,
Mary came to call on me and we sat on an old table in the back yard to watch
the sunset. "Papa came today," she said, "and we've got to go
back day after tomorrow. ""Is Mrs. Sennett going to stay here?
""She said at supper she was. She said this time she really was,
because she'd said that last year and came back, but now she means it ."I
said, "Oh dear," scarcely knowing which side I was on. "It was
awful at supper. I cried and cried."
"Did Theresa cry?"
"Oh, we all cried. Papa cried, too. We always do."
"But don't you think Mrs. Sennett needs a rest?"
"Yes, but I think she'll come, though. Papa told her he'd cry
every single night at supper if she didn't,
and then we all did." The next day I heard that Mrs. Sennett
was going back with them just to "help settle."
She came over the following morning to say goodbye, supported by all
five children. She was wearing her traveling hat of black satin and black
straw, with sequins. High and somber, above her ravaged face, it had quite a
Spanish grandee air. "This isn't really goodbye," she said.
"I'll be back as soon as I get these bad, noisy children off my hands. "But
the children hung on to her skirt and tugged at her sleeves, shaking their heads
frantically, silently saying, "No! No! No!" To her with their puckered-up mouths.
Following are some questions on this passage:
1.
According to the narrator, Mrs.
Sennett wears a hat because she:
A.
is often outside.
B.
wants to look like a literary
figure.
C.
has thin hair.
D.
has unique taste in clothing.
Answer: C
2. Considering the
events of the entire passage, it is most reasonable to infer that Mrs. Sennett
calls the children bad because she:
A. is bothered by the noise they are making.
B. doesn't like them hanging on her skirt.
C. doesn't want to reveal her affection for them.
D. is angry that they never do what she tells them.
Answer: C
3. What is the main insight suggested by the
conversation in lines 39--45?
A. The Curley family cries to manipulate Mrs. Sennett
into doing what they want.
B. The narrator regrets that she is not going to
Boston and is a little jealous of Mrs. Sennett.
C. Mrs. Sennett is happy to leave the Curley family
because they are always whining and crying.
D. Mrs. Sennett
intends to return to the Cape soon because she has discovered that they have
been manipulating and taking advantage of her.
Answer: A
4. Given the
evidence provided throughout the passage, the children probably silently mouth
the word "no" because:
A. Mrs. Sennett has
just called them bad, noisy children, and they are defending themselves.
B. they do not want
to leave the Cape before the summer is over and are protesting.
C. they are letting
the narrator know that Mrs. Sennett is thinking about returning to the Cape.
D. they are
continuing their battle against Mrs. Sennett's intention to return to the Cape.
Answer: D
5. At what point
does Mr. Curley cry at the supper table?
A. Before Mary and
the narrator sit and watch the sunset
B. Before Mrs.
Sennett tells the narrator she doubts she will stay another winter with the
children
C. Before the
children spend a rainy afternoon playing house in the dining room
D. After the
narrator learns that Mrs. Sennett will return to Boston
Answer: A
Directions for Questions
6-7:
Read the passage and
answer the questions that follow on the basis of the information provided in
the passage.
From the 197 million square miles, which make up the surface of the
globe, 71 per cent is covered by the interconnecting bodies of marine water;
the Pacific Ocean alone covers half the Earth and averages near 14,000 feet in
depth. The portions which rise above sea level are the continents-Eurasia,
Africa; North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica. The submerged
borders of the continental masses are the continental shelves, beyond which lie
the deep-sea basins.
The ocean are deepest not in the center but in some elongated
furrows, or long narrow troughs, called deeps. These profound troughs have a
peripheral arrangement, notably around the borders of the pacific and Indian
oceans. The position of the deeps, like the highest mountains, is of recent
origin, since otherwise they would have been filled with waste from the lands.
This is further strengthened by the observation that the deeps are quite often,
where world-shaking earthquakes occur. To cite an example, the "tidal
wave" that in April, 1946, caused widespread destruction along Pacific
coasts resulted from a strong earthquake on the floor of the Aleutian Deep.
The topography of the ocean floors is none too well known, since in
great areas the available soundings are hundreds or even thousands of miles
apart. However, the floor of the Atlantic is through the use of the recently
perfected method of submarine topography becoming fairly well known as a result
of special surveys since 1920. A broad, well-defined ridge-the Mid-Atlantic ridge-
runs north and south between Africa and the two Americas and
numerous other major irregularities diversify the Atlantic floor. Closely
spaced soundings show that many parts of the oceanic floors are as rugged as
mountainous regions of the continents.
During World War II great strides were made in mapping submarine
surfaces, particularly in many parts of the vast Pacific basin. Most of the
continents stand on an average of 2870 feet above sea level. North America
averages 2300 feet; Europe averages only 1150 feet; and Asia, the highest of
the larger continental subdivisions, averages 3200 feet. Mount Everest, which
is the highest point in the globe, is 29,000 feet above the sea; and as the
greatest known depth in the sea is over 35,000 feet, the maximum relief (that
is, the difference in altitude between the lowest and highest points) exceeds
64,000 feet, or exceeds 12 miles. The continental masses and the deep-sea
basins are relief features of the first order; the deeps, ridges, and volcanic
cones that diversify the sea floor, as well as the plains, plateaus, and
mountains of the continents, are relief features of the second order. The lands
are unendingly subject to a complex of activities summarized in the term
erosion, which first sculptures them in great detail and then tends to reduce
them ultimately to sea level. The modeling of the landscape by weather, running
water, and other agents is apparent to the keenly observant eye and causes
thinking people to speculate on what must be the final result of the ceaseless
wearing down of the lands. Much before there was any recognizable science as
geology, Shakespeare wrote "the revolution of the times makes mountains
level."
6. The peripheral furrows or deeps are found
A. only in the pacific and Indian oceans
B. near earthquakes
C. near the shore in the center of the ocean
D. to be 14,000 feet in depth in the pacific.
Ans : C
7. We may conclude from this passage that earth quakes
A. occur more frequently in newly formed land or sea formations
B. Are caused by the weight of the water
C. Cause erosion occur in the deeps
D. Will ultimately "make mountains level".
Ans : A
Directions for Questions 8-12:
Read each sentence to find
if there is any grammatical error in it. If there is any error, it will be only
one part of the sentence. The number or alphabet of that part is your answer.(
Disregard punctuation errors if any)
8. The firm show / began / when we arrived / in the hall/no error
A B C D E
Ans: B (begun)
9. No sooner the news appeared in the paper/ than / there was a rush
/ in the counter/ no error
A
B C D E
Ans: A (As soon as)
10. Unlike the other/ rich men of his community/ he does not look/
down upon the poor/ no error
A B C D E
Ans: E
11. His supporters are / not as enthusiastic / and co-operative as /
that of his opponent's/ no error
A B C D E
Ans: D (those)
12. Our company can / no longer afford/ over-manned unit as/ our
profit has lower/ no error
A B C D E
Ans: D (is)
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