The parrot's tale
Once upon a time there lived a
bird. It was unlettered. It sang but couldn’t recite a word of scripture. It
hopped and it flew but lacked all sense of manners. The king said. “Such a bird
is of no use. Yet it devours fruit from the forest, bringing down the profits
of fritterers in the royal market.” He summoned the minister and commanded, “Educate
the bird!” The task of educating the bird fell on the king’s nephews, his sister’s
sons. The learned men of the court deliberated long. They pondered the reasons
behind the ignorance of the creature in question. The conclusion: the birds
nest made of straw and twinges could not hold much knowledge. Therefore, the
first thing needed was a proper cage. The royal scholars received handsome fees
and happily went home. A goldsmith set to work on a gilded cage. It turned out
to be of such exquisite workmanship that people from far and near crowded round
for a look. Some said, “This is education par excellence.” Others said, “even
if it learns nothings, it has got the cage. What a lucky bird.” The goldsmith
was delighted to get a bagful of money as reward and went home at once. A
teacher came to give lessons to the bird. He took a pinch of snuff and
declared, “This isn’t a matter of just a few texts.” One of the royal nephews
sent for-scribes. They made multiple copies of various texts until there was a
veritable mountain. “Bravo!” exclaimed those who saw it, ‘there is no room for
any more knowledge.” The scribes loaded their wages into bullocks and merrily
headed home. They would never again want for anything. The nephews were
constantly busy looking after the expensive cage. Repairs were always under
way. Anyone who was the endless dusting, wiping and polishing had to agree that
there was “marked improvement”. A large maintenance crew was needed and more
personal to supervise them. They all got handsome monthly salaries, which they
saved in their wooden chests. Even their cousins came to live with them in cushioned
comfort. The world is short of many things but not detractors. They said, “The
cage looks better no doubt, but has anyone taken notice of the bird?” this was
reported to the king. He said to a nephew, “what’s this I hear?” “Your majesty,”
replied the nephew, “if you wish to hear the truth summon the goldsmith, the
scholars, the scribes, the maintenance crew and their supervisors. Those who
haven’t got a share of the royal bounty are resorting to slander.”
a. Which has the closest meaning of the word ‘unlettered’ used in line 1?
ii. Untrained
iii. Uniformed
iv. Illiterate
b. ‘Devour’ in the passage means _______.
ii. consume
iv. take
iii. The king spent a lot of money to educate the bird.
iv. The king had rewarded his nephew with a gold chain.
iii. The foolishness of the king
iv. The lack of knowledge of the bird
i. Noticeable enhancement
ii. Comfortable raiment
iii. Checked upgradation
iv. Required change
(f). The word ‘bounty’ could be best replaced by ______.
i. Bonus
ii. Favor
iii. Reward
(g). The reason of the educated men of the court considered and tried to figure out ____.
i. the kings illiteracy
ii. the king admiration
iii. the birds illiteracy
(h). The word ‘scripture’ refers to ______.
i. the writings of a journal
ii. the writings of a novel
iii. the sacred writings of a religion
(i). The phrase ‘bring down’ in the second paragraph refers to _______.
i. to overthrow
ii. to compensate
iii. To increase
iv. to decrease
(j). The contextual meaning of the word ‘summon’ is
i. To attend in a race
ii. Encourage many people
iii. Manage someone to go
iv. Order someone to be present
(k). What kinds of scholars were chosen for the consolation?
i. richest
ii. submissive
iii. aristocratic
(l). What was required at first according to the learned men of the court as a part of teaching the bird?
i. Printing the scripture
ii. Calling the goldsmith
iii. Making a popper cage
(m). The synonym of ‘exquisite’ in the passage _____.
i. subtle
ii. excellent
iv. intricate
(n). The word ‘workmanship’ indicates _______.
i. Artistry
iii. scholarity
iv. none of these
(o). The word ‘handsome’ could be best replaced by _______.
i. smart
ii. attractive
iii. considerable
(p). Who was/were chosen to give lessons to the bird?
i. great scholars
ii. a group of teachers
iii. a teacher
(q). What is they synonym of ‘scribe’?
i. Writer
iii. Reporter
iv. Teacher
(r). The point of noticing the bird was raised by ________.
i. the king
ii. the cities
iv. he royal people
(s). The word ‘veritable’ is a/an ______.
i. noun
ii. adverb
iii. adjective
(t). _______were kept inside the cage.
i. History books
ii. Only scriptures
iii. Printed copies of different texts
(u). The word majesty could be best replaced by ______.
i. strength
ii. highness
iv. authority
(v). The best synonym of the word maintenance is ______.
i. Prolongation
ii. Servicing
iv. Nursing
(w). The expression veritable mountain is a ____.
i. Metaphoric expression
iii. Simile
iv. Parabolic expression
(x). The contextual meaning of the expression a pinch of snuff _____.
i. smoking
ii. a costly cage
iii. a small amount of powdered tobacco
(y). Which of the following describes the king best?
i. Illiterate
ii. Cruel
iii. Liable
iv. Unwise
(z). What could be the closest meaning for deliberate?
i. Teach
ii. Ponder
iv. Dwell-on
(a1) . A word ignorance in the passage refers to ___.
i. literacy
ii. incomprehension
iii. Innocence
iv. illiteracy