Our good old nation was just seven
years old as a
republic when it became bigger by a small territory.
Pondicherry
entered the Union of India on
November 1, 1954. One civic achievement called
5 for another. A portion of the grounds of the Pondicherry
Botanical Garden was
made available rent-free for an
exciting business opportunity and—lo and behold—
India
had a brand new zoo, designed and run according
to the most modern,
biologically sound principles.
10 It was a
huge zoo, spread over numberless
acres, big enough to require a train to
explore it, though
it seemed to get smaller as I grew older, train included.
Now it’s so small it fits in my head. You must imagine a
hot and humid place,
bathed in sunshine and bright
15 colours. The riot of flowers is incessant. There
are trees,
shrubs, and climbing plants in profusion—peepuls,
gulmohurs, flames
of the forest, red silk cottons,
jacarandas, mangoes, jackfruits and many
others that
would remain unknown to you if they didn’t have neat
20 labels at
their feet. There are benches. On these benches
you see men sleeping, stretched
out, or couples sitting,
young couples, who steal glances at each other shyly
and
whose hands flutter in the air, happening to touch.
Suddenly, amidst the
tall and slim trees up ahead, you
25 notice two giraffes quietly observing you.
The sight is not
the last of your surprises. The next moment you are startled
by a furious outburst coming from a great troupe of monkeys,
only outdone in
volume by the shrill cries of strange birds.
You come to a turnstile. You
distractedly pay a small sum
30 of money. You move on. You see a low wall. What can
you
expect beyond a low wall? Certainly not a shallow pit with
two might Indian
rhinoceros. But that is what you find.
And when you turn your head you see the
elephant that was
there all along, so big you didn’t notice it. And in the pond
36 you realize those are hippopotamuses floating in the water.
The more you look,
the more you see. You are in Zootown!
1. The main purpose
of the first paragraph is:
a) To introduce
the narrator’s feelings toward the zoo.
b) To explain
the origins of the zoo.
c) To explain
the significance of the zoo & botanical gardens to the territory.
d) To set up
the following metaphor.
e) To explain
the narrator’s origins.
2. In line 16,
the phrase “in profusion” most closely means:
a) In bloom
b) Gigantic
c) In plain
sight
d) Abundant
e) Various
3. The main
purpose of this passage is:
a) To describe
how the narrator spent his childhood.
b) To illustrate
the narrator’s feelings toward the zoo.
c) To depict
the zoo itself.
d) To describe
the zoo’s visitors.
e) To introduce
the main character.
4. In line 13,
the phrase, “Now it’s so small it fits in my head,” is an example of:
a) Paradox
b) Irony
c) Zeitgeist
d) Synecdoche
e) Metaphor
5. The main
literary device used throughout the second paragraph is:
a) Hyperbole
b) Chiasmus
c) Imagery
d) Alliteration
e) Simile
6. The
narrator’s feeling toward the zoo can be best described as:
a) Nostalgic
b) Excited
c) Bitter
d) Maudlin
e) Mirthful
answers?
ReplyDelete