Directions—(Q. 1–8) Read the
following passage carefully and answer the questions given
below it. Certain words have been
printed in bold to help you locate them while answering
some of the questions.
Keshava, the washerman had a
donkey. They worked together all day, and Keshava would pour out his heart to the doneky. One
day, Keshava was walking home with the donkey when he felt tired. He tied the donkey to a
tree and sat down to rest for a while, near a school. A window was open, and through it, a teacher
could be heard scolding the students. ‘Here I am, trying to turn you donkeys into human beings,
but you just won’t study !’ As soon as Keshava heard these words, his ears pricked up. A man
who could actually turn donkeys into humans ! This was the answer to his prayers.
Impatiently, he waited for school to be over that day. when everyone had gone home, and only the teacher
remained behind to check some papers, Keshava entered the classroom.
‘How can I help you ?’ asked the
teacher. Keshava scratched his head and said, ‘I heard what you said to the children. This donkey
is my companion. If you made it human, we could have such good times together.’ The teacher
decided to trick Keshava. He pretended to think for a while and then said, ‘Give me six
months and it will cost you a thousand rupees.’ The washerman agreed and rushed home to get the
money. He then left the donkey in the teacher’s care.
After the six months were up,
Keshava went to the teacher. The teacher had been using the donkey for his own work. Not
wanting to give it up, he said, ‘Oh, your donkey became so clever that it ran away. He is the
headman of the next village.’ When Keshava reached the next village he found the village elders
sitting under a tree, discussing serious problems. How surprised they were when Keshava marched up to
the headman, grabbed his arm and said, ‘How dare you ? You think you are so clever that
you ran away ? Come home at once !’
The headman understood someone
had played a trick on Keshava. ‘I am not your donkey !’ he said. ‘Go find the sage in the
forest.’ Keshava found the sage sitting under a tree with his eyes closed, deep in meditation. He
crept up and grabbed the sage’s beard. ‘Come back home now !’ he shouted. The startled sage
somehow calmed Keshava. When he heard what had happened, he had a good laugh. Then he told
the washerman kindly, ‘The teacher made a fool of you. Your donkey must be still with him. Go
and take it back from him. Try to make some real friends, who will talk with you and share your
troubles. A donkey will never be able to do that !’ Keshava returned home later that day with
his donkey, sadder and wiser.
1. Which of the following can be
said about the teacher ?
(A) He had the ability to
transform animals into human beings
(B) He took advantage of
Keshava’s simple nature
(C) He had plotted with the village
headman to cheat Keshava
(D) He enjoyed teaching children
though he was poorly paid
(E) He was honest and used
Keshava’s money to care for the donkey
Ans : (B)
2. Why did Keshava talk to his
donkey while working ?
(A) He wanted to practise his
communication skills because he wanted to make friends
(B) To entertain himself because
he found his work monotonous
(C) The donkey helped him to find
answers to his problems
(D) He regarded the doneky as his
friend and confided in him
(E) He believed the donkey to be
a human being in disguise
Ans : (E)
3. How did Keshava get his donkey
back ?
(A) He threatened to take the
teacher to the village elders
(B) The sage forced the teacher
to release the donkey
(C) He asked the village headman
for help
(D) The teacher returned it on
learning that Keshava had learnt his lesson
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)
4. Which of the following is NOT
true in the context of the passage?
(a) The donkey was over burdened
by the teacher.
(b) The teacher was cunning by
nature.
(c) The sage laughed at Keshava
and treated him unkindly.
(A) Both (a) & (c)
(B) Both (b) & (c)
(C) Only (b)
(D) All (a), (b) & (c)
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)
5. Why was Keshava keen to meet the
teacher one day ?
(A) Keshava wanted to ask the
teacher how to make his donkey a better companion
(B) He wanted to learn more
prayers as he was devout
(C) He had been reliably informed
that the teacher had changed donkeys into human beings
(D) He heeded the teacher’s words
of advice and wanted to study
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)
6. Why did Keshava interrupt the
discussion among the village elders ?
(A) He did not agree with their
views on different issues
(B) To confront the headman who
had cheated him out of one thousand rupees
(C) He wanted them to get justice
for him
(D) He was looking for the donkey
and wanted to ask for directions
(E) None of these
Ans : (E)
7. What made Keshava pull the
sage’s beard ?
(A) He wanted to wake up the sage
who was a sleep under the tree
(B) The headman requested him to
move the sage from under the tree
(C) He wanted the sage to explain
what had happened to the donkey
(D) He misunderstood the village
headman and took the sage to be his donkey
(E) None of these
Ans : (D)
8. Why did the teacher ask
Keshava to leave the donkey with him for six months ?
(a) He realised that the donkey
would require a lot of training.
(b) To reduce Keshava’s
dependence on the donkey.
(c) He wanted to rescue the
donkey from Keshava who did not know to treat the donkey
properly.
(A) None
(B) Only (b)
(C) Both (a) & (b)
(D) Only (c)
(E) None of these
Ans : (A)