Passage – 2 I was beginning to tire a little now. I had been cutting steps continuously for two hours, and Tenzing, too, was moving very slowly. As I chipped steps around still another corner, I wondered rather dully just how long we could keep it up. Our original zest had now quite gone and it was turning more into a grim struggle. I then realised that the ridge ahead, instead of still monotonously rising, now dropped sharply away, and far below I could see the North Col and Rongbuk glacier. I looked upwards to see a narrow ridge running up to a snowy summit. A few more whacks of the ice-axe in the firm snow and we stood on top. ‘I had been cutting steps continuously for two hours’ suggests that
- (a)the climber was unskilled in the art of making steps
- (b)he had to cut the steps out of snow before climbing up which was necessarily a slow process
- (c)the slowness was caused by the fact that as soon as he cut the steps they were again covered with snow
- (d)he had to work suspended from a ledge
Correct — B, he had to cut the steps out of snow before climbing up which was necessarily a slow process. Steps do not exist on a snow slope, so the climber has to chip each one with his ice-axe before he can put his weight on it, and that is why two full hours went into a short distance.
- (a)the climber was unskilled in the art of making steps — Nothing suggests a lack of skill; the two hours reflect the method the ground demands, and he is climbing with an experienced companion toward the summit.
- (c)the slowness was caused by the fact that as soon as he cut the steps they were again covered with snow — No snowfall or drift is described, and the snow is called 'firm', so the steps were not being filled in behind him.
- (d)he had to work suspended from a ledge — There is no ledge and no rope-work in the passage; he is cutting steps around corners as he moves along the ridge.
A comprehension item asking what a quoted phrase implies about the climber's task rather than what it literally says.
The word doing the work is 'continuously'. It shows that step-cutting was not an occasional job but the way forward had to be made all the way, which is what makes the process inherently slow.
- Reading slowness as incompetence when the passage explains it by the task.
Asked as an inference item on a quoted phrase, where the correct option restates the task rather than judging the climber.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Read the lines and answer. 'For the last hour the wind had numbed his fingers, and each hold cost him more than the one before.' The climber's condition is best described as
- (a)growing exhaustion
- (b)complete comfort
- (c)fear of heights
- (d)loss of interest in the summit
Answer(a) growing exhaustion — each hold costing more shows strength draining away.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Read the lines and answer. 'She had been sanding the plank for over an hour before the first coat could be laid on.' The phrase 'for over an hour' suggests that the job was
- (a)necessarily slow preparation
- (b)done carelessly
- (c)finished very quickly
- (d)left incomplete
Answer(a) necessarily slow preparation — the surface had to be readied before painting could begin.