Questions

Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives and click the button corresponding to it.

The first working steam­ powered vehicle was designed and most likely built by Ferdinand Verbies, a Flemish member of a Jesuit mission in China around 1672. It was a 65 cm long scale­ model toy for the Chinese Emperor, that was unable to carry a driver or a passenger. It is not known if Verbiest's model was ever built. Nicolas- Joseph Cugnot is widely credited with building the first full­ scale, self ­propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in about 1769; he also created a steam­ powered tricycle. He constructed two steam tractors for the French Army, one of which is preserved in the French National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts. His inventions were however handicapped by problems of water supply and maintaining steam pressure. In 1801, Richard Trevithick built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive, believed by many to be the first demonstration of a steam ­powered road vehicle. It was unable to maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods. Sentiment against steam ­powered road vehicles led to the Locomotive Acts of 1865. In 1807 Nicephore Niepce and his brother Claude probably created the world's first internal combustion engine which they called Pyreolophore.

The problem with Trevithick's Puffing Devil was:

In the following question the 1st and the last part of the sentence/passage are numbered 1 and 6. The rest of the sentence/ passage is split into four parts and named P, Q, R and S. These four parts are not given in their proper order. Read the sentence/passage and find out which of the four combinations is correct

1. Suddenly the man heard the low hum of an engine.
P. Instead, it grew louder and louder and seemed to be coming from above.
Q. At first he thought that it must be a car travelling along the road he had recently left.
R. He looked up quickly and saw an aeroplane cutting a crazy, zigzag path across the sky.
S. He expected the noise to fade away in the distance.
6. It disappeared for an instant behind some clouds, then emerged and plunged into the field.

Select the word with the correct spelling.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which is the best substitute of the words/sentence.

Protection of or authority over someone

Black markets are associated with

Humayun's Tomb was built by_____.

In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the alternative which is the best substitute of the phrase.

A feeling of unease or embarrassment; awkwardness.

A passage is given with 5 questions following it. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives.

I had seen this road many years ago when my parents moved to Mundakotukurussi, our ancestral village. However, in those early years, I hadn't begun exploring the countryside. I stored the unknown road in my head under 'One Day I Will'. Ten years ago, when I recovered from a herniated disc, it was to discover that I had a useless left leg. Though I managed to lose the limp, I hated not being able to stride around as I used to. I needed a challenge to tell myself that I wasn't going to buckle to a creature called sciatica. Thus the 'One Day I Will' arrived. "Where does the road by the medical shop lead to?" I asked my parents while visiting them next. "Chalavara," they said. "It's not an easy road to walk on," my father added. "There are too many ups and downs." Chalavara was a superior grade of a village as compared to Mundakotukurussi, with a high school, a fine library, ATMs and several shops. But it also has two approach roads. The one I had chosen was a narrow back road used by the locals and that settled it for me. I needed to know for myself I could walk a road that wasn't going to be easy. And the next day, I would get up and walk that road again.

What is 'sciatica'?